Peter Gortvai, the only son of William, an obstetric surgeon and his wife Elizabeth, née Foldi, LDSRCS, was born on 1 December 1927. He attended Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed his Natural Sciences Tripos in 1951 and won the Tripos prize. He then went to the London Hospital from 1951

Professor Dr Hugo Krayenbuhl was admitted to the honorary Fellowship at a meeting of Council on 10 March 1977. Mr Walpole Lewin delivered a citation in his honour, pointing out that Krayenbuhl was one of the European neurosurgeons who trained in England and subsequently influenced the training of ma

Laurie Lassman was born in London on 21 June 1913, the son of Henry Lassman, an electrical engineer, and Julia, née Abrahams, a Hebrew bookbinder. He was educated at Raine's School and went on to the London Hospital Medical College to study medicine, qualifying with the conjoint diploma in 1937 and

John Fraser Shaw was a neurosurgeon who trained under, and then assisted, Norman Dott with his pioneering work. He was, in his own words, 'fortunate' to arrive at this position - 'lucky' to serve under Dott at the neurosurgical department of the Edinburgh Western General. John was born in Calcutta i

Tony Hockley was a neurosurgeon in Birmingham. He was born at Hampton Court on 4 October 1943, the son of Charles Hockley, a businessman, and Freda née Dubovie, a fashion designer. He was educated at Brighton College, where he was an exhibition scholar. He entered the medical college of the London H

Bernard Harries was a consultant neurosurgeon at University College Hospital (UCH) and the Whittington Hospital, London. He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, on 30 April 1916, the son of Eric Henry Rhys Harries, an infectious diseases physician, and his wife, Edith Irene née Brazel. His grandfathe

Allan Hulme was chief of neurosurgery at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol. He was born in June 1917 in Seaton Carew, but spent his childhood in Stockport, Lancashire. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, where he was in receipt of a scholarship. In 1935, he won an exhibition to St John’s College,

Eric Sidney ('Sid') Watkins, professor of neurosurgery at the London Hospital Medical School, transformed safety standards in Formula One motor racing. He was born in Liverpool on 6 September 1928, and won scholarships to Prescot Grammar School and then Liverpool University, where he read medicine.

John Laidley Dowling worked as resident medical officer for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, 1937-39. During the second world war he was with the RAMC and the AAMC and then became student supervisor to St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. He was a Gordon Craig Travelling Scholar 1945-47 and durin

John Andrew, also known as 'Tony', was born on 2 February 1922 in Poulton-le-Flyde, Lancashire. He was the son of Percy Andrew, a general practitioner, and Ida Louise née Rishworth, a first-generation American, whom his father had met as a nurse in France during the first world war. His grandfather

Born in Cleveland, Ohio on 8 April 1869, the youngest of the nine children of Henry Kirke Cushing (1827-1910), MD, LLD, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Western Reserve Medical School, and Betsey Wilkinson, his wife. His grandfather and great-grandfather had both been members of the medica

John Hankinson, known as ‘Hank’, was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, and professor of neurosurgery at the University of Newcastle. He was born in Ramsbottom, Lancashire, on 10 March 1919, the son of Daniel Hankinson, a company director, and Anne née Ka