Ralph Manfred Antrum was born 9 January 1954. He studied medicine at London University and trained at St Mary’s Hospital, graduating MB, BS in 1977. He passed the fellowship of the college in 1983 and worked as a house surgeon at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. After spending some time

Nicholas Slater was a senior consultant surgeon at Lewisham Hospital, London. Born in Sidcup, Kent on 10 March 1954, he was the only son of Henry, a marine plumber in the London docks, and his wife Mary. His two elder sisters were Carole, later Mrs Oates, and Dolores. Their father's only reading mat

Alan Mathams was a general practitioner in East Sussex. He did his medical training at the Westminster Hospital, where he qualified in 1977. After junior posts, he chose a career in surgery and was registrar at St James Hospital, Balham, and Epsom District Hospital. He decided to become a GP, joinin

Graham Allwright was a general practitioner in Formby, Merseyside. He was born on 9 July 1953 in Shoreham, Sussex, where his father, Fred, was a civil servant. He attended a number of schools as his father was posted abroad, ending at Sutton High School. He studied medicine at the London Hospital, w

John Mark Hamilton Paterson was a key figure in the development of children's orthopaedic services in the East End of London. He was born in Hong Kong on 21 January 1954 into a family with a long medical missionary tradition. His father, Edward Hamilton Paterson, was medical director of the United C

David Simpson was a consultant in accident and emergency medicine. He was born in London in 1954 and entered King’s College Hospital for medical training. He had considered a career as an engineer, but changed his mind after early training in this discipline. After gaining his FRCS, he became a su

Graham Venn was a consultant cardiac surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and, for the last decade of his life, at the centre of British cardiac surgery. He was part of all aspects of the discipline, from being passionate about training junior surgeons, to overseeing cardiac surgical

Peter Billings was a general and colorectal surgeon at Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales. His grandfather, Robert, was a toolmaker in London; his father, Ronald, had gained a scholarship to the Grocers' Company School in Hackney and became a bank manager, ultimately in Orpington. Peter was born

Mark Dunkerton was born in Rinteln, West Germany, on 3 March 1954. He was the son of George Henry Hedley Dunkerton, a general practitioner, and his wife Winifred Mary, née Cattell, who was a vicar's daughter. He attended Tormore Preparatory School in Upper Deal, Kent, and then Cheltenham College. Af

Clare Marx was a pioneer in British surgery and medicine in general, breaking through the glass ceiling in a variety of places. She was one of the first consultant female orthopaedic surgeons in the country, the first female president of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) and of the Royal Col