John Dunlop was born on 29 June 1915 in India, where his father, John Dunlop, was a doctor. He was educated, with an entrance scholarship, at Epsom College, and in 1932 gained a scholarship to St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, and qualified in 1937. After holding a number of resident posts at St

Patrick Sames was a general surgeon in Bath with an interest in coloproctology. He was born on 17 January 1912 in Enfield, Middlesex, the only son of Christopher, a railway clerk, and Caroline née Radmore. He was a late entrant to medicine, leaving Harrow County School to become an apprentice in the

Nicholas Ernest James was born on 20 August 1912 in Adelaide, South Australia, the son of the Congregational Minister. The family returned to England in 1928 and he completed his schooling at Latymer Upper School and then went to the London Hospital where he graduated with honours in medicine in 193

Terry Jenkins was a general surgeon to St Luke’s and the Royal Surrey County hospitals in Guildford. He was born in Shoreditch, London, on 21 April 1913, the second son of Harold and Louise Jenkins, who had a chemists’ shop. They moved to Harrow a few years later. He was educated at the John Lyon an

Alan Birt was born on 24 June 1915, the son of the Surgeon Dentist to King George V and Queen Mary. Like his father, he was educated at Wellington College and St Thomas's Hospital, where he qualified with honours in 1937. He held a number of junior appointments there and was later appointed senior r

William Crisp was born in Edinburgh on 5 December 1914, being the eldest son of Thomas Crisp (MD Edin) who was a medical practitioner and his wife, Janet (née Cowie). In 1921 the family moved to Chorley, Lancs, where Thomas established himself in general practice. William went to Bolton School and t

Peter Islwyn Hywel-Davies was born on 3 July 1914 at Abercynon, Glamorgan, and was educated at the Central School, Aberdare, and Cardiff University where he took the BSc degree in 1933. He then came to the Middlesex Hospital where he qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1936, and took the London M

Henri Roualle was a consultant general surgeon in London serving at many hospitals at various stages of his career, including Connaught, Wanstead, Finchley Memorial, the National Temperance and Whipps Cross hospitals. He was also visiting surgeon to HM prison, Wormwood Scrubs. He was born on 19 May

John Leslie was born in Bath on 22 December 1914. His father, George Herbert Leslie, was a schoolmaster and inspector of schools for the London County Council, having served in the Royal Artillery in the first world war and then with the Army Education Corps. His early education was at Wellington

Cedric Longland was born at Bolobo in the Belgian Congo on 30 September 1914. His father, Frank Longland, was a civil engineer in East Africa and later Provincial Commissioner for Tanganyika Territory. Daisy Longland, Cedric's mother, was one of the earliest women to qualify in medicine at Edinburgh

Michael Reilly was born in Sheringham, Norfolk, on 30 August 1913, several weeks post-mature. This procrastination was to be a feature of his life. There was a suggestion that he should be christened 'Fabius', after the great Roman general Fabius Maximus Cunctator, but he was saddled with the family