Colin Christopher Riley was born in Surrey. He was the second child of Joyce, a nursery teacher, and Frank, who had flown “paper and string” planes with the Royal Flying Corps in the first world war. From 1947 Colin studied medicine at University College Hospital, London, where he met his future wife, Diana (also a medical student), in the very first week. They qualified in 1953 and married in 1954, after clinical stints in Newmarket and University College Hospitals. Colin then did national service in the Royal Air Force as one of the country’s youngest squadron leaders—three years in obstetrics at Princess Mary’s Hospital, RAF Halton.
Next came a year’s …