Born on 17 February 1888, son of Paymaster Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Cooke Alton CB, CMG, RN, he was educated at Bedford School. After qualifying from St Thomas's Hospital in 1910, he entered the Royal Navy as a surgeon. Four years later he graduated MB BS at London University. During the first world

Born at Heywood, Lancashire on 19 May 1886, third son of James Diggle, consulting water engineer, and Rachel Alice Holt, his wife. He was educated at Rossall School and Manchester University, and studied medicine at St Bartholomew's and the London Hospital. He won medals in anatomy and gynaecology,