Daniel Jacob du Plessis (known as 'Sonny') was professor of surgery at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, vice president of the College of Medicine of South Africa from 1969 to 1974, and chairman of the steering committee and first president of the Surgical Research Society of Southe

Herman Christian Nohl-Oser was a consultant surgeon at Harefield Hospital, where he specialised in pulmonary and oesophageal surgery, with a special interest in paediatric surgery. He was born Herman Christian Nohl (in the 1960s he add the ‘Oser’) in Jena, Germany, in April 1916, the son of Herman N

John Partridge was a consultant surgeon at North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple. He was born on 15 June 1921 in Weymouth, Dorset, the son of George James Partridge and his wife Gwendoline Partridge née Brewster Jones. George ('Jimmie') Partridge had served in the First World War as an officer i

Jack Lindsay Swann was a general surgeon in Melbourne, Australia. He was born in Caulfield, Melbourne, on 17 November 1921, the only child of Roy Barker and Irene May Swann née Matchett. His early education was at Caulfield Grammar School and his final four years of school were at Scotch College in

David Brockway Rogers was a consultant general surgeon at Auckland Hospital, New Zealand. He was born in Auckland on 30 September 1922, the son of Lionel Brockway Rogers and Whittier Rogers née McLeod. He attended Auckland Grammar School and then went to Auckland University. After a year, once he ha

John Samuel Hopkirk was born in Kelburn, Wellington, to Cyril Hopkirk (a veterinarian) and Dorothy (née Saunders, a ballet dancer and teacher). He had two sisters, Mary and Patricia and a brother, Alan. John’s early life was coloured by his father’s absence for veterinary studies at Melbourne. Money

Gordon Cassie was a general surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, where he provided surgical services from 1962 until his retirement in 1986, with only one half-time colleague. Cassie was born in Aberdeen, the second son of James Harvey Cassie, a

Timothy Hoi Kit Kong was born on 5 May 1922 in Hong Kong. He qualified MB, BS and DTM&H and then passed the fellowship of the college in 1951. For many years he practiced as a general surgeon in Hong Kong where he was widely respected. He was a keen skier and enjoyed smoking fine cigars. When he di

Walter Selwyn Georgeson (he was always known as ‘Brux’ to his colleagues) was born on 13/3/1918 in Brisbane and lived with his parents and sister in Clayfield. He was educated at the Brisbane Boys College where he showed his abilities by always being near the top of his class. He was a keen rower at

John was the son of Dr Robert Goldie, a Scottish migrant who settled in Corrimal near Wollongong, in NSW. By 1919, Robert had served four years in the British army in France. In 1920 he married Margaret Sellers, daughter of a mine manager. John was born in 1922 and grew up in Wollongong. He atten

Arthur Richard Cecil ('Dick') Butson was a general surgeon in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Hankow, China, to British parents, Cecil Walter Butson, a consultant engineer, and Doris Neave Butson née Stanton-Cook, an artist, on 24 October 1922. He was educated at Leighton Park School, Read

Tom Burke was a consultant surgeon at the South Infirmary in Cork, Ireland. He was born in Bandon in County Cork, the youngest child of Edward (‘Ned’) Burke and Mary Burke née Desmond. He was educated at Warner’s Lane National School and, after the family moved to Cork City in 1928, at the Presentat