Sanders

As a boy, Sanders was much influenced by books about the sea, but in fact by the age of fifteen he had decided to become a doctor rather than a sailor. His father was a dentist and as a result Sanders had the opportunity of meeting doctors socially. When he was fourteen he was already hanging around the dispensary of the local doctor where he was supposed to be helping to wrap up medicine bottles, but was actually trying to listen to the conversations with patients taking place in the next room.

During the war Sanders served in the Navy as a surgeon. "That was the happiest time of my life, doing major surgery. I was dealing with very real suffering and on the whole making a success of it." In Rhodes he taught the country people simple facts about medicine. He saw himself as a life-saver. He had provided his skill to himself and his ability to take decisions. With this proof came the firm belief that those who lived simply, those who were dependent upon him, possessed qualities and a secret of living which he lacked. Thus, while in a position to tell them what to do, he could feel he was serving them.