Roger Gwynne Ainley was an ophthalmic surgeon in the Merseyside area. He was born in Fringford, Oxfordshire, on 8 September 1932. His father, Joe Ainley, was a headmaster and his mother, Dora (née Carter), was a music teacher, both in schools and freelance. The family are related to the Shakespearia

Roy Harfitt was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 15 March 1944. He had no medical connections. His grandfather, Vicar of St Mary at Hill (the Billingsgate fish market church) founded the Christian Evidence Society. Ronald Stanley Harfitt, his father, worked in civil aviation and his mother was Josephine