Michael Reilly was born in Sheringham, Norfolk, on 30 August 1913, several weeks post-mature. This procrastination was to be a feature of his life. There was a suggestion that he should be christened 'Fabius', after the great Roman general Fabius Maximus Cunctator, but he was saddled with the family

Thomas Henry Tweedy was a consultant surgeon in Gateshead. He was born in Cramlington, Northumberland, on 23 April 1918, the son of Ernest Victor and Mary Elizabeth Tweedy. His father was an 'outside manager' for Scottish and Newcastle Breweries, but also accompanied silent movies, having taught him

Roger Armour was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, who in retirement invented an inexpensive ophthalmoscope, which could be used in poorer regions of the world. He was born Roger Hanif Ahmed on 19 August 1934 in Murree, a small hill station in the foothil

Jeff Dolphin was a senior consultant surgeon in Walsall. He was born on 11 October 1929 in Aldridge in the West Midlands, the son of Raymond Dolphin and Joyce Dolphin née Phipps. He grew up in Harborne, Birmingham and was educated at King Edward VI Five Ways School and King Edward’s School, Edgbasto

John Thomas Hobbs was a renowned vascular surgeon, researcher and educator. He was born on 18 January 1931 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to John Leonard Hobbs and Winifred Maud Hobbs née Haynes. He qualified in 1954 at St Bartholomew’s Medical School, London, and spent the next three years as

Barry Partridge was born in 1934 to Annie Louisa Johnson, a secretary, and Cyril Partridge, a builder. With a younger sister, Margaret, he spent the first 4 years of his life on the family farm in Ngaere, Taranaki. The family moved to Te Puke when he was four and he attended Te Puke Primary and High

David Pryce Goodwin was a consultant in general and vascular surgery at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading and a consultant at Newbury District Hospital. He was born in Larkfield, Kent on 10 May 1936. His father, Geoffrey Pryce Goodwin, had qualified at St Mary’s Hospital, London in the 1930s and

Michael Middleton was an Edinburgh Scot from a medical family who became a general and vascular surgeon in Birmingham, active in training and examining. His father, David Skene Middleton, had qualified in both medicine and dentistry in the 1920s but practiced initially as an anaesthetist. An enth

John Lloyd Provan was born on 9 August 1931 in Newport, England. His father was Andrew Lloyd, a chief chemist for the Milk Marketing Board, and his mother was Gwyneth Mary Evans. He attended Adams' Grammar School, Newport, Shropshire, from 1939 to 1945. From there he went to King's College School, W

Felix Weale was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at Dartford and Gravesend Hospital. He was born in Prague on 15 February 1925 and was a refugee to the United Kingdom in 1939. His father, Frederick Weil, was a journalist and a prominent critic of Hitler in the Czechoslovak press. He was edu

Dick Greenwood was born on 3 May 1928, the son of John Herbert Kay Greenwood, and Hilda née Wild. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he rowed for his college, and did his clinical training at St Thomas's. After junior appointments in London, Exeter and Gl

Ramesh Nigam was founder professor and head of the department of surgery at the Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, India, and a distinguished vascular surgeon. Born on 12 August 1920, his father had served in the Indian Medical Service, and then became professor of surgery at the King George's Med