Ben Milstein was a consultant thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was one of the unsung heroes of cardiothoracic surgery. He was born in Dublin on 30 September 1918, the first son of orthodox Jewish immigrant parents, Hershel and Rebecca Milstein. The family later

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

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

Robert Stuart Bonser was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham. He was born in Walsall, in the heart of the Black Country, and was educated at the local secondary school. He subsequently won a place to study medicine at Cardiff University. Following his graduati

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

Kalyanakit Kitiyakara was born in Bangkok on 20 September 1929, the son of His Serene Highness Prince Nakhatra of Chandaburi who was later to become Thai Ambassador to the Court of St James. His great grandfather was King Rama V, Chulalongkorn, his younger sister is Queen Sirikit and his brother-in-

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

Amarendra Sengupta was born in Calcutta, India, on 10 January 1933 and qualified MB, BS at the University of Calcutta in 1956. After holding junior appointments at the Christian Medical College in Vellore he came to England in 1958 to obtain further general surgical training in Swindon and Northampt

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

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

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

Alun Rees was a cardiothoracic surgeon based in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. He was born on 14 June 1940 and gained his FRCS in 1970. He died on 12 April 2016 aged 75.