Brian Thomas Duffy, the son of John and Alice Duffy was born on 13 July 1922 at Rockhampton, Queensland and was the third of four children. The family moved to Sydney, New South Wales, in 1938 where he was educated at the Christian Brothers' College, Waverley, before entering the College of St John

James Warne Ardagh, son of Patrick Augustine Ardagh, CBE, DSO, MC, a surgeon, and Lily Hebe Anderson (née Lowick), was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 5 December 1920. After education at Loreto College and Christ's College, Christchurch, he entered the University of Otago in 1940 and graduated