Richard Johnson was born on 30 June 1912 in Manchester, the son of Herbert Johnson, a company secretary, and Grace, née Rose. He was educated at King's School, Macclesfield and in 1932 was awarded an Exhibition to Downing College, Cambridge, where he obtained first class honours in the natural scien

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