Leonard Colebrook was born on 2 March 1883, son of May Colebrook and his wife Mary Gower, and was educated at three schools: Guildford Grammar School, The High School at Eastbourne, and Christ's College at Blackheath. He was admitted as a student to St Mary's Hospital Medical School during the South

Born on 8 August 1881 at Lockfield near Darvel, Ayrshire, the son of a farmer, he was educated first at the village school and later at Kilmarnock Academy. At the age of 13 he was sent to live with his brother in London and continued his education at the Polytechnic Institute in Upper Regent Street