Born at Bendigo, Victoria on 1 January 1867, the younger son of James Boyd, MD St Andrews 1852, who was attached to the Bendigo Gold District Hospital. He was educated at Bendigo and at the University of Melbourne, served as resident medical officer at the Melbourne Hospital from April 1891 to May 1

Born 14 April 1867 at Berwick, Victoria, Australia, third child and second son of Robert Buchanan, a landowner, and Jessie Spittal his wife, he was educated at Ballarat College, Victoria, qualified from Glasgow University in 1899, and was house surgeon at Glasgow Western Infirmary 1890-91. He worked