Leybourne Stanley Patrick Davidson was born on 3 March 1894 in Ceylon, the son of Sir Leybourne Davidson. He qualified MB ChB with first-class honours from the University of Edinburgh in 1919 and received the MD with Gold Medal in 1925 for a thesis on immunisation and antibody reactions. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 3 February 1925 and served as President of the College from 1953-57. In 1938 he was appointed Chair of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh and was knighted in 1955. His textbook 'Principles and Practice of Medicine' (1952) achieved international recognition. He died on 22 September 1981 in Edinburgh.

Interview

Painting: Stanley Davidson

George Louis Malcolm Smith was born on 4 April 1894. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and qualified MB ChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1917. After the First World War he held junior resident posts at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and became a Clinical Tutor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 3 February 1925. He worked mainly as a general practitioner but also served as Assistant Physician at the Longmore Hospital for Incurables and Consultant Physician at Leith Hospital until 1959. He died on 25 January 1975 aged 80.

Richard Arthur Needham was born on 31 July 1877, the fourth son of John Needham of Eccles, Lancashire. He qualified MB ChB from the Victoria University of Manchester in 1899 and served as House Physician at Manchester Royal Infirmary. He joined the Indian Medical Service in 1903 and by 1914 had been promoted Major and appointed Deputy Assistant Director of Medical Services for Hygiene at Marseilles. He served as Deputy Director-General of the Indian Medical Service from 1918-24 and reorganised Indian State Railway medical services in 1925-26. During the Second World War he was Commissioner of the British and Indian Red Cross in Italy and the Middle East and was knighted for his services. He died on 24 October 1949 aged 72.

Stanley Frederick Silberbauer was born on 15 April 1889 in Cape Town. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, qualifying MB ChB in 1911 and receiving the MD in 1914 ad eundem. He served as House Physician at Somerset Hospital, Cape Town, and lectured in clinical medicine at the University of Cape Town. His work included translations and publications on pulmonary tuberculosis and heliotherapy. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 5 May 1925. He died on 15 August 1950 in Cape Town aged 61.

Thomas Steven Macintosh qualified MB ChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1906 and was awarded the MD in 1911. He held early posts at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and completed a Diploma in Public Health in 1914. During the First World War he served as a temporary Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He later served as Medical Officer of Health and School Medical Officer for Willesden, Whitehaven, and Hendon. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 21 July 1925. His publications include 'Case of Acanthosis Nigricans' (1909), 'Civil and Military Hygiene' (1919), and 'Observations on Infections and Infectious Diseases' (1924).

Charles Gordon Strachan was born on 24 September 1891 and qualified MB ChB from the University of Durham in 1915, receiving the MD in 1921. He held early appointments at Longmore Hospital, the Royal Infirmary, and Chalmers Hospital, Edinburgh, and later served as Senior Anaesthetist at Craigleith Pensions Hospital and Tutor in Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 21 July 1924. His publication includes 'New Appliance for Therapeutic Administration of Oxygen' (1921). He died on 13 October 1957 aged 66.

Robert John Stewart McDowall was born in 1892 and qualified MB ChB from the University of Edinburgh in 1915. From 1919-21 he lectured in physiology at Edinburgh, receiving the Sir John Ellis Student Prize and the Parkin Prize. He later served as Lecturer at the University of Leeds and from 1923 as Professor of Physiology at King's College London, remaining until retirement in 1959. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on 21 July 1925. His publications include 'The Control of the Circulation of the Blood' (1938), 'The Handbook of Physiology' (1944), and 'Whiskies of Scotland' (1967). He died on 12 January 1990 aged 97.

Robert Aitken was born circa 1888 and educated at Daniel Stewart's College, Edinburgh. He graduated MB from the University of Edinburgh in 1911 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1921. He became Assistant Physician in the Skin Department of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in 1924, later Full Physician, and served as President of the British Association of Dermatologists in 1950. He died on 17 March 1954.

Alexander Gibson Henderson graduated MB ChB from the University of Glasgow in 1912 and MD in 1914. He held posts including Medical Officer at St Bees School, Honorary Surgeon at Whitehaven and West Cumberland Infirmary, and Medical Officer to the Post Office. He served as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1922.

James Barnet studied at the University of Edinburgh, graduating MB ChB in 1898 and MA in 1905. He was Lecturer in Diseases of Children at the Royal Colleges of Edinburgh and Medical Officer to the Heriot Trust. His publications include 'Manual of Children's Diseases' (1905), 'Nursing of Sick Children' (1905), and 'Dictionary of Diet and Treatment' (1911).