Paul Dawson-Edwards was appointed consultant surgeon to the United Birmingham Hospitals in 1957 and became a well-regarded urologist based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and a teacher at the University of Birmingham. His interest in urology was fired by Hugh Donovan, and he formed an excellent unit

Anthony Barker was born in Birmingham on 3 September 1920, the son of Charles Edward Barker, a solicitor and clerk of court in Birmingham, and Alice Mary, née Short. He was educated at Mill Hill School and the University of Birmingham Medical School, where he met his future wife Margaret (Maggie) Ne