Trevor Meyrick Thomas was born at Bangor, Caernarvonshire, on 7 July 1898, the son of John Edward Thomas MD, a general practitioner surgeon. His mother, Mary, née Rowlands, was the daughter of a farmer, and his maternal great-uncle was John Rowlands who qualified MRCS in 1832. He was educated at

George Caiger was born on 26 April 1896, at Jacobstal, Orange Free State. His father, Herbert Caiger, FRCS, had been an ophthalmic surgeon in the UK and was practising in Burghersdorp. George was the eldest child of Herbert and his wife Mary Jane, nee Heritage. He grew up in Burghersdorp, and went t