Rustom Jamshed Maneksha was head of the department of plastic surgery at Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital in Mumbai. Born on 14 February 1920 in Bombay, he was the second child of Jamshed Maneksha, assistant professor of anatomy at Grant Medical College and his wife, Goolbai. His maternal grandfather, Jehan

Mortimer Shaw was a consultant plastic surgeon at St James's Hospital, Leeds. He was born on 22 February 1915 in Cleckheaton. His father, William Shaw, was a medical practitioner. His mother was Lizzie née Haigh. From Oundle, Mortimer went on to study medicine at Leeds, where he graduated with first