Brian Cummins was a consultant neurosurgeon at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. He was born in Somerset on 10 March 1933, the son of Peter Cummins (known as ‘Cecil’ or ‘Pop’) and his wife, Rita. His early years were spent in Bath, but he moved to Edmonton, Alberta, in 1946, when his family emigrated to

Ayub Khan Ommaya was an internationally-known expert on brain injury and the inventor of the Ommaya reservoir, which is used to administer chemotherapy to the site of brain tumours. He was born in Mian Chanuu, in what was then British India, on 14 April 1930, the youngest son of Nadir Khan, of the B

Eric Newton was a consultant neurosurgeon at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary. He was born in Surrey in 1919, but was educated in northern India. He gained an Indian Army scholarship to study medicine at Madras Medical School and qualified in 1942, during the Second World War. He immediately beca

Born in Cleveland, Ohio on 8 April 1869, the youngest of the nine children of Henry Kirke Cushing (1827-1910), MD, LLD, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Western Reserve Medical School, and Betsey Wilkinson, his wife. His grandfather and great-grandfather had both been members of the medica

Christopher Thomas Blaiklock was a consultant neurosurgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. He was born on 27 July 1936 in Newcastle upon Tyne and raised in Northumbria. His parents, Thomas Snowdon Blaiklock and Constance Rebecca Blaiklock, were both doctors. He attended Oundle School, Northampton, and

Bryan Jennett, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Glasgow, devised, with colleagues, two key diagnostic tools – the Glasgow Coma Scale, used throughout the world to assess consciousness, and the Glasgow Outcome Scale, used for patients with head injury. His work led to the defining of pe

Tony Hockley was a neurosurgeon in Birmingham. He was born at Hampton Court on 4 October 1943, the son of Charles Hockley, a businessman, and Freda née Dubovie, a fashion designer. He was educated at Brighton College, where he was an exhibition scholar. He entered the medical college of the London H

Rashid Choudhury was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia. He was born in a remote village in the district of Hailakandi, Assam, India, the son of Imran Ali Choudhury and Sumsun Choudhury. He came from a humble background and had to work hard to become a surgeo

Eric Sidney ('Sid') Watkins, professor of neurosurgery at the London Hospital Medical School, transformed safety standards in Formula One motor racing. He was born in Liverpool on 6 September 1928, and won scholarships to Prescot Grammar School and then Liverpool University, where he read medicine.

Born 18 December 1910, son of Edwin Albert Eden, MA, BSc, Head Master of Devizes Secondary School, who died at Letchworth in 1938, and of Monti Alston Christie, his wife. He was educated at his father's school and at University College, London, before entering University College Hospital Medical Sch

John Yelland was a neurosurgeon at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland , Australia. He was born in Roma, Central Queensland on 11th August 1928. After a primary education in State schools he attended All Souls Anglican School, Charters Towers, where he was house captain and dux of the school in

Richard Gye ('Dick') was one of the foremost neurosurgeons in Australia and a pioneer in his field. He was born in Sydney on 18 January1926, the youngest of three sons of Eva and George Butler Gye, both professional journalists. In infancy his parents divorced, leaving Eva to raise her family on her