Ascroft was born on 4 September 1906, the only son of James Arthur Ascroft of Bootle, Lancashire and Hannah Byers of Culton, Cumberland. He was educated at Worksop, the Middlesex Hospital, and the University of Strasbourg, qualifying in 1930; the next year he gained the gold medal at his Master of S

Alan Sutcliffe Kerr was born in Liverpool on 31 May 1909 and educated at the Liverpool Institute for Boys and Liverpool University. He graduated MB ChB with first class honours in 1932. He chose a career in surgery and his interests were directed into the field of neurosurgery. Three years later

Patrick Clarke was a consultant neurological surgeon at Middlesbrough General Hospital. He was born in Cheltenham on 16 April 1921, the son of Edward Rutland Clarke, a headmaster of a grammar school who had gained the Military Cross in 1917, and Edith Frances Clarke née Smith, a housewife. He was ed

Loyal Edward Davis was born on 17 January 1896 in Galesburg, Illinois, the son of Al Davis, a railroad engineer who had worked from the age of seven. It was assumed by all in that small community, except his father, that he would earn his living on the Burlington Railroad. Al, however, frequently ad

Bernard Fairburn, the son of Lazarus and Leah Fairburn (née Margolin) was born at Christchurch, Hampshire, on 3 August 1916. He was educated at Bec School, Battersea, securing an arts scholarship in 1933 before entering the Middlesex Hospital Medical School in the following year. He qualified MRCS,

Sydney Green was a neurosurgeon based in Washington DC and Bethesda. He was born in Glasgow on 10 June 1915 and lived in a one bedroom apartment with his parents and four older siblings, Lionel, Fagah, Mae and Lillah. He often spoke lovingly about his parents Hymen Harry and Sarah Sayetta Green, and

James Calvert, neurosurgeon, was born at Mount Bute, near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, where his parents owned a sheep farm. He was educated first at the local state school and then at Ballarat Grammar School. On leaving school, he worked briefly for the Commercial Bank of Australia, before enlist

Rashid Choudhury was a consultant neurosurgeon at the Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, Saudi Arabia. He was born in a remote village in the district of Hailakandi, Assam, India, the son of Imran Ali Choudhury and Sumsun Choudhury. He came from a humble background and had to work hard to become a surgeo

Christopher Thomas Blaiklock was a consultant neurosurgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. He was born on 27 July 1936 in Newcastle upon Tyne and raised in Northumbria. His parents, Thomas Snowdon Blaiklock and Constance Rebecca Blaiklock, were both doctors. He attended Oundle School, Northampton, and

John Gleave was a consultant neurosurgeon at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and an accomplished oarsman. He was born in Walsall, Staffordshire (now West Midlands), on 6 April 1925, the son of John Wallace Gleave, a priest, and his wife, Dorothy (née Littlefair). He was educated at Uppingham Scho

Born at Chester on 29 June 1902, the only daughter of James and Margaret Beck, she was educated at the Queen's School there and at the London School of Medicine for Women, where she won prizes and scholarships. After a few successful years as a general surgeon, she decided to specialise in neurosurg

Scott Charlton qualified MB, BS Sydney in 1933 and became resident medical officer to the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, in 1934. He served in the second world war as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the RAMC and eventually became honorary neurosurgeon to the Sydney Hospital and the Prince Henry Hospi