Joseph Mendel Yoffey was a professor of anatomy at the University of Bristol and a pioneering investigator into lymphoid tissues and bone marrow. He was born in Manchester in 1902 into an orthodox Jewish family and was educated at Manchester Grammar School. He went on to study medicine at Manchester

Frederic Bentley was born in 1905, the son of Frederic Bentley, JP, and Laura Evelyn. He was educated at Bolton and at Manchester University, enjoying his postgraduate training in the city and becoming chief assistant and tutor. He was also resident surgical officer at St Mark's Hospital, London, an