Born on 24 May 1914, Walter was the first son of William Theophilus Wiggins-Davies, a manufacturing stationer in Birmingham. He was educated at King Edward School in Birmingham and at Trinity College, Cambridge, before his clinical studies at St Thomas's Hospital. He became a senior surgical registr

Ivor Hughes was born at Tredegar on 23 December 1901, to Morgan Howell Hughes, a provision merchant and Harriet Hughes (née Reynolds). He attended Llandovery College and qualified from Bristol in 1927 with the Conjoint Diploma. After a resident appointment at Bristol he came to London and was RMO at

John Crawford Adams was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at St Mary's Hospital, London, and the author of several acclaimed textbooks on orthopaedic surgery. He was born in Derbyshire, the son of a general practitioner, and was educated at Oakham School. He entered St Mary's Hospital Medical School

Kenneth Edgar Bond spent much of his career as a surgeon working in India. The son of Edward Vines Bond, the rector of Beddington, and Rose Edith née Bridges, the daughter of a landowner, he was born on 24 October 1908 and was educated at Mowden School, Brighton, and Haileybury College, before going

Leslie Temple was a consultant thoracic surgeon at Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool. He was born in London in 1915 and studied medicine at University College Hospital. After qualifying in 1939, he completed house posts in Aylesbury and Canterbury, and was then a resident surgical officer at Wigan Infi

Charles Philip Nicholas, 'Nick' to his friends, was born in Birmingham on 9 November 1913. His father was a dental surgeon. His maternal great uncle Charles Warden was an FRCS and founder of the Cripples' Hospital, Broad Street, Birmingham. He was educated at Bromsgrove School and the University of

Charles John Gordon was born on 24 June 1910, in Angmering, Sussex. He came of a long line of clerical forbears, several of whom were bishops in Lincoln. His father was the Reverend George Gordon, who was Vicar of Angmering. His mother, Eileen Hutton, came of an army family. He was the only son and

Born in Liverpool on 26 December 1915, to Henry Ramsay Monro and Marjorie (née Wace) Robert Monro claimed direct descent from the Monros of Foulis and London. No less than five generations of his family held the DM Oxon and FRCP London and served as physicians on the staff of the Bethlem Hospital, b

Alfred John Drew, known as ‘Jack’, was a former consultant general surgeon in Walsall. He was born in Ceylon on 17 February 1916, the son of the chief pilot for the harbour at Colombo. He was educated at Nuwara Eliya, and was then sent to Ipswich School at the age of 11. He became head boy and rugby

Janet Bottomley was born in London on 20 May 1915. Her father was (William) Cecil Bottomley, KCMG, CB, OBE, and was an assistant Under-Secretary of State at the Colonial Office and later Senior Crown Agent for the Colonies. Her mother, Alice Robinson, was the daughter of Sir Richard Robinson, Chairm

William Harry Jayne Weston was born in Liverpool on 28 November 1903 and educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Crosby. After graduating in science in 1925 he spent nearly eight years as a schoolmaster at Pangbourne and Windsor. At the age of 30 he took up medicine and qualified at St George's Hospit

Henry Edwin Hobbs was born in London on 4 February 1910, the son of Henry Hobbs, an officer in the Salvation Army. His early education was at Grade schools in Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver in Canada before returning to England where he attended Tottenham Boys' Junior Technical School. His full-tim