Ian Cast was a versatile and dedicated neurosurgeon. He was born in Gidea Park, Romford, Essex, the younger son of John David Cast, an executive officer with the Port of London Authority, and Doris Eliza Cast née Bones. Ian was educated at St Mary's High School, Romford, Gidea Park Preparatory Sc

Guy Blackburn was born on 20 November 1911 in Harrogate, the eldest son of Dr A E Blackburn, a general practitioner, who later moved to Beckenham, Kent. Guy was educated at Rugby (without great exposure to the game!), Clare College, Cambridge, and St Bartholomew's Medical College. At Clare he took u

Henk Verbiest, Professor of Neurosurgery at the Utrecht University Hospital, was born on 16 July 1909 in Rotterdam to Cornelis Verbiest, member of the board of a shipping company, and his wife, Mary née Peters. He undertook his medical studies at Leiden University between 1927 and 1934, during which

Solly Zuckerman was born on 30 May 1904 in Cape Town, South Africa, the son of Moses Zuckerman, a gold prospector and businessman and his wife Ruth, née Glaser. He was educated at the South African College School and the University of Cape Town, where he was Libermann Scholar. He then came to London

Sir Patrick Holmes Sellors was one of the most prominent ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom during the latter part of the 20th century. Appointed to the consultant staff of St George's Hospital, London, at the early age of 31, the majority of his NHS sessions he enjoyed at the Croydon eye unit,

Neil Watson was a hand surgeon in Oxford and Milton Keynes, and later a successful artist. He was born on 13 February 1944 at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. Neil's father, John Stuart Ferra Watson, and paternal grandfather were both Guy's-trained doctors. As his father served in the Royal Army M

Ahmed Abdel Aziz Yacoub, widely known as Ahmed Abdel Aziz, was a pioneering Sudanese cardiothoracic surgeon. A charismatic leader and gifted teacher, he was a staunch advocate of training in surgery in the Sudan. He was born in Gubbat Salim, Abri, in northern Sudan on 12 January 1931. His father was

Michael Arthur Pugh was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at University College Hospital, London and the Whittington Hospital. He was born in Manchester on 6 October 1929, the son of Robert Arthur Pugh, a journalist, and Norah Margaret Pugh née Rees, a market research executive. The family

Alan Ridgway was a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. He was born in Stanmore, Middlesex. His father, Albert Edward George Ridgway, was a GP; his mother, Helene Genvieve Ridgway née Jansanne, was a couturière. His paternal grandfather qualified as a doctor three months a

John Lennard-Jones was a consultant gastroenterologist at University College and St Mark’s hospitals, and a professor of gastroenterology at the London Hospital. Known to his colleagues as ‘LJ’, he was a gentle but inspiring teacher, a caring physician and a prodigious clinical researcher. Michael F

David Bouchier-Hayes was a professor of surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). He was born on 30 December 1940 in Dublin, one of 12 children of Thomas Bouchier-Hayes and Mona Bouchier-Hayes née Graham. His father was born in Limerick in 1907 and became a prominent and much-loved

Jack Collis was a pioneering thoracic surgeon. He was born in Harborne, Birmingham, on 14 July 1911, the son of Walter Thomas Collis, an industrial chemist, and Dora Charton Reay. His choice of medicine was greatly influenced by his local GP and his two medical uncles, one of whom was a professor of