William Girdwood was born in Johannesburg on 25 May 1913, the son of William, a general practitioner and FRCS Edinburgh. Two uncles and his grandfather were all doctors, training in Edinburgh. After Grey High School, Port Elizabeth, William entered Witwatersrand University and won the South African

Donald Patrick Robertson qualified MD from Manitoba University in 1938. He passed the FRCS in 1947. He was surgeon to the Public General Hospital and St Joseph's Hospital in Chatham, Ontario, before joining the surgical staff of the Huntsville District Memorial Hospital in Huntsville, Ontario. He

John Bryant Curtis qualified MB BS at Melbourne University in 1939. After two years in junior posts at the Royal Melbourne Hospital he served as a medical officer with the Royal Australasian Air Force from 1943 to 1946 and in the latter year gained the MS from his university. In the following year h

Stanley Francis Reid, while a medical student at Melbourne, took a keen interest in flying and was one of a small band of students who joined the Citizen Air Force at Laverton, where he won his 'wings'. After qualifying MB BS Melbourne in 1936 he held posts as RMO in the Royal Melbourne Hospital, 19

Alan Sutherland had some remarkable experiences as a doctor at war. He was a prisoner of war for one day when, as a member of the 6th Field Ambulance, 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, he was captured by German paratroops during the evacuation from Crete in 1941. They were killed so he escaped. L

Alfred Mark Abrahams was born on 30 December 1912 in Norwich, the third son of Herman Abrahams, minister of religion, and Zelda. He was educated at Holy Trinity School and King George V Grammar School Southport, from where he was the first boy to win a Southport Borough Scholarship and the Robert Ge

David Aiken qualified in Dublin in 1940 and retained a home in Londonderry all his life. He became a Fellow of the College in 1947 and practised in the Sheffield area. After holding posts as senior surgical registrar at the United Sheffield Hospital and resident surgical officer for the Christie Hos

Leslie Peter Clark was born in New Zealand in 1909 and after early education entered Otago Medical School. He qualified in 1914 and two years later came to England where he undertook house officer appointments at All Saints' Hospital and the West London Hospital. At the outbreak of war he was on the

John Roland Grimoldby was born in Sheffield on 2 April 1912, the son of Edward John Grimoldby, a gentleman's outfitter, and Edith (née Woodcock). He was educated at Barnsley and District Holgate Grammar School and the University of Sheffield. He graduated BSc with first class honours in 1933 before

Henry Moore was born in Fiji in 1912, and graduated MB BS from Sydney in 1937. Following graduation he came to Britain with two research fellowships in 1938. He served in the RAMC throughout the war in the Middle East, Italy and Western Europe, and was awarded the MC in Belgium (for 'liberating a ca

Stanley Thomas McCollum was a former President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. He was born in Athboy, County Meath, on 3 May 1918, where his father, Thomas, was a farmer. His mother was Violet née Roe. From the National School, Athboy, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he won th

Kevin McNamara was born in Auckland on 14 January 1915. His mother died when he was 12, leaving seven children, of whom Kevin was the oldest. His father remarried and had a further nine children. He was educated at the Sacred Heart College, from which he went to Otago University, qualifying at the a