Bryan Cruickshanks was an ophthalmic surgeon in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. He was born in Wallsend, Northumberland on 11 October 1935, the second child of William Blackwood Cruickshanks, a tradesman in the shipyards, and his wife, Jesse Cruickshanks née Brown. He excelled at Wallsend Grammar School an

John Wagget was the second full-time paediatric surgeon in Newcastle upon Tyne, initially at the Fleming Memorial Hospital for Sick Children and the Babies Hospital, then later at the Royal Victoria Infirmary when both the former hospitals closed. He was born in Chester-le-Street, County Durham,

Robert Richardson qualified from Durham in 1961 and, after junior posts, specialised in orthopaedics, training in Newcastle, Middlesborough and at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, Oswestry. In 1974 he was awarded the Malkin travelling scholarship, before taking up his consultant appointment

Alastair Gunn was a much-loved and respected consultant general surgeon at Ashington Hospital, Northumberland, and later at its replacement, Wansbeck General Hospital. He had a major interest in colorectal disease and instigated and helped establish the NHS northern region's register of familial ade

Christopher Thomas Blaiklock was a consultant neurosurgeon at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. He was born on 27 July 1936 in Newcastle upon Tyne and raised in Northumbria. His parents, Thomas Snowdon Blaiklock and Constance Rebecca Blaiklock, were both doctors. He attended Oundle School, Northampton, and

George J M Abouna was a pioneering transplant surgeon who worked in the United States, Canada and the Middle East. He created many firsts in organ transplantation and, over the course of a career which spanned more than 50 years, saved thousands of lives across the world. Abouna was a true master of