After his early education at Trowbridge High School, 'Nick' as he was known to his many friends, joined the Artists' Rifles, and was later commissioned in the Royal Artillery in the first world war. After the war he went to Bristol University where he qualified in 1923, taking the MB BS and FRCS in

Arthur Reginald Lister was born in Totteridge, north of London, on 4 April 1895 into a distinguished medical family. Lord Lister was his great-uncle, his father, Sir William Lister, and his cousin, Arthur Lister, were well-known eye surgeons, and one of his brothers was a consultant physician at Ply