Stanley Arthur Russell (‘Stan’) Cooke was a consultant general surgeon in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was born on 18 March 1932, the son of Richard Stanley Cooke and Isobel Faulds Cooke née Russell. He was educated at St John’s College, Johannesburg, and then went to the UK to attend medical scho

Christopher Wilfred Venables was born on 10 March 1935 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. He was the only son of Wilfred George Venables, the manager of a chain store, and his wife Norah née Rainey. Educated in Swindon, he attended the Commonweal and Headlands Grammar Schools and won a Wiltshire County scho