Mark Mortimer Crosse was born in Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, the second of four sons of Brigadier John Crosse, an army doctor, and Olive (née Dodwell). Most of the war years were spent in north Wales before the family moved south. Mark went to Westminster School, from where he was offered an Royal Air Force flying scholarship to go to Cranwell. However, he turned this down to instead read medicine at Queens’ College, Cambridge. Much to the detriment of his exam results, he spent a lot of time flying with Cambridge University Air Squadron (still thinking he might drop medicine and enter the RAF) and playing table tennis for the university. After deciding against an air force career, he completed his clinical training at St Bartholomew’s …
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