Frank Nicholson was a senior surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary. He was born in Cheshire on 6 September 1909, the son of Charles James Nicholson, a cotton merchant. Educated at St Bee's School, Cumbria, he had a distinguished academic record before proceeding to St Catherine's College, Cambridge,

Ian Robin was a distinguished London ear, nose and throat consultant. He was born at Woodford Green, Essex, on 22 May 1909, the son of Arthur Robin, a Scottish general practitioner, and Elizabeth Parker née Arnold, his American mother. He was educated at Merchiston Castle School, in Edinburgh, and a