James Freeman was a consultant ENT surgeon in Bristol. He studied medicine at Middlesex Hospital Medical School and qualified in 1940. He gained his FRCS in 1948 and his diploma in laryngology and otology in 1950. Prior to his consultant appointment, he was a house surgeon at the Royal National Thr

William Mervyn Owen was a consultant ENT surgeon who worked in Liverpool. He was brought up in Caernarfon, Wales, and studied medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, qualifying with the conjoint diploma in 1937 and the MB BS in 1938. During the Second World War he served in the RAMC and in

Betsy Brown was a consultant ENT surgeon at Bradford Royal Infirmary. She was born on 15 February 1923 in Glasgow, the second daughter of Robert and Isabella Brown. Her father was a master builder, her mother a legal secretary until she married. Together with her sister and brother, Betsy attended H

Paul Abbey was a consultant ENT surgeon in the Windsor area. He was born on 6 January 1920 in Stoke Newington, London, the son of M Abbey, who had arrived in the UK in 1911 from Lodz in Poland. He was the youngest of four children – there were two older brothers and one older sister. The family live

Neil McGuire had a varied surgical career, ranging from active service in the RAMC during the Second World War, followed by general surgical training, 11 years in the Colonial Medical Service, further senior registrar posts (initially in cardiothoracic surgery, before changing to ENT surgery) and fi

Bernard Juby was a consultant ENT surgeon at the Ipswich Hospital. He was born in Stowmarket, Suffolk, on 9 April 1925, the only son of L H Juby, a draper, and Ethel née Quinton. He was educated at Culford School. His early wish was to be a farmer, but was encouraged by his mother to read medicine.

John Humphrey Neame was an ENT surgeon in Norwich. He was born in London on 14 July 1926, the eldest son of Humphrey Neame, an ophthalmological surgeon on the staff of Moorfields Hospital, and Minnie née Goodwin. Neame followed his father to Cheltenham College and then went to Lincoln High School, P

Charles William Smith was a consultant ENT surgeon in York. He was born in Kenton, London, on 24 October 1923, the first son of Cecil Smith and Mabel née Gibb. His father, who had served in the First World War with the Royal West Kent Regiment (known as ‘the Dirty Half Hundred’), was badly wounded i

Rowena Ryan was an ENT consultant at Northwick Park Hospital, London. She was born in East London, South Africa, on 4 February 1958, where her father, Cecil Crawford Lindsay Ryan, was serving as a diplomat. Her mother, Dorothy Hazel née Lampkin, had been a secretary. Her paternal grandfather had qua

Austen Young was an ENT surgeon in Sheffield. He was born in Berwick-upon-Tweed on 16 June 1914, the son of Thomas Mean Young, a business manager, and Frances Emily née Sample. He was educated at George Watson’s College, Edinburgh, and Edinburgh University. During the Second World War he served as a

Alan Fuller was an ENT surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. He was born in Swansea on 18 March 1929, one of three sons, but the only one to survive more than 24 hours. His mother, Sarah Ann (née Williams), was later an hotelier and his father Frank Austin, who died when Alan was five years

Ghassan Hanna was a Palestinian who left his troubled homeland during the Six-Day War of 1967 to realise his dream of becoming a doctor; he subsequently made his home in Britain, where he became a successful ENT surgeon. He was born into a Palestinian Christian family in Nablus on 19 October 1949, o