Arthur Lawrence Abel was born on 15 November 1895, the son of the Reverend Arthur E Abel, a congregational minister, and he preached in his father's pulpit at the age of 18 years. He did his medical training at University College Hospital, graduating in 1917. He obtained the Fellowship of the Royal

Apollo Cokkinis was born at Odessa, Russia, of Greek parents, on 31 October 1895; his father John Cokkinis, was an operatic tenor and impresario. During his early life Cokkinis travelled widely with his father, and received his early education at the Canadian College in Smyrna. After college he deci