Eric Ralph Davies, the son of Henry William Davies, a master printer and bookbinder, and of Louise Matilda (née Court), was born at Thornton Heath, Surrey, on 22 October 1908. He was educated at Steyning Grammar School, Sussex, and at Guy's Hospital where he won a scholarship and the Lubbock Prize f

Peter Blaxland was very much a family man, with a warm and welcoming manner and an appreciation of the simple pleasures of life. These characteristics concealed a considerable intellectual ability, and gave no hint of his understanding of the problems of surgery, and his gifts, both innate and culti

Peter Rees-Davies was born on 23 February 1913 at Long Ditton, Surrey, the son of John Rees-Davies, a general practitioner, and his wife Grace, née Etheredge. He was educated at Epsom College, and then received his medical education at the London Hospital, as had his father before him. In the sec

Bryan Brooke pioneered the surgical management of inflammatory bowel disease, especially that of ulcerative colitis. He was born on 21 February 1915 in Croydon, the son of a numismatist. Following initial schooling at Bradfield College he went to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, for which he retai

Gaston Arthurs was a consultant neurosurgeon and general surgeon who worked in Australia and Zambia. He was born on 10 March 1917 in Fulham, the son of an Italian father, Guiseppe Nunzio Artuso (the family name was anglicised to Arthurs in 1926) and a mother with a French background, Lilian Blanch B

Hugh Campbell was born in Kimberley, South Africa, on 8 January 1914, the son of Robert Hugh Campbell, an electrical engineer who was South African by birth, and Catherine, née Phillips, who was Welsh. The family left South Africa and settled in Britain when Campbell was six years old, and he subseq

Raymond Alexander King was born on 5 January 1918 and his early education was in China where his father and grandfather were medical missionaries. He entered the London Hospital Medical College for clinical studies and qualified in 1939. Within a few months he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and

John Erskine Macolm was the son of John Malcolm, head of the department of agricultural engineering at Glasgow University, and Jane Matilda née Erskine, whose father was a landowner. He was born in Stirling on 28 May 1914. He was educated at Stirling High School, where he won gold medals in French a

Ralph Ronald Kendrick was born on 3 April 1915 in Camberwell, London, the only son of Samuel and Eleanor Kendrick. He was educated at Dulwich College and received his medical education at King's College Hospital, London, where, following graduation, he became house surgeon to Sir Cecil Wakeley. He t

James Grayton Brown was born in Victoria, Australia on 27 February 1913. He was educated at the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, Melbourne University, Trinity College and at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He qualified MB BS Melbourne in 1936 and MS Melbourne in 1939. In 1939 he won the Hal

Frederick Samuel Gorrill was born on 30 July 1913 at Okehampton, Devon, the son of a village constable. He was educated at Torquay Grammar School and King's College, London, where he obtained an honours BSc in chemistry in 1934. He became involved in research in biochemistry, and was later appointed

George Reginald Crawshaw was born on 9 July 1916. He studied medicine at Manchester University and qualified MB ChB in 1939. He was OC No 2 (Brit) Mobile Neurosurgical Unit of the RAMC and then became a civilian medical practitioner with the Military Hospital, Colchester. After gaining his FRCS i