Plarr’s Lives of the Fellows

Brian Hayes was a consultant surgeon at East Glamorgan Hospital, Pontypridd. He was born in Tibshelf, Derbyshire, in 1929, the son of a miner. He was brought up in the north east of England, until the family moved to south Wales. He studied medicine in Newcastle, and went on to hold junior posts in

Gordon Walker was a consultant surgeon on the Isle of Wight. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1919. He studied medicine at Melbourne University, qualifying in 1942. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a medical officer and was posted to the UK, attached to RAAF Spi

Simon Wapnick was an anatomist based in New York. He was born on 25 October 1937 in Pretoria, South Africa, the son of Percy Jacob Wapnick and Fanny née Levitt. He was educated at Pretoria Boys’ High School and then went on to the University of Pretoria Medical School. He held house appointments at

Lachlan Kumarasinghe was a trauma surgeon at Kettering General Hospital. He was born in Colombo, in what was then Ceylon, on 16 September 1927, the son of Cyril Mendis Kumarasinghe, an interpreter, and Florence Bridget Kumarasinghe née Fernando. Two of his brothers - Hiary and Merlyn - also became s

Philip Blake Humphris was a general surgeon in Sydney, Australia. He was born in Parramatta, New South Wales, on 10 June 1924, the son of Frank and Alma Humphris. He was educated in rural New South Wales and finished his schooling at Armidale School. He joined the Australian Army just weeks after hi

William (Bill) Spencer Lund was a consultant ENT surgeon at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford. He was born on 19 July 1926 to non-medical parents, Reginald James Spencer Lund and Beatrice Alice Lund née Cudemore. He thought he might join the Navy and was accordingly educated at Pangbourne College. Bef

Frantz Langlais was chairman of the orthopaedic department at University Hospital Sud, Rennes, France. He was born in 1942 in Plouër-sur-Rance, Brittany, the son of a general practitioner. He trained in orthopaedic surgery in Paris under Robert Merle d'Aubigné, Jean Gossett and Michel Postel, and th

John Lee was one of the world's most eminent ophthalmologists. A consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital for 25 years, he was also the eighth president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. He was particularly known for his use of 'botox' or botulinum toxin in the management of str

Andrew Drain was a cardiothoracic surgeon who was born in Northern Ireland on 9 June 1974. In 2006 he worked in the department of cardiothoracic surgery at Papworth Hospital, Cambridge. He was working at a prestigious New York hospital and about to return to the UK as a consultant when he was diagno

Michael Bultitude was a much respected urologist at St Thomas' Hospital who helped set up the first public lithotripter service in the UK for renal stones and also made significant contributions to the study of urodynamics. He was born on 29 September 1936 in Withernsea, Yorkshire, the only child o

Christopher Savage was a consultant vascular surgeon at Leamington and Warwick Hospital. He was born in Kingston on Thames on 31 August 1915. His father, Arthur Livingstone Savage, was an architect, and his mother was the artist Agnes Kate Richardson. He was educated at Gate House School, Kingston,

Ivor James Cunningham Frew was a consultant ENT surgeon in Newcastle. He was born in Sheffield on 2 October 1921, the son of William Frew, an area manager of Terry's Chocolate, and Kate Gibb Frew née McGillivray, a housewife. He was educated at Glasgow High School and Liverpool College, then studied