Owen William Deacon was born on 22 September 1929 in Karori, New Zealand. He was the son of William Francis Deacon, the manager and foreign representative for Scholl Manufacturing Company and his wife Marjorie née Hunter. After preparatory school in Wellington, New Zealand, the family moved to Birmi

Malcolm Menelaus was born in Melbourne, Australia, on 11 October 1930, where his father, Benbow Menelaus, was a banker. His mother was Gladys née Wills. He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and Melbourne University, where he qualified in 1954. After two years at Prince Henry's Hospital, Mel

John Lister Colless Lahz was born in Murgon, Queensland, on 29 November 1925, the son of Rudolf Sergius Lahz a surgeon, and Mary Regis, née Barron. He attended Loreto Convent, Coorparoo, Queensland, and St Joseph's College, Melbourne, and later the University of Queensland Medical School in Brisbane

Jack Mitchell Hay was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 22 October 1920, the youngest child of Mr Justice Hay. His early education was at Hutt Valley Boys' High School and Victoria University College where he initially studied law for a year before proceeding to Otago University to study medicine,