Ben Milstein was a consultant thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was one of the unsung heroes of cardiothoracic surgery. He was born in Dublin on 30 September 1918, the first son of orthodox Jewish immigrant parents, Hershel and Rebecca Milstein. The family later

Roy Routledge was born in Bexhill-on-Sea on 10 May 1918, the son of Robin Coghill Horner Routledge, an engineer, and Gwyneth May, née Davies. He was educated at Bexhill-on-Sea Grammar School and St Bartholomew's Hospital, where he represented his medical school as a flyweight boxer. He qualified in

John Ballantyne, a genial, kindly, hard-working man who gave much to British and world otolaryngology, was a consultant otolaryngologist at the Royal Free Hospital, London. He was born during a Zeppelin raid on Nottingham on 26 September 1917. He was a triplet – preceded by his sister, Jeannie, and

Known affectionately as ‘Dru’, David Ronald Petersgarth Urquhart was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, from 1957 until 1981. Although in many ways a private person, he was undoubtedly one of the established St Thomas’ personalities in the post-war era. His skills were

John Nevile Aston was born in Cheltenham on 4 March 1919 and educated at Monkton Coombe School where he was distinguished academically and as an oarsman. In 1937 he entered St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College where he qualified in 1942 and became house surgeon there for six months. He was then

Born on 2 December 1919 at Rhos, a village near Wrexham, North Wales, John Lloyd Davies was the son of a general practitioner surgeon at Wrexham Hospital, and grandson of a general practitioner. Educated at Epsom College, he obtained a scholarship to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1937, where he quali

Ian Hill was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. He was born on 8 June 1919. When he was only five he developed diphtheria and was admitted to an isolation hospital for many weeks. There he was allowed no visits from his family and witnessed at close quarters th

John Francis Neil Ward-McQuaid, the son of Colonel John FTP Ward-McQuaid and his wife Enid Ecila, née Cheshire, was born on 30 December 1918 at Neston, Cheshire. He was educated at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, where he won several prizes and was a notable cricketer. As the son of a serving army o