Francis William Shepherd, who was born in Nottingham on 6 December 1906, grew up in Castletown, Isle of Man. With a London BSc he studied medicine at Cambridge and St Bartholomew's Hospital. After holding posts in Hampstead and Ilford he was appointed RSO at Huddersfield in 1938 and, it is said, ser

Cyril Fletcher ('Peter') Critchley was born on 7 July 1909 in Dulwich, south London, the son of James Critchley, a barrister, and his wife Margaret, née Fletcher. He was educated at Dulwich College and St Thomas's Hospital, and qualified in 1934. As a student, he fenced for London University. His

William Rotherham Hunter was born in Skelmersdale, near Ormskirk, on 18 February 1911, and was educated at Ormskirk Grammar School and the University of Liverpool, graduating MB BCh in 1933. He took the Conjoint Diploma the same year, and after junior posts at the David Lewis Northern Hospital, and

Ashton Miller, always known as 'Jerry', was born in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, on 10 September 1908, the fourth child and only son of William Ashton Miller, a banker and brewery director, and Adeline Louisa, née Porter, a farmer's daughter. He was educated at Tonbridge School before going up to

William Henry Daines Trubshaw was born in Johannesburg in 1908, his father having gone to South Africa during the Boer War and became headmaster of the Mayfair School in Johannesburg. Trubshaw went to King Edward's School and Houghton College, Johannesburg and then came to St Bartholomew's Hospital

Briant Evans was a former consultant obstetric and gynaecological surgeon at Westminster Hospital, Chelsea Hospital for Women and Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital. He was born in London in 1909, the eldest son of Arthur Evans, a surgeon at the Westminster Hospital. He was educated at Westminster

Harold William Burge was born on 23 July 1909. He originally entered King's College, London, as an engineering student and shortly transferred to the faculty of medicine to graduate from King's College Hospital in 1933. After a few years in general practice he decided on a career in surgery and took

Anthony Harold Charles was born on 14 May 1908, the second son of H.P. Charles. His early education was at Dulwich College after which he went to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from 1927 to 1930. His sporting interests included rugby, cricket and boxing and he represented Cambridge Universit