Carmen Russell Salsbury was born on 21 July, 1898, in the County of Lennox and Addington, Ontario, Canada. He was the youngest child of the two daughters and three sons of John Albert Salsbury, a farmer. He was educated in a one room country schoolhouse for four years and then graduated with honours

Born in Malta 29 June 1890 the eldest of three brothers who distinguished themselves in the small medical school of the ancient Royal University of Malta: Emanuele (MD 1922) became an ophthalmologist in New York, Joseph Edward (MD 1925) became Professor of Medicine at Malta, FRCP and CBE; two member