James Noël Chalmers Barclay Wilson, known as ‘Ginger’, was an orthopaedic surgeon. He was born on Christmas Day 1919 in Coventry, the son of Alexander Wilson, a schoolmaster, and Isobel Barbara née Fairweather, many of whose relatives were general practitioners. His parents later moved to Kenilworth

Timothy Walter Scannell was an orthopaedic surgeon in the north-east. He was born in Cork on 9 July 1940, the fourth son of Frederick Joseph Scannell, an accountant, and Esther Katherine née Harley, the daughter of a merchant tailor. He was educated at the Christian Brothers’ College, Cork, and Univ

Rodney Sneath was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham and a pioneer in limb salvage surgery for patients with bone tumours. He was born in Sheffield, the son of Ernest Saville Sneath, a master printer, who owned the ‘Saville Press’. His mother was Dorothy

Known affectionately as ‘Dru’, David Ronald Petersgarth Urquhart was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, from 1957 until 1981. Although in many ways a private person, he was undoubtedly one of the established St Thomas’ personalities in the post-war era. His skills were

Douglas Freebody was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Kingston Hospital. He was born in Woolwich, London, on 19 April 1911, the son of a successful tailor, and attended the City of London School, before entering Guy’s Hospital Medical School, which he represented at hockey and boxing. After quali

Paul Brand, a celebrated orthopaedic surgeon, devoted his life to the care of patients with leprosy. He was born in a remote mountain district in south east India, 150 miles from Mysore, on 17 July 1914, the son of Jesse Brand and his wife, Evelyn, both Baptist missionaries. Paul was sent away to En

Paul Calvert was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St George's Hospital, London, and at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He was born on 17 March 1949, the son of John Calvert, a civil engineer, and Barbara, a barrister. He was educated at the Dragon School and Rugby, where he excelled in a

Henry Byrne was an orthopaedic surgeon in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Ballarat, Victoria, on 15 August 1932, the eldest of five children of Henry Byrne, a grazier, and his wife Martha. He was educated at Ballarat State School and Ballarat College, before studying medicine at the University

Blundell Jones was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Exeter. He was born on 10 June 1915, in Blackpool, Lancashire, the eldest son of William Jones, the principal of a technical college, and Elizabeth Blundell. He was educated at Arnold School, Blackpool, and University College Hospital London, wh

David Harding-Jones was an orthopaedic surgeon in Carmarthen, Wales. He was born in Stratford, East London, on 3 August 1936, one of a pair of identical twins. His father, William, was a Presbyterian minister. His mother was Gertrude Alice née Roberts. He was educated at Bancroft's School, Woodford

Alf Nachemson was one of the giants of his generation in the now recognised and developing specialty of orthopaedic spinal surgery. He spent a year or more in the USA, involved in editorial work and research, particularly at Boston, and remained a popular figure at American spinal conferences, where

William Robertson Gayton was an orthopaedic surgeon at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne. He was born in Richmond, Victoria, on 8 February 1912, the fourth child and second son of Henry John Albert Gayton, a bank official, and Mary Josephine née Brennan. He was educated at Xavier College on a junior