Clifford Alan Simmons was an obstetrician and gynaecologist in London, with appointments at the Royal Marsden and Mount Vernon hospitals. The son of a journalist, who edited the trade newspaper *Toy News*, Simmons qualified from Oxford in 1942. He joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and volunteered

John Crossley was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Southmead Hospital, Bristol. He was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, the son of Walter Crossley, a manufacturer of bedding ware, and Annie Crossley née Burniston, a housewife. He was educated at Blackburn Grammar School and then Repton.