Norman Stanwell Hooton was a consultant thoracic surgeon in the south east Thames region. He was born in Warwick on 8 November 1921, the only child of Leonard Stanwell Hooton, a land commissioner, and Marion Shaw Brown née Sanderson. He was educated at Oundle School and then went on to Sidney Sussex

Stephen Stephenson was born in Belfast on 5 August 1915. His parents were both graduates of Trinity College, Dublin, but had moved north. His father, John Lewis Irwin, was a schoolmaster and his mother Mabel, née Frazer, the daughter of a Methodist Minister. The family then moved to Bedford and Step

Edmond Lecutier was born in Leeds of French parents, and studied medicine at Leeds University, where he completed junior posts before joining the RAMC. He served with the 5th Indian Division in South East Asia Command, where he formed a lifelong admiration for the Gurkhas. After the war, he retur