Rudolph Wiener was born on 18 February 1901 at Capetown, South Africa, the son of Frederick Kilgour Wiener, a company director; his mother, Dorothea Jourdan, was the daughter of a predikant in the Dutch Reformed Church, and he was the third son of a family of seven. Wiener was educated at Rondebo

Roland Maitland Alderton was born on 20 June 1902 in Hadleigh, Suffolk, son of David Simpson, a miller and corn merchant, and Margaret McLachlan, daughter of a clergyman. He was educated at Tonbridge School and the London Hospital, qualifying MRCS LRCP in 1930 and MB BS in 1931. After working as