Frederick Curtis was born in 1873, the son of Albert Curtis MRCS 1857, a general practitioner at Staines, Middlesex, and grandson of Frederick Curtis MRCS 1832, who had practised there previously. He was brought up a Quaker and educated at Bootham, York. His family had a long tradition in medicine f

Norman Frederic Ticehurst was born at St Leonards-on-Sea on 1 July 1873, his father and grandfather having been doctors in Hastings. He was educated at Tonbridge School, Clare College Cambridge, and Guy's Hospital Medical School, qualifying with the Conjoint Diploma in 1901. In 1902 he took the FRCS