Robert Richardson qualified from Durham in 1961 and, after junior posts, specialised in orthopaedics, training in Newcastle, Middlesborough and at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, Oswestry. In 1974 he was awarded the Malkin travelling scholarship, before taking up his consultant appointment

Alastair Gunn was a much-loved and respected consultant general surgeon at Ashington Hospital, Northumberland, and later at its replacement, Wansbeck General Hospital. He had a major interest in colorectal disease and instigated and helped establish the NHS northern region's register of familial ade