Kausik Bhattacharya was a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. He trained at St George's Hospital and qualified MB BS from London University in 1990. Early appointments were at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor and the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford (1995-97). He passed the fellowship i

Leon Abrams was a cardiothoracic surgeon who developed the first variable-rate heart pacemaker. He was born in Leeds, but his family soon moved to Birmingham, where he spent most of his life, apart from a short period of National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps. After medical school in Bi

John Laurence Mercer was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Broad Green and Fazakerley hospitals, Liverpool. He was born in 1932, the elder son of Major Laurence Walter Mercer, studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School and qualified MB BS in 1958. He won the Hallett prize in 1960 a

Nanalal Jivan Shah, usually addressed as John Shah, was born in the Seychelles on 25 April 1921, and after going to school there, subsequently came over to Guy's Hospital to study medicine and graduated MB, BS in 1945. He won the Hallett Prize at the Primary Fellowship, and completed the FRCS in 194

Born at Recife in Brazil, Da Silva, the son of distinguished general surgeon Arsenio Tavares da Silva, qualified at the University of São Paulo Medical School in 1940 and in 1945 carried out experimental work leading to renewed interest in the surgical treatment of schistosomiasis and the surgery of

Little is known about David Chukuagugua Nwafo except that he qualified MB BS in 1960 and passed the College Fellowship in 1964. He worked at the Liverpool Cardio-Thoracic Surgical Centre and, at the time of his death in 1976, he held an appointment at the thoracic and cardiac surgical unit at Harefi

Harold Frank McGhie Bassett was born in Klang, Federated Malay States, on 4 June 1923, the son of John Harold Bassett a barrister-at-law and County Court Judge and Leila, nee McGhie. He was educated at Harrow School where he obtained an entrance exhibition before entering St Thomas's Hospital Medica

Alexander Falconer Grant was born on 1 February 1926 in Sydney, Australia. His father, Chesborough Grant, was a public servant and his mother, Henrietta, née Leary, a nursing sister. Both his brothers became surgeons and both were awarded the OBE. He attended North Sydney Boys' High School and Sydne

Hamilton D'Arcy Sutherland was born in Adelaide in 1913. His father, Alan, was killed in 1917 as a result of a flying accident while serving as a pilot officer in the Royal Flying Corps - predecessor to the Royal Air Force. D'Arcy's only sibling, Lance, joined the RAAF and died in a very similar acc

Ian Middleton was born in Troon, Ayrshire, on 20 October 1922. His father, John, was a medical practitioner and his mother was Emily, née Middleton. He went to school at Hymer's College, Hull, and then went on to the University of Aberdeen, having obtained first place in the medical bursary competit

Jeffrey Graeme Bennett was a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital. He trained originally in Brisbane, Queensland before passing the Edinburgh Fellowship in 1971. He passed the FRCS in 1972 and held posts at the London Chest Hospital as well as at the Brompton

Erik Husfeldt was the first Danish cardiothoracic surgeon. He became Professor of Surgery at the University of Copenhagen and was the inspiration behind the founding of the first intensive care unit in the world in Copenhagen in 1953. During the second world war he had been active in the Danish unde