John Hackwood was born in Carlisle on the 28 October 1899, the son of Harold Hackwood, a consulting engineer. His mother, Marguerite, née Fereday, was the daughter of a surveyor. He was educated at the City of London School and St Thomas's Hospital Medical School having been awarded the Musgrove Sch

Calvert Gwillim was born on 26 October 1899 in Ceylon. After spending his childhood on that island he was educated first at Swansea and later at St Bartholomew's Hospital, from where he qualified in 1921. He first became a house surgeon at Leicester Royal Infirmary where he gained considerable exper