Born at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 29 October 1845, the son of Brooke Smith. His father belonged to an old Unitarian family and the son was named after Joseph Priestley, the preacher and discoverer of oxygen, who was driven to the United States when the Birmingham mob burnt his house. Brooke Smith was

Kandiah Vythilingham was born in Ceylon on 7 November 1910 and qualified with the LMS of Ceylon in 1937. He joined the Department of Health Services in 1939 and was appointed an acting medical officer at the Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital, Colombo. Thenceforward he specialized in ophthalmology, hold

Oswald Gayer Morgan was born in Seaford, Sussex, on 5 July 1889, the eldest son of William Pringle Morgan and Ethel, née Eastwood. He was educated at Epsom College, Clare College, Cambridge, and Guy's Hospital Medical School, qualifying with the Conjoint Diploma in 1913. A year later he went to Fran

Samir Kumar Biswas was born in Khatura, a village in the Nadir district of West Bengal on 1 July 1929 and was educated at the St Xavier's College and the Medical College, Calcutta. He was always a meritorious student and graduated in 1954 and passed DOMS of Calcutta University in 1956. He then went

Bryan Paul Cooper was born in Leicester on 26 December 1931. His family emigrated to Australia four years later and settled in Croydon, New South Wales, where his father worked as a carpenter and joiner. Cooper was educated at the Christian Brothers, Lewisham, Sydney, from which he won an exhibition

Dudley Plunket Gurd was born in Belfast on 18 June 1910 the elder son of Frederick Gurd, a pharmaceutical chemist, and Annie Jane (née Glenn), and was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and Queen's University, Belfast, qualifying in 1932. After early house appointments in Belfast, Liverpool and Londo

Eric Meyer was born in London on 2 July 1918 the son of Reinhard Carl Johannes Meyer, an ophthalmic surgeon and Fellow of the College, who moved to South Africa in 1920, and his wife, Phyllis, née Bagshaw. He was at King Edward's School in Johannesburg before entering the University of Witwatersrand

Tom Casey was born on 8 October 1929 in Limerick, the son of Michael Casey, a farmer. He was educated at University College, Dublin, and after specialising in ophthalmology became registrar first at the Westminster Hospital and later at Moorfields. He possessed a happy combination of inspiration, su

John Peregrine Francis Lloyd was born in Birmingham on 24 August 1907, the son of John Lloyd, managing director of Albright and Wilson, and Florence, née Armstrong. He was educated at West House School, Edgbaston, and Trent College, Derbyshire, before entering the University of Birmingham for medica

Fred Hollows was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 9 April 1929, the son of an engine driver. After schooling in Palmerston North he entered the Church of Christ College of Otago University, intending to devote his life to the ministry. He changed his mind however and studied medicine, qualifying MB

Roger Trimble was born in Holyhead, Anglesey, on 19 November 1946, the son of Henry John Trimble, a farmer, and his wife Barbara Margaret, née Gill, a writer. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Sheffield University, where he qualified in 1969. After a series of medical and surgical posts

Sir Stephen Miller was born on 19 July 1915 in Arbroath, Tayside, the eldest son of Stephen Charles Miller, an engineer, and Isobel, née Hamilton. He was educated at Arbroath High School and Aberdeen University, where he qualified MB ChB in 1937. His interest in ophthalmic surgery followed a peri