Charles Heanley was head of the department of plastic surgery at the London Hospital. He was born in Hong Kong on 28 February 1907, the son of Charles Montgomery Heanley, a doctor, and Mary Morella Heanley née Tassell. He was educated at Epsom College and then at Downing College, Cambridge, where he

Guy Pulvertaft was born in Cork on 31 May 1907, the second son of Amos William Pulvertaft, an engineer, and his wife Clara, née Savage. His early education was at Cork Grammar School and Weymouth College before entering Caius College, Cambridge. He obtained first class honours in the Natural Science