John Romano was born on 24 May 1926 into a Jewish-Italian family in Cairo, where he was educated and subsequently qualified in medicine. His father Albert Romano was a barrister and his mother was Marie Afif. In Cairo he became fluent in English, French, Italian and Arabic, skills that he later used

Dudley Plunket Gurd was born in Belfast on 18 June 1910 the elder son of Frederick Gurd, a pharmaceutical chemist, and Annie Jane (née Glenn), and was educated at Belfast Royal Academy and Queen's University, Belfast, qualifying in 1932. After early house appointments in Belfast, Liverpool and Londo

John Henry Morad Romano was a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Hillingdon. He was born in Egypt on 24 May 1926, the only child of Albert Romano, a solicitor in Cairo. His primary education was at École de Zamalek and from the age of 11 years at the Lycée Français in Cairo. He completed his Baccalaur

Fred Hollows was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 9 April 1929, the son of an engine driver. After schooling in Palmerston North he entered the Church of Christ College of Otago University, intending to devote his life to the ministry. He changed his mind however and studied medicine, qualifying MB