Born on 22 July 1875 the only child of Ernest Wirgman and Mary Williams his wife, he was educated at Harrow and University College Hospital, where he served as ophthalmic house surgeon. He was clinical assistant at the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital, Moorfields, and practised throughout his career

Born 28 February 1862, the second son of W J Collins, MD, of King's College, Aberdeen, who practised at 1 Albert Terrace, Regent's Park, NW and his wife, Mary Anne Francisca, eldest daughter of Edward Treacher, a descendant of the Huguenot family of Garnault; his elder brother was Sir William Job Co

Michael O'Riordan was a consultant ophthalmologist at the Croydon Eye Unit, Mayday Hospital. He was born in Markham, Gwent, on 14 August 1929, the son of Michel Joseph O'Riordan, a general practitioner, and Milwen Mary Lima O'Riordan née Jones, a teacher. He came from a medical background - his fath

Born at Edgbaston, Birmingham on 29 October 1845, the son of Brooke Smith. His father belonged to an old Unitarian family and the son was named after Joseph Priestley, the preacher and discoverer of oxygen, who was driven to the United States when the Birmingham mob burnt his house. Brooke Smith was

Howard Reed was an ophthalmologist in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was born in London on 28 April 1914, the son of Morris William Reed, a chartered secretary, and Emmeline Louise Reed. He attended West Ham Secondary School and first qualified as an optometrist. He then decided to become a doctor a

Munawar Ahmad was educated at Punjab University and graduated MB BS in 1961 from King Edward Medical College, Lahore. After house appointments at the Mayo Hospital he took his primary FRCS in Lahore, and went to the USA in 1962 as an intern. Three years later he came to Britain and started his ca

Derrick Tilton Vail was born in Cincinnati on 15 May 1898, and did his medical course at Harvard University, graduating MD in 1923. He then spent a year as ophthalmic intern at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and in 1926 he became instructor in ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati C

Samir Kumar Biswas was born in Khatura, a village in the Nadir district of West Bengal on 1 July 1929 and was educated at the St Xavier's College and the Medical College, Calcutta. He was always a meritorious student and graduated in 1954 and passed DOMS of Calcutta University in 1956. He then went

Anthony Gordon Palin was born in Wallington, Surrey, on 29 July 1907, the son of Frederick Palin, a barrister. He was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, Oxford University and St Thomas's Hospital, qualifying in 1933. After completing post-graduate training he was appointed consultant ophthal

Tom Casey was born on 8 October 1929 in Limerick, the son of Michael Casey, a farmer. He was educated at University College, Dublin, and after specialising in ophthalmology became registrar first at the Westminster Hospital and later at Moorfields. He possessed a happy combination of inspiration, su

Brian Harcourt was born on 3 March 1934, the son of John Ellison Harcourt, a scientific instrument manufacturer in Liverpool and Bertha Florence Kneen. His grandfather, Richard Eugene Harcourt FRCS (1858-1921), was an ophthalmic surgeon, also in Liverpool. Harcourt was educated at Quarry Bank High S

Charles Malcolm Phillips, the only son of Sir Charles Phillips, CBE, a company director, and of Sylvia Maud Phillips (née Schunke), was born at Nairobi, Kenya, on 5 July 1918. He was educated at St. Clare Preparatory School in Walmer, Kent, and at Sherborne School where he secured an Open Science Pr