Jack Collis was a pioneering thoracic surgeon. He was born in Harborne, Birmingham, on 14 July 1911, the son of Walter Thomas Collis, an industrial chemist, and Dora Charton Reay. His choice of medicine was greatly influenced by his local GP and his two medical uncles, one of whom was a professor of

Born on 29 August 1911 in Bury, Lancashire, John Charnley was the son of Arthur Walker Charnley, pharmacist, and Lily, née Hodgson, a nurse, he was educated at Bury Grammar School and Manchester University. He was persuaded to read medicine rather than dentistry, his first choice, by L R Strangeways