O Level). Sheares was educated at St. Andrew's School before transferring in 1922 to study at the Raffles Institution, the only school equipped with scientific laboratories—making it an ideal place to further his ambition to become a doctor. In 1923, he enrolled into the King Edward VII College of Medicine (now the National University of Singapore) to begin his medical training. Sheares was aware that his family could not see him through the hefty school fees afforded by the College, therefore he won a generous scholarship offered by the Council of the Medical College with his exemplary academic performance. With this quantum, he was able to give $50 monthly to his mother for the support of his family. He continued to excel in his studies and was awarded four medals by his college. Later, he passed his Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) final examinations with distinctions. Medical career Upon graduation, Sheares worked as an obstetrician in the Kandang Kerbau Hospital (now KK Women's and Children's Hospital) and a professor at the University of Malaya. He continued to support his family, and assumed full responsibility for his family when his father died in 1940. Sheares was awarded the Queen's Fellowship which would grant him a two-year postgraduate training in Britain. However, his studies were postponed due to the Second World War. During the war in 1941, the hospital Sheares was working at, was damaged by the bombing from the Japanese military and it was converted into a general hospital for injured civilians. After the war, Sheares was appointed as an acting professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the hospital, which he held on until he went for his postgraduate studies at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in 1947. He returned to Singapore in 1948 and returned to his post as acting professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kandang Kerbau Hospital before he became a full professor in 1950. Sheares then retired from the hospital in 1960 and went into private practice until he was elected as the president of Singapore by the Parliament. He became Honorary Consultant after his retirement and continued teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate students at the hospital. Personal life Sheares married Yeo Seh Geok Sheares in 1939 and they had three children together, Constance, Edwin Chin-Hwee and Joseph. Presidency (1971–1981) Benjamin Sheares became Singapore's second president on 2 January 1971. His mother was 91 years old when she