Charles Wilson was a surgeon at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He was born in Adelaide on 3 April 1924. His father, Sir George Wilson, was a founding fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and a foundation fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaec

Anthony Frederick Hunter was born in Blackheath, London, and at the age of two emigrated to New Zealand with his parents, both of whom died during his childhood. He was then brought up by an aunt and uncle and educated at Mount Albert Grammar School, King's College, and the University of Otago Medic