Neville Stidolph was a consultant in urology and general surgery at Whittington Hospital, London. He was born in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on 31 October 1911. His father, Charles Edward Stidolph, was a magistrate. His mother was Florence née Hinwood. He was educated at Grey High School, Port Elizabe

Born on 1 October 1916 in Ilford, Essex, the third child and second son of Archibald Campbell and Jessica Saunders, née Halsall, Campbell's early education was at Northwood Preparatory School and Berkhamsted School, from which he won an open scholarship (senior demy) to Magdalen College, Oxford, in