Noel Desmond Sherson was a general surgeon in Melbourne, Australia. He was born on 26 February 1936 in Geelong, Victoria, the only child of Charles Stanley Sherson, a coach builder, and Ella Myrtle Sherson née Wilson. He attended Geelong College, where he was *dux* of the school in 1954. He went on

Roy Lawrence Willis Fink was born in Ballarat on 27 April 1938. His father was a state school headmaster and the family moved between various country towns, including Learmonth, Yea and Benalla, before moving to Ferntree Gully and subsequently Bentleigh. His early years were influenced by World War