Allen James Whitaker, the fifth son of Dr James Smith Whitaker who was formerly a family doctor in Great Yarmouth, was born in Hendon on 16 April 1905. His father, having been the first medical secretary of the British Medical Association, became senior medical officer at the Ministry of Health on i

Born on 8 December 1870 at Marlborough where his father was manager of the Bank, he followed his three elder brothers to Marlborough College and St Mary's Hospital, which he entered with a scholarship. He served as house surgeon, house physician, and resident obstetric officer, and intended to becom

Kenneth Sinclair Elphinstone Macrae was born on 6 August 1914. He was the second child and first son of Kenneth William Duncan Macrae, MB ChB Edinburgh, a general practitioner in Rainford for 51 years, and of Isabel Marion Duncan Macrae (née Adams). He was educated at Ormskirk Grammar School and the

James Llewellin Digby Roberts was born on 15 July 1912 at Kalimpong, India, where his father was a medical missionary. His early years were spent in India, where a favourite family pastime was butterfly hunting on horseback: the superb family collection, which his father initiated, was to become a l

Ronald George Gibson, the only child of George Edward Gibson, a pharmacist, and of Gladys Muriel (née Prince), was born at Southampton on 28 November 1909. He was educated at Osborne House School, Romsey, and Mill Hill School before graduating from St John's College, Cambridge. He then went to St Ba

George Elkington was born in Newport, Shropshire on 20 March 1889, the eldest child of two general practitioners, Ernest Alfred and Annie Isabella Baddeley. The Baddeley practice had existed in Newport since the 1770's and the Elkington family had practised medicine in Birmingham since the 1830's. G

John Fry was born in South London on 16 June 1922, the son of a general practitioner, and was educated at Whitgift School, Croydon, and Guy's Hospital Medical School, qualifying in 1944. He took his FRCS diploma in 1947, but very soon decided to take up general practice, and he remained a single-han

Derek Stevenson was house officer at St Thomas's Hospital, London from 1948 to 1949 and then at St Peter's Hospital, Chertsey from 1949 to 1950. He then went to Kenya with the RAMC before taking up a senior house post at Nottingham General Hospital in 1952. He moved to Australia in 1954 and worked a

Lionel Canaan was born in England where he received his medical education before travelling to the United States. He finally settled into practice in Massapequa Park where he was much respected as a family doctor and it was said of him that he "always kept his fees as low as possible". He wrote shor

Richard Roberts (Roy) was born in Holywell in 1920. After school in North Wales he studied at the Liverpool University Medical School graduating in 1942. He played an active part in the Medical Student Society and was an excellent speaker at meetings. He decided on a career in surgery and took the p

Reginald Walter Patrick Hosford was born on 23 June 1898, the eldest son of Dr B Hosford, a general practitioner in Highgate and elder brother of John P Hosford, FRCS, surgeon to St Bartholomew's Hospital. He was educated at Highgate School where he was a foundation scholar and was admitted to St Ba

John Henderson Hunt was born in India on 3 July 1905, the son of Edmund Henderson Hunt, MCh, FRCS (1874-1952, see 1952-1964 volume, page 205) and the elder brother of Alan Henderson Hunt DM, MCh, FRCS (1908-1970, see 1965-1973 volume, page 173). His mother was Laura Mary, daughter of Colonel Sir Jam