Joseph Murray had an illustrious career as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, but his unique achievement was to perform the first successful kidney transplant, on identical twins, in 1954, for which he was awarded a Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 1990. He was born in Milford, Massach

Ian Fraser Muir was a consultant plastic surgeon for the Grampian Health Board and a senior lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. He was born on 26 August 1921 in West Hartlepool, the son of John Kerr Muir and Margaret McKenzie Muir née Duke. He came from a medical family: his father was a general

John Samuel Pattison Wilson, or ‘Iain’, as he was generally known, was a plastic surgeon in London with a particular interest in head and neck surgery. He was born in Edinburgh on 16 October 1923, and at the age of six went away to boarding school at the Edinburgh Academy. He remained in Edinburgh t

Michael David Brough was a consultant plastic surgeon at the Royal Free Hospital, London. He was born on 4 July 1942 in London, where his father, Kenneth David Brough, was chairman of Metal Box Overseas Ltd. His mother was Frances Elizabeth née Davies, the daughter of Walter Ernest Llewellyn Davies,

Benjamin Rank was considered by many to be the father of plastic surgery in Australia. He was born on 14 January 1911 in Heidelberg, Victoria, where his father, Wreghitt Rank, owned a grain store and mill. His mother was Bessie née Smith. He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne, and Ormond Coll

John Frederick North (known as 'JFN') was a consultant plastic surgeon in the west Midlands. He was born in Southport, Lancashire, on 12 May 1917, the only child of John William Allen North, a solicitor, and Frances Jane North née Allen. He went to school at Cheltenham College, and studied medicine

Mary Marchant was a former plastic surgeon in Liverpool. Born in 1924, she qualified in medicine at Liverpool and began her career as a house officer at Smithdown Road Hospital. She trained in surgery and practised in and around Liverpool, before specialising in plastic surgery. She helped set up th

Michael Arthur Senior was a consultant plastic surgeon at the Canniesburn unit, Glasgow Royal Infirmary. He began his career as a dentist; he qualified BDS in Leeds in 1984, spent four years in Bradford as a dentist, and worked in the oral surgery department at Bradford Hospital. He then decided to

Campbell Reid was a leading hand surgeon. He was born on 25 February 1921 in Cardiff, the son of David William Reid, a general practitioner, and Edith Mary née Smith, a nurse. His grandfather, David Spence Clark Reid, had also been a GP. He was educated at Christ’s College, Finchley, where he played

Bernard Crawford was a plastic surgeon in Sheffield. He was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, on 30 November 1919. His father, Alfred Edgar Crawford, was a teacher, and his mother, Nellie Cooper, a nurse. He was educated at Rotherham Grammar School and Sheffield University, where his teachers included E

John Lendrum was a consultant plastic surgeon in Manchester and Rochdale. He was born in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, on 24 October 1936 into a long-established medical family. His father, George McCormack Lendrum, was a general practitioner; his mother, Enid Lendrum née Fletcher, was a housewife.

Bertram Scott received his medical training at St Thomas's Hospital where he qualified in 1940 before serving in the Royal Air Force. It was during this period that he developed his interest in plastic surgery and the treatment of burns. After the war, in 1950, he was appointed as the first senior r