Michael Hackett, or Mike, as he was always known, was born on 6 August 1931 in Morecambe, Lancashire. He was the son of Jack Hackett, editor of *The Morecombe Visitor* and the nephew of Desmond Hackett, the well-known *Daily Express* sports writer. He was educated at Preston Catholic College and pro

Robert (Robin) Welsh was born on 23 April 1928 in Witbank, Transvaal, South Africa, the eldest son of Dr Robert William Hepburn Welsh, a general practitioner in Pretoria for thirty years, and Evelyn Jessie Watson. He was educated at St John's College, Johannesburg, and the University of Witwatersran

Norman Hughes was born in Bangor, County Down, on 15 May 1915, the son of William Edwin Hughes, a manager of the Royal Insurance Company in Belfast, and his wife Elizabeth Knox, née Campbell, who was artistic and an enthusiastic gardener and golfer. Hughes was educated at Bangor Grammar School and Q

Graeme Bertram ("Blue") Blake was born in Palmerston North but grew up mainly in Wellington, attending Kelburn Primary School and Wellington College. After his medical intermediate year at Victoria University he studied medicine at Otago University from 1958 to 1961. He met Brenda Hayward, a fellow

Maxwell O'Mara was born 28 September 1923 the only son of William Timothy (Tim) O'Mara a grazier and Mary Rose (May) Long. He was educated at the Christian Brothers College, Waverley, NSW, St Ignatius' College, Riverview, NSW and Sydney University (St John's College and St Vincent's Hospital). Du

John Barron was born in Napier, New Zealand on 23 December 191 1. He was educated at Wangunui and Otago where he was a rowing blue and a champion skier, and also attained a civil pilot's licence. He qualified in 1937, was house surgeon at Christchurch Hospital, and then went to Britain for surgical

Noshir Hormasji Antia was a pioneering plastic surgeon in India, particularly known for his work treating patients with leprosy. He was born in Bombay, India, on 8 February 1922, into a Parsi family, the son of Hormasji Antia, a shopkeeper, and Soonamai. He was educated at Esplanade High School, Bom

Ruth Ansley Watson was born on 16 September 1926, the daughter of a distinguished engineer in the motor industry who had, during the war, worked secretly with Sir Frank Whittle on the development of the jet engine. Ruth studied medicine at Birmingham University and graduated in 1949. She decided to

Noel Thompson was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 8 September 1914. His father was John G Thompson, a school teacher, and he was educated at King's College, Newcastle, before qualifying as a licentiate in dental surgery in 1936. He remained in hospital practice and passed his BDS degree in 1940. Duri

Richard Lionel Spittel was born on 9 December 1881 in Tangalle, a town on the south coast of Ceylon, where his father Dr F G Spittel was stationed at that time as Government Medical Officer. He entered the Ceylon Medical College at the turn of the century, and qualified LMS Ceylon in 1905. He entere

Joseph Brownlee was of Irish descent; his father, J J Brownlee, who died in 1928, came from Northern Ireland and was one of the earliest doctors in Christchurch; his mother's maiden name was McKee. Brownlee received his early education at Waitaki Boys High School; he kept a great interest in his

Jagan Nath Madan was born on 12 June 1896 in Sahowala, in the district of Sialkot. He was the second child of Karamchand Adan, a doctor. After school in Batalia he attended the Lahore Medical College in the Punjab where he won a silver medal in anatomy and graduated MB, BS in 1919. After an appointm