Valentine Hammond ('Val') was a distinguished ENT surgeon at St Thomas' Hospital, London. As a child, he had suffered from repeated ear infections and, on becoming a medical student at St Thomas's, he had a recurrence that introduced him to the friendly ENT firm of Fred Neilson, Bill Mill and Geoffr

Norman John Badham was a consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary. He was born in Evesham, Worcestershire, on 10 November 1929. His father, Frederick Charles Badham, was a farmer and market gardener. His mother was Emily Rock. From Prince Henry's Grammar School in Evesham, Badham went up to King's Co