John Daniel Henry Bird was born in Longcot, Berkshire on 4 August 1908. His father, Daniel Henry, was a schoolmaster. He was educated at Ranelagh School, Bracknell, where he won a scholarship to King's College Hospital Medical School where he had a notable academic career. He gained a BSc in physiol

Guy Pulvertaft was born in Cork on 31 May 1907, the second son of Amos William Pulvertaft, an engineer, and his wife Clara, née Savage. His early education was at Cork Grammar School and Weymouth College before entering Caius College, Cambridge. He obtained first class honours in the Natural Science

Richard John Vulliamy Battle was born on 21 January 1907 at 49 Harley Street, London Wl, the son of William Henry Battle, surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital, London, and Annie Marguerite Vulliamy, who was descended from a long line of clockmakers. He was educated at Highfield School, Liphook, Gresham's

Arthur Lewis Eyre-Brook, or 'E-B', was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon in Bristol. He was born in Inverness, a son of the manse. The family moved south when his father retired, and Arthur was educated at Colyton Grammar School in Devon. He went on to Bristol Medical School, where he did junior post

Bob Wolfe was born in London on 10 October 1907. He came from Eastbourne College to St Thomas's where he qualified in 1932 and where, inspired by his teachers Cyril Nitch and Phillip Mitchiner, he decided on a career of surgery, rather against his father's hopes that they would join in general pract

William Mushin was born in London on 29 September 1910, the younger son of Moses Mushin and Jesse, née Kalmenson. He received his early education at Davenant School and his medical education was at the London Hospital Medical College, where he won the Buxton Prize in anatomy and the Anderson Prize i

Henry Reynolds Thompson was born in Hampstead, London, on 14 February 1908 the son of Harold Theodore Thompson (1878-1935) MD, FRCP, FRCS, physician to the London Hospital (*Lives of the Fellows*, 1930-1951, p.764) and Elinor, née Waller (whose father was a dental surgeon in Alexandria). He was educ

Joseph Patrick Irwin Reidy (Pete) was born in London on 30 October 1907, the second son of four brothers and three daughters: his father Jerome Reidy MD was a general practitioner, son of a doctor, who practised in the Commercial Road and who had married an Irish nurse, Miss F W Dawson. His educatio

Leslie Lauste was a consultant general surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Hove General and the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children in Brighton. Born on 30 March 1908, he was the elder son of the famous French pioneer film cameraman, Emile Lauste, who was awarded the Croix de Guerre

Sir Hedley Atkins was the son of a distinguished Guy's general practitioner, Sir John Atkins KCMG, KCVO, FRCS, and Elizabeth May (née Smith) Hedley, by which name he was always known, was educated at Rugby, Trinity College, Oxford and Guy's. He was a man of commanding presence and excellent physique