Ronald William Raven was born on 28 July 1904 and educated at Ulverston Grammar School. He trained at St. Bartholomew's Hospital where he qualified with the conjoint diploma in 1928. He was demonstrater in anatomy at Barts from 1929 to 1931, registrar in statistics at the National Radium Commission

'Bill' Tucker was born on 6 August 1903 in Hamilton, Bermuda,where his ancestors had been colonists in the 17th century and where his father, also William Eldon Tucker, was a surgeon whose contributions to the profession were recognized by the award of the honorary FRCS in 1952. His mother was Henri

Norman Barrett was born in Adelaide, Australia, on 16 May 1903. He was one of the great pioneers of thoracic surgery. After spending his early years in Australia he came to England and was educated at Eton where he was distinguished in both academic and athletic fields. He proceeded to Trinity Colle

Clive Butler was born in Flaxton, near York, on 8 April 1904, the only son of William Barber Butler and Edith Eastmond, a nursing sister. They had both trained at the London Hospital and had helped to care for the Elephant Man after he had been rescued by Sir Frederick Treves. His father subsequentl

Arthur Espie Porritt was born in Wanganui, New Zealand, the elder son of E E Porritt, VD, MD, FRCS, and of Ivy Elizabeth, née Mackenzie, whose father was also a medical practitioner. After education at Wanganui Collegiate School and Otago University, where he had an outstanding athletic record, he s