Richard Dennis Wilkins studied medicine at Oxford University and St Thomas's Hospital, London. He qualified MRCS in 1941 and FRCS in 1948. Returning to Canada he entered family practice while also doing some general surgery. He became consultant surgeon to the Marine General Hospital, Goderich, the

Purves was born in Edinburgh on 25 December 1894 and graduated from Edinburgh University in 1917. During the first world war he served as a Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and afterwards returned to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, where he held a number of appointments, including an assistant

Eric Vernon was born on 29 November, 1909, in Marple, Cheshire, the son of Arthur Vernon, furnisher and antique dealer. He was educated at Stockport Secondary School (Hallam Scholar) and Manchester University where he graduated BSc in 1930 and MB, ChB in 1933, winning prizes for pathology and paedia

Gilbert Charrington Wellish was born in Sydney, Australia, on 1 January 1893, the youngest of four children. No details of his parents are available but it is known that several members of the family practised surgery and one nephew was a pathologist. After graduating from Sydney University in 1916

Arthur Nurick was chief medical officer to Williamson Diamonds Ltd, Tanzania, and later a general practitioner in Western Australia. He was the third and last child of Max Nurick, a north London GP, and Annie Nurick. After Haberdashers' Aske's School, he entered the Middlesex Hospital Medical School

George Ewart Wilson was born at Atwood, Ontario and graduated with honours from the Stratford Collegiate Institute. He worked for a short time as a teacher, and then entered the Medical School of the University of Toronto in 1899. He graduated in 1903 with honours, winning the silver medal and the G

Edric Frank Wilson was born on 6 September 1898 and did his medical studies at Guy's Hospital, the course being interrupted by naval service as a Surgeon Probationer during the first world war. On demobilization he returned to Guy's and qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1920. He took the FRCS i

Osler Dickinson, the first of nine children of a Canadian farmer, was born at Hope, Ontario, on 29 September, 1908. There are no physicians recorded in the previous family history so the parents' choice of first name for their oldest child was probably not in hopeful anticipation of his eventual pro

Leonard Snowden Debenham was born on 4 February 1893 and was educated at St Paul's School and Guy's Hospital, which he entered as a dental student but decided to study medicine. In 1916 he graduated BSc with honours and in 1918 qualified with the Conjoint Diploma. The following year he took the MB B

Harold Walker was born in 1875, the elder son of Dr Samuel Walker, JP, MRCS, a general practitioner in Middlesbrough. He was educated at Uppingham and King's College, Cambridge, going into residence in 1893, taking an honours BA and being captain of tennis. For his clinical training he went to St Ba

Campbell was the youngest son of the Rev Robert Campbell, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. His medical education was at Glasgow University, and he qualified there in 1902. While waiting to take his English Fellowship he held posts at the London Hospital, Mildmay Mission Hospital and

Born 27 May 1881, he was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire and later, at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Guy's Hospital. He played association football for Guy's and also ran in the mile. He qualified with the Conjoint Diploma in 1906 and spent several years in house appointments at Guy's.