Herbert Kitchener Bourns was born in County Galway on 14 July 1916, the sixth of seven children of Harry J Bourns, a farmer and landowner, and his wife Esther Josephine, née Cornwall. His early education was at St Columba's College near Dublin, after which he entered Trinity College Dublin for his m

Olney, who was born in 1950, received his medical education at Westminster Hospital, qualifying with the conjoint diploma and the London MB BS in 1973. After a year working in various surgical specialties in Australia, he completed his training in Yorkshire. He was tutor in accident and plastic surg

John Fulford was the former director of Birmingham General Hospital's accident and emergency department and a consultant surgeon. He was born in Birmingham in 1919 and entered the medical school there in 1937. He had a most distinguished undergraduate career and qualified in 1942, after passing seve

John Hindle trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital and after junior posts specialised in accident and emergency surgery. He was a registrar to Tilbury and Riverside Hospital and Accident Officer at the Middlesex Hospital before being appointed consultant in charge of the emergency department at Luton

William Gissane was born in Sydney on 26 April 1898 and educated at Ignatius College, where he captained the cricket and boxing and played rugby for the public schools of New South Wales. He served in the RAA during the first world war and returned to Australia to study medicine at the University of

Geoffrey William Hinchley (Geoff) was an accident and emergency surgeon at Chase Farm Hospital, Enfield, London. Born in Barrow in Furness on 4 December 1959, he was the second of four children. At Barrow Boys Grammar School he excelled both in class and on the athletics field. He studied medicine a

Ranjit Basu was born on 15 August 1926 and studied for his MB BS at Grant Medical College in Bombay. He became a Fellow of the College in 1957 and came to England to live in Liverpool. He became surgical registrar at Alder Hey Children's Hospital and then senior registrar at the Liverpool Thoraci

Nicholas Warren studied medicine at London University and the London Hospital, qualifying MB, BS in 1976. He did house jobs in accident and emergency medicine at the London and for the North West Thames Regional Health Authority. He passed the fellowship of the college in 1983 and became an accident

Richard Harrison was a consultant orthopaedic and accident and emergency surgeon in south west Cumbria. He was born on 8 July 1922 and studied medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School, London, qualifying MB BS in 1944. He was a house surgeon at the Royal Cancer Hospital, a senior registr

Denley Clark was a consultant surgeon at Pinderfields Hospital and Pontefract General Infirmary. He was born in Thailand (then Siam) on 12 August 1908. His father, Percy Leonard Archibald Clark, was a missionary, as was his mother, Mary Lenore née Denley. He was educated in Thailand until the age of

Thomas Lowden was a casualty surgeon in Sunderland. He was born in Leeds on 25 March 1910, where his father, Harold Lowden, was an engineer and his mother, Ethel Annie Lamb, a schoolteacher. From Leeds Grammar School he won a Holroyd scholarship to Keble College, Oxford, and went back to Leeds for h

Albert Patrick ('Paddy') Dignan was a former director of Army surgery. He was a remarkable character who was born into a modest family in Dublin. His father, Joseph, a tailor, was able to get all five of his sons through medical school. (Whether an ability to stitch can be inherited remains open to