Lewis Philip Jameson Evans was born at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 2 June 1907, the son of John Jameson Evans, FRCS, a distinguished ophthalmic surgeon and lecturer in ophthalmology in Birmingham University; his mother was a daughter of the Rev Thomas Charles Edwards DD, first Principal of the Universi

Sir Geoffrey Bateman was a distinguished ENT surgeon at St Thomas's, London. He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, on 24 October 1906, where his father, William Bateman, was a general practitioner. His mother was Ethel Jane Scrimgeour. His elder brother, Donald Bateman, wrote a biography of Lord Moyn

John O'Connell was a consultant neurosurgeon at St Bartholomew's. He was born in Manchester on 16 September 1906, to Irish parents. His father, Thomas Henry O'Connell, was a civil servant. His mother was Catherine Mary née O'Sullivan. He was educated by the Jesuits at Clongowes and later at Wimbledo