Arnold Gourevitch was a consultant surgeon in Birmingham. He was born in Paris on 24 February 1914, the son of Russian Jewish émigrés. At the outbreak of the first world war his parents fled to England, eventually settling in Birmingham. His father, Mendel, later qualified as a doctor and became a g

John Matheson was a former professor of military surgery at the Royal Army Medical College, Millbank, London. He was born in Gibraltar on 6 August 1912, the son of John Matheson, the then manager of the Eastern Telegraph station, and Nina. The family later moved on to Malta and then to Port Said. Jo

Born at Oxford, 9 June 1891, eldest son of Richard Henry Anglin Whitelocke, FRCS, senior surgeon to the Radcliffe Infirmary, and his wife Barbara Henry, eldest daughter of G L Reid, civil engineer, of Brighton. Hugh Whitelocke's third name was taken from his grandfather's home, Bulstrode Park, Westm

Born on 4 September 1880 eldest of the two sons and two daughters of Samuel Johnson (1846-99), Medical Officer of Health for Stoke-on-Trent and Julia his wife, daughter of James Webb. Mrs Johnson died only in 1931; her children had all adopted her maiden surname, Webb, before their father's name. Dr

Charles Burgess, known as Terence, was born in Hoylake, the Wirral, Cheshire, on 10 January 1913, into a medical family. His father, Charles Herbert Burgess, was a general practitioner, as was his grandfather, Robert Burgess. His mother was Meta Jeanette née Leitch. Terence was educated at Haileybur

Reginald Martin Vick was born on 20 July 1884 at West Hartlepool, and was educated at Leys School and Jesus College, Cambridge, and came to St Bartholomew's Hospital for his clinical studies. He qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1908, and after house appointment at Bart's became a demonstrator

Robert Lord Holt was born near Oldham on 18 May 1903 and educated at William Hulme's Grammar School, and Manchester University, where he qualified with many distinctions. He held numerous resident appointments in Manchester and obtained his Fellowship in 1928. In 1931 he was Dickson Travelling Schol

Robert Wallace (Bob) Nevin was born in Burton-on-Trent in 1907, the son of a general practitioner. He was educated at Clifton College and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He joined St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in 1929 and had a distinguished undergraduate career, winning the Cheselden and Clutton

Ernest Cowell was born on 24 February 1886, son of Jasper Cowell of Steyning, Sussex, and was educated at Steyning Grammar School and University College Hospital Medical School where he graduated in 1907, taking the Conjoint Diploma the same year, and went on to take his MD degree in 1909 and the Fe

Born 21 November 1889, the seventh child and second son of William Carlton, muslin draper, of Grantham, and Mary Elizabeth Rollinson, his wife. He was educated at Doncaster Grammar School, and won an open exhibition in mathematics and natural science to St John's College, Oxford, where he began by r

Born 19 August 1876, elder son of John William Collinson, wool merchant of Halifax, and Frances Whiteley, his wife. He was educated at the Quaker schools at Ackworth and Bootham, and at the Yorkshire College Medical School at Leeds. He received his clinical training at the Leeds General Infirmary, w

Robert Debenham, or 'Deb' as he was universally known, was born in Presteigne, Radnorshire, on 3 January 1902, the son of Horace Alan Debenham, a general practitioner, and his wife Maud Constance, who was the daughter of a GP. After preliminary schooling at Brockhurst he was educated at Malvern Coll