Wylie McKissock was born in Staines, Middlesex, on 26 October 1906, the son of Alexander Cathie McKissock, a linoleum manufacturer and author who went under the pseudonym of Alan Graham, and his wife Rae, née Wylie. He went to the City of London School and King's College before winning the Laking Me

John O'Connell was a consultant neurosurgeon at St Bartholomew's. He was born in Manchester on 16 September 1906, to Irish parents. His father, Thomas Henry O'Connell, was a civil servant. His mother was Catherine Mary née O'Sullivan. He was educated by the Jesuits at Clongowes and later at Wimbledo