Ralph Cocker was born on 18 April 1908, the elder son of Frank B. Cocker and Mary, nee Wildman. After early education at William Hulme's Grammar School he entered Victoria University, Manchester, for dental studies. He was awarded the Preston Prize and Medal and qualified as a dental surgeon in 1930

Evan Griffiths was a consultant surgeon at Bridgend Hospitals, South Wales. He was born into West Wales farming stock on 13 December 1916. His father, Edgar Griffiths, owned and ran a grocery business in Llanelli. His mother was Mary Evans. Early schooling was at Llanelli Grammar School, where he di

Gerard Erwin Stein was born in Kanth, Silesia, Germany, on 25 February 1916, the son of Adolf Stein, a clothing manufacturer and retailer, and his wife Frieda, née Masur. He was educated at a local primary school and later at a grammar school in Breslau up to the age of 18. His parents, devout Jews,

Pugh, Roger CouRoger Pugh, a distinguished morbid anatomist, was elected to the Fellowship of the College in 1983 on his retirement, in recognition of his many contributions to surgical pathology. He was born in Talgarth, Brecon, Wales on 23 February 1917, the son of the local doctor, Robert Pugh, w

John Joseph Pritchard was born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1916. He was educated at St Peter's College and at the University of Adelaide, where he graduated in 1934 with the BSc in medical science and mathematics. The same year he obtained the Primary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons

Lionel Robert Stewart Taylor was born on 4 November 1915 at Szechuan, West China, where his father was a missionary. He was educated at Monkton Combe School, Bath, Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and St Thomas's Hospital where he qualified with the Conjoint Board Diploma and the MB ChB Cantab in 1940.

Keith Loraine Barnes, the son of a general practitioner, was born in Blackpool and educated at Arnold School and Manchester University where he qualified in 1940. After resident appointments at Manchester Royal Infirmary he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served throughout the second world war in the

Louis Bloom Cohen spent much of his career as a surgeon in various politically unstable countries in Africa and in Iran. He was born in Glasgow on 16 November 1915, the son of Arthur Israel Cohen, a company director with the Rank Organisation, and Louise née Bloom. He was educated at St Paul's Schoo

Hugh Guerrier was a consultant surgeon in Torbay. He was born in Muswell Hill, London, on 2 January 1913, the only son of Arthur Philip Guerrier, a solicitor, and his wife, Hilda Gwendolene née Davies, whose father was a general practitioner. Hugh was educated at Cambridge House School, Margate, and

Tom Rowntree was a consultant surgeon in Southampton. He was born at 9, Upper Brook Street, London, W1 on 10 July 1916. His father, Cecil Rowntree, was a consultant surgeon at the Cancer (now Royal Marsden) Hospital, London, and held several other honorary posts in and around the city. His mother wa

Roger Miles was born in Liverpool on 1 May 1915, the third child of Edwin Griffith Miles, a Presbyterian minister and Annie Miles, née Jones. Most of his childhood was spent in Felixstowe on the Suffolk coast where he developed his lifelong love of sailing and the sea. He was educated at Bradfield C

One of the leading anatomists of her day, Ruth Bowden was born in India on 21 February 1915. Her father was a missionary, and her aunt, Edith Brown, had founded the Christian Medical College in Ludhiana, Punjab. As was usual, Ruth was sent back to England at the age of eight to be educated and to av