Reginald Harry (Dick) Shephard was consultant neurosurgeon to the Derby Royal Infirmary. Born in 1918 he was one of 10 children and spent much of his younger days helping out on the family farm in Hampshire. Enrolling at University College London with a scholarship, he won a Rockefeller scholarship

Eric Sidney ('Sid') Watkins, professor of neurosurgery at the London Hospital Medical School, transformed safety standards in Formula One motor racing. He was born in Liverpool on 6 September 1928, and won scholarships to Prescot Grammar School and then Liverpool University, where he read medicine.

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

Alec Daws, neurosurgeon at Royal Preston Hospital, was born on 26 July 1922 at Goadby Marwood, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, the son of Walter Arthur Daws, a severely disabled Canadian war pensioner, and his wife, Ruth Anne. His early school days were spent at the Victoria School, Montreal, but he

Laurence Levy was a pioneering neurosurgeon in Zimbabwe. He was born on 16 November 1921 in London, the son of Hyman Levy, professor of mathematics at Imperial College, and Marion Aitken née Levy, the daughter of a schoolmaster. He was educated at King's School, Wimbledon, and, when his family moved

Anthony Joseph 'Tony' Bookallil was a neurosurgeon at Newcastle, New South Wales. He studied medicine at Sydney University, after completing a pharmacy degree, graduating with honours in 1967. He then completed two years residency at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, before heading to England, where

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

Reginald Angel Money was born in Sydney on 3 March 1897, the elder son of Dr Angel Money, MD London, FRCP, who had been assistant honorary physician at Great Ormond Street, University College Hospital and the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, Queen Square, before emigrating to Australia. He wa

Born in Rochdale, Lancashire, on 19 May 1947, Richard Harold Lye's father Vincent was a technical salesman. His mother was Agnes née Ashurst. He was educated at Rochdale Convent Preparatory School, Bury Grammar School for Boys, and Manchester University. There he completed an honours BSc degree in p

Jack Small was born on 18 March 1913 in Birmingham, the son of Ernest Small MBE, a mechanical engineer who designed the barrage balloon winches used in air defence in the second world war, and his wife Charlotte Elizabeth, née Morton. Jack was educated at Wylde Green College and Birmingham Universit

John Potter was a consultant neurosurgeon and director of postgraduate education at Oxford. He was born in London on 28 February 1920. His father, Alistair Richardson Potter, was a brewer. His mother was Mairi Chalmers née Dick, a housewife whose father had edited the songs of Robert Burns. He was e

Bernard Williams was born on 20 April 1932 in Stockport, Cheshire, the son of Francis Bernard Williams, a shoe retailer, and Hope Johnson, the daughter of the sea captain and author Walter Rise Hawkins Johnson. He was educated at Stretford Grammar School and the University of Birmingham, where he qu