Sir Patrick Holmes Sellors was one of the most prominent ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom during the latter part of the 20th century. Appointed to the consultant staff of St George's Hospital, London, at the early age of 31, the majority of his NHS sessions he enjoyed at the Croydon eye unit,

Neil Watson was a hand surgeon in Oxford and Milton Keynes, and later a successful artist. He was born on 13 February 1944 at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. Neil's father, John Stuart Ferra Watson, and paternal grandfather were both Guy's-trained doctors. As his father served in the Royal Army M

Ahmed Abdel Aziz Yacoub, widely known as Ahmed Abdel Aziz, was a pioneering Sudanese cardiothoracic surgeon. A charismatic leader and gifted teacher, he was a staunch advocate of training in surgery in the Sudan. He was born in Gubbat Salim, Abri, in northern Sudan on 12 January 1931. His father was

David Bouchier-Hayes was a professor of surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). He was born on 30 December 1940 in Dublin, one of 12 children of Thomas Bouchier-Hayes and Mona Bouchier-Hayes née Graham. His father was born in Limerick in 1907 and became a prominent and much-loved

Alan Ridgway was a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. He was born in Stanmore, Middlesex. His father, Albert Edward George Ridgway, was a GP; his mother, Helene Genvieve Ridgway née Jansanne, was a couturière. His paternal grandfather qualified as a doctor three months a

Michael Arthur Pugh was a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at University College Hospital, London and the Whittington Hospital. He was born in Manchester on 6 October 1929, the son of Robert Arthur Pugh, a journalist, and Norah Margaret Pugh née Rees, a market research executive. The family

John Lennard-Jones was a consultant gastroenterologist at University College and St Mark’s hospitals, and a professor of gastroenterology at the London Hospital. Known to his colleagues as ‘LJ’, he was a gentle but inspiring teacher, a caring physician and a prodigious clinical researcher. Michael F

Jack Collis was a pioneering thoracic surgeon. He was born in Harborne, Birmingham, on 14 July 1911, the son of Walter Thomas Collis, an industrial chemist, and Dora Charton Reay. His choice of medicine was greatly influenced by his local GP and his two medical uncles, one of whom was a professor of

Dilip Raje was a former consultant surgeon in Jamaica and senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies. He was born in Gwalior, India, on 26 October 1936, the son of Raghunath Raje, a professor of English literature, and Vaidehi née Kotwal, a headmistress. He was educated at the Aryan Educat

Bill Maguire was an orthopaedic surgeon in Brisbane, Australia. He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, on 6 March 1925, the second son of John Francis Maguire, a schoolmaster, and his wife, Margaret née Jones. His father had lost his leg in France during the First World War and Bill later based

Leader Stirling was an eminent missionary surgeon and a former minister for health in Tanzania. He was born on 19 January 1906 in Essex. Many of the family were doctors, although a cousin did found the SAS – the Special Air Service. Stirling was educated at Bishop’s Stortford and then went on to the

Son of James William Braine (qv), a medical man in large practice; born at St James’s Square, London, on December 28th, 1837, the eldest of eleven children. He entered St George’s Hospital in 1854, and was successively House Surgeon, Surgical Registrar, and Demonstrator of Anatomy. He acted as priv