John Foster, the eldest son of John Robert Foster, an ophthalmic surgeon, and of Emily Jane (née Elliot) was born on 31 October 1903 in West Hartlepool. He was educated at Aysgarth School, Uppingham School and Caius College, Cambridge, before entering the London Hospital Medical School where he won

Harold Strang Taylor-Young was born on 3 March 1902. He was the second son of Hugh Corbett Taylor, a gynaecologist in Sydney, Australia, and his wife Annie Rankin, née Strang. Taylor-Young noted on his CV form that his father "never legally hyphenated his name", but that he did in 1930. He came t