Robert Robins, known as 'Robbie' to his family and friends, was an orthopaedic surgeon noted for his role in the development of hand surgery, a *bon viveur* and a well-known figure in Cornish society. He was born on 7 August 1923 to Ethel May Robins née Greenwood and Hugh Canning Cradock Robins,

Leon Casimir Louis Gonet was born in 1916 in Simla, where his father was deputy director-general of Indian Posts and Telegraphs. He was educated in various schools in India, and proved to be both an able student and a natural games player. In 1933 the family moved to England and Leon gained a place

Charles Manning, the son of a dental surgeon, was born in Dublin on 14 August 1918. He came to England at the age of five, was educated at Sherborne School and went to St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College, qualifying in 1942. After serving as house surgeon to the ear, nose and throat and to the

Anthony Ashford Hodges was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Great Yarmouth, Gorleston-on-Sea and Lowestoft. Very general in his approach to orthopaedic conditions, he particularly enjoyed performing joint replacements. He was a unique character, and had an unusual upbringing and an eventful life.

Patrick Moore was born in Bristol on 17 March 1918. His father Arthur Eisdell Moore ("Eisdell"), who was in England on a post-War surgical appointment at that time, met his mother, Alice, a nurse from Yorkshire, in 1915 when serving as a field surgeon with the RAMC on the Western Front. Patrick was