John Chamberlain was a consultant in general and vascular surgery to the Newcastle upon Tyne hospitals for 26 years. He was born in Leicester on 27 January 1938 to Jack and May Chamberlain. He was an only child. As a young boy John was fascinated by steam engines and was very proud of his grandfathe

Frank Cockett was internationally known for his ground-breaking advances in the understanding of varicose veins and venous ulcers. He identified a new condition called the 'ankle blow out syndrome' and described the operation needed to cure it, which became universally known as 'the Cockett operatio

John Fairgrieve was a consultant vascular and general surgeon in Cheltenham who, in his youth, was an outstanding sprinter representing Great Britain in the 1948 Olympic Games and reaching the quarter final in the 200m. Although John was English, being born in London, he had Scottish roots as bot

John Bernard Kinmonth, the elder son and eldest of four children of Dr George Henry Kinmonth and Delia Kinmonth (née Daly), was born on 9 May 1916 in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare, Ireland. As a result of the troubles the family migrated to England in 1920 when Dr Kinmonth set up his general practice i

Alan John Edwards was born on 25 July 1928 and educated at Drayton Manor School. He served in the Royal Air Force from 1946 to 1949 and after a year at Brunel College, London, entered Christ's College, Cambridge in 1951 as a scholar and took a first-class honours degree in the Natural Sciences Tripo

John 'Jack' Bradley was a consultant surgeon at Hillingdon and Mount Vernon hospitals. He was born in Paulton, Somerset, on 20 October 1927, the second child and only son of William Henry Bradley, a medical officer and epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health, and Gladys Maud Bradley née Smith, the

David Pratt was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at St James’s University Hospital, Leeds. He studied medicine in Leeds, where he had a distinguished undergraduate career, gaining first class honours and graduating with distinctions in surgery and forensic medicine. After house appointments

Ian Massey was a consultant general and vascular surgeon at the Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, Lincolnshire. Born in Birmingham on 31 May 1939, Ian was the son of Charles William Massey, a master baker and managing director of a large bakery in Lancashire, and Ellen née Astley. He had one brother, Alasta

Gavin Smillie (formerly Smellie) was a consultant general and vascular surgeon and honorary clinical lecturer at the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow. He was born in Glasgow in 1926, the son of William Smellie, a geologist, and Janet Smellie née Douglas, a school teacher. He spent his early years in Arge

Clive Stephenson was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 12 November 1933 and was educated at Scots College. He studied medicine at Wellington, where he qualified in 1957, held house posts and was a surgical registrar. After a year demonstrating anatomy in Otago, he went to London in 1962 to speci

Mike Butler helped establish and develop general surgical services in the Isle of Thanet, Margate and Ramsgate, Kent. He was born on 21 January 1924 in London, the third child and first son of Frank Butler and Ailsa Butler née Beckwith. His father served in the First World War and was a dentist, ori

Ron Grimley was born in Birmingham on 21 February 1946 and was educated at grammar school in Small Health and Birmingham University. After junior posts, mainly at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, he was a lecturer on the surgical unit under Sir Geoffrey Slaney. He was appointed vascular and general sur