Dick Rees was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at West Wales District General Hospital, Carmarthen. He was educated at Bishop Gore Grammar School, Swansea, and then went on to study medicine at Middlesex Hospital medical school. After qualifying he did 18 months of house appointments before joining

Myer Makin was professor of orthopaedics at Hadassah University, Jerusalem. He was born in Birkenhead in March 1919, the son of Leon Makin and Rebecca nee Goldman, furniture dealers. He studied medicine at Liverpool University and was house surgeon at Walter Municipal Hospital, Liverpool, before joi

Ronald ('Ron') McRae was an orthopaedic surgeon in Glasgow. He was born and bred in Ayrshire. His father, Kenneth McRae, was a policeman in the small town of Maybole. His mother, Annabella Robina McRae née Elder, had been a governess. Ron was educated at the local grammar school, Carrick Academy. Af

Geoffrey Newton was an orthopaedic surgeon in Derby and one of the pioneers of knee replacement surgery. He was born on 17 July 1930 in Salford, Greater Manchester, one of three children of a sheet metal worker and his wife. From Stockport School, he won a state scholarship to read medicine at Manch

Frank Schiess was an orthopaedic surgeon in Macclesfield. He was born in Singapore on 24 July 1940. His parents were Swiss: his father, Edward, was a businessman, his mother was Elsa (née Pfister). The family escaped to Perth, Western Australia, just before the arrival of the Japanese. After the war

Francis Tasker (‘Frank’) Wheeldon was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Plymouth. Born in north London on 1 August 1917, his father was permanent private secretary to Sir Thomas Lipton, the tea magnet. He was educated at Weston-super-Mare Grammar School and Westminster Hospital, qualifying in 1941

Robin Bendall was an orthopaedic surgeon in London. He was born on 1 April 1933 in Notthingham, where his father, Oliver Francis Bendall, was a wholesale grocer. His mother was Winnie May née Barrett. He attended West Bridgford Grammar School, Nottingham, and then went on to Guy’s Hospital Medical S

David Harding-Jones was an orthopaedic surgeon in Carmarthen, Wales. He was born in Stratford, East London, on 3 August 1936, one of a pair of identical twins. His father, William, was a Presbyterian minister. His mother was Gertrude Alice née Roberts. He was educated at Bancroft's School, Woodford

Alf Nachemson was one of the giants of his generation in the now recognised and developing specialty of orthopaedic spinal surgery. He spent a year or more in the USA, involved in editorial work and research, particularly at Boston, and remained a popular figure at American spinal conferences, where

Joseph Thambiah Motha was an orthopaedic surgeon in West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds. He was born in Trivandrum, Kerala, India on 13 January 1947, the sixth child and fifth son of Vincent Motha, a businessman, and Philomena Motha. His father died when he was just three months old and Motha was

Maurice Edmond Müller was an eminent Swiss orthopaedic surgeon who developed internal fixation techniques to treat bone fractures and designed new hip protheses. He was born in Biel, Switzerland, and studied medicine at the universities of Neuchâtel, Berne and Lausanne. He gained his MD from the Uni

John Monk was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Liverpool. He was educated in South Africa, at the Christian Brothers' College in Bokburg. After finishing his schooling, he worked in the family business and then went to the UK, hoping to start an acting career, but soon realised he wanted to be a