Joseph Francis Silva was a distinguished orthopaedic surgeon who developed the Silva replacement elbow. He was born on 12 September 1915 in Moratuwa, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He was educated at St Peter’s College, Colombo, and then at Ceylon Medical College in the same city. He qualified in 1941 with

Known affectionately as ‘Dru’, David Ronald Petersgarth Urquhart was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, from 1957 until 1981. Although in many ways a private person, he was undoubtedly one of the established St Thomas’ personalities in the post-war era. His skills were

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

George Heyse-Moore was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon who practised at the James Paget Hospital, Great Yarmouth. He was born and brought up in Exeter, where his father, Henry Dendy Moore, practised as a general surgeon. The ‘Heyse’ component of his name came from his mother, who was a sculptor pra

Harry Platt, the eldest son of Ernest Platt, a master velvet cutter, and of Jessie Cameron Platt (née Lindsey), was born at Thornham, Lancashire, on 7 October 1886. His father later became chairman of United Velvet Cutters, Ltd, and both parents lived to be nonagenarians. Harry's life was dominated

Hugh Phillips, the first surgeon from Norfolk to become president of the Royal College of Surgeons, died within his first year of office. A past president of the British Orthopaedic Association and the orthopaedic section of the Royal Society of Medicine, Hugh influenced every aspect of orthopaedic

Graham Belham was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and, for a time, clinical director of surgery at Mount Vernon and for the Watford Hospital NHS Trust. He also practised privately in local hospitals. He was born in Thetford, Norfolk, on 3 March 1955, the son of Walter and Joyce Belham. He had one b

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

Robert Bruce Salter, known as 'Bob', a sixth generation Canadian, was a pioneer in orthopaedic surgery in children. He was born in Stratford, Ontario, on 15 December 1924 and graduated from the University of Toronto. He then worked for two years at the Grenfell Medical Mission in Newfoundland, and s

Peter Shires was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Royal County Hospital, Guildford, Surrey. He was born in Huddersfield, the son of Frank Shires, a wool merchant, and Marion née Eastwood. He was the nephew of Bertram Shires, a radiologist at St Thomas' and Great Ormond Street hospitals. He wa