John Anderson came from a well-known St Andrews golfing family. His grandfather, Jamie, won the Open Championship three times, 1877-78-79 and he was noted for his precision and flair. Anderson was educated at Madras College, St Andrews, Strathallan School, Perthshire, and St Andrews University where

David Stanley Leitch was born in Leeton, New South Wales, on 9 January 1923, the son of John Stanley Leitch, a farmer and grazier and Marian, née Killen. He was educated at All Saints' College, Bathurst, New South Wales and at St Andrew's College, Sydney University, before joining the Australian Arm