Richard Garwood Robinson was professor of neurosurgery at Otago University, New Zealand. He was born in Dartford, Kent, on 9 April 1915, the son of William Thomas Robinson, a pharmacist, and Annie Elizabeth Robinson née Garwood, the daughter of a farmer. He was educated at St Dunstan's College in Ca

Gilbert John Parfitt was the first department head of the faculty of dentistry at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. He was born on 20 March 1920 in Caversham, Oxfordshire. His father, John Brodribb Parfitt, was a consultant dental surgeon at Guy’s Hospital, London; his mother wa

Kenneth Peter Somerville Caldwell was a consultant surgeon in Exeter. He was born in Mussoorie, India, on 1 October 1914, the son of Kenneth Somerville Caldwell, a professor of chemistry, and Gertrude Elizabeth Caldwell née Sailman. He was educated at Stoneygate School, Leicester, and then Charterho

Michael Francis Pilcher was a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the London Hospital. He was born on 4 October 1916 in Ealing, west London, the youngest of the seven children of Thorold Sturtevant Pilcher, a manufacturer, and Helena Pilcher née Neilson. His older brother, Robin Sturtevant Pilcher, be

Ronald Pitts Crick was a senior ophthalmic surgeon at King's College Hospital, London, and a pioneer in the use of the operating microscope in eye surgery in the UK. He was born in Toronto, Canada, on 5 February 1917. His father, Owen John Pitts Crick, was an engineer and inventor; his mother was Ma

Francis Henley was a consultant gastrointestinal surgeon at the Central Middlesex Hospital, London. He was born in Liverpool on 23 May 1914, the son of Francis Henley, a director of a sports business, and Julia Virginia Henley née Kowrach, a housewife. He was educated at several Catholic schools, an

Maurice Kinmonth was a plastic surgeon in Leicester, Nottingham and Lincoln. He was born in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare, Ireland. His father, George Henry Kinmonth, was a general practitioner and on account of the deteriorating political situation in Ireland the family moved to London, where he was i

Albert Frederick Williams, known as 'Eric', was a consultant general surgeon in Oldham. He was born at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, the eldest son of Sydney Harold Williams and Gladys Ann Williams née Rogers. Both parents were Welsh, and both were teachers: his father was headmaster of Crewe Green Scho

For most of his career Peter Woodland Hunt was one of the few surgeons in the vast country of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). There he rapidly learnt to cope efficiently with mine accidents, ophthalmics, plastics and obstetrics, in addition to a heavy general surgical workload. He was born in Dubli

John David Wade was a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Born on 2 May 1914 in Cardiff, he was the eldest son of James Owen David Wade OBE FRCS and his wife Kate née Jones who was a domestic science teacher. His mother’s father was a Baptist minister and his father, a co

St John Michael Clive Birt was a consultant general surgeon at Jersey General Hospital. He was born on 12 February 1916. His father, Amelius Cyril Birt, was a general practitioner in Wantage. His mother, Gertrude Isabel Kidd, came from a medical family: many were doctors attached to the London Hospi

John Gillingham was professor of neurosurgery at the University of Edinburgh. He was born in Dorchester, Dorset, on 15 March 1916, the son of John Herbert Gillingham, a businessman, and Lily Gillingham née Eavis. He was educated at the Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester, and then studied medicine at