Alan Leask was born in Hong Kong on 19 October 1914. His father, William Laughton Leask, was an architect and civil engineer practising in Aberdeen and Hong Kong. His mother was Mabel née Beaton. His elder brother Laughton Rennie Leask was also a Fellow (qv *Lives of the Fellows* Volume 8, p.186).

Denis Ebrill was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 7 March 1916. His father, Charles, was an attorney. His mother was Margaret née Foley. He was educated at St George's College, Weybridge, King's College, London, and St George's Hospital, where he held junior posts and was resident assistant surgeon. He

Patrick Russell was born on 4 September 1907 in Trinidad, where his father Alexander David Russell was the first Puisne Judge. His mother's name was May Isabel McCallum. Educated at Rugby, he went to University College Hospital to study medicine, where he won the junior clinical surgery prize and th

Katharine Branson was a consultant surgeon at the Bruntsfield and Longmore Hospitals, Edinburgh. She was born in London on 5 August 1912. Her father, Frederick Henry Ewart Branson, was a solicitor. Her mother was Helen Mary, née Brown, the daughter of a solicitor. Katharine was educated at Hall S

Peter Smith was born in London on 14 September 1916, the son and grandson of a general practitioner. His father was Dr Frederick William Weekes Smith and his mother, a bank clerk, was Elise Marie, née Schuckmann. He was educated at Epsom College and at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. Qualifying

Eric Harris was born on 18 October 1904 in Harbledown, Canterbury, the son of a pharmacist. He was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and the Middlesex Hospital. He qualified MRCS, LRCP in 1927 and MB, BS in 1929, and he became FRCS in 1941. During the war, he held temporary appointments as

Sydney Green was a neurosurgeon based in Washington DC and Bethesda. He was born in Glasgow on 10 June 1915 and lived in a one bedroom apartment with his parents and four older siblings, Lionel, Fagah, Mae and Lillah. He often spoke lovingly about his parents Hymen Harry and Sarah Sayetta Green, and

Katharine Isabel Liebert was born in 1912 and was educated at the Manchester High School for Girls and Manchester University, where she obtained the degree of BSc in anatomy and physiology in 1934, and graduated MB ChB in 1937. She then held house appointments at the Royal Infirmary Manchester, St M

Raymond Alexander King was born on 5 January 1918 and his early education was in China where his father and grandfather were medical missionaries. He entered the London Hospital Medical College for clinical studies and qualified in 1939. Within a few months he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and

William Beattie was a consultant surgeon in Liverpool. He was born in Sheffield on 1 February 1911. He was the second child of James Martin Beattie, Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Liverpool and Margaret Crow née Kettle. He was educated at Fettes, from which he won an open exhibition

Ross Bloom was born in Leeds on 2 January 1915; his father was a shopkeeper and his mother's maiden name was Fanny Castenberg. He was educated at Cardiff High School and graduated from the University of Wales in 1937, taking the London MB BS, the same year. He obtained the prize for the best first y

John David Wade was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Born on 2 May 1914 in Cardiff, he was the eldest son of James Owen David Wade OBE FRCS and his wife Kate née Jones who was a domestic science teacher. His mother’s father was a Baptist minister and his father, a co