Born in 1938 in India, Baharul "Baha" Elem, was a Bangladeshi-British citizen who received his initial medical qualification from the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh, and undertook further surgical training in the USA before training as a Urologist and obtaining his FRCS in the UK. While working in the UK Baha met and married Jane, a nurse from South Wales.
 
In 1975, the couple and their young children moved to Zambia, where Baha worked for the next 20 years, developing a deep affection for the country and its people that never left him. While in Zambia, Baha achieved the position of Professor of Urology in the School of Medicine at the University of Zambia and worked as a Consultant Urological Surgeon. Throughout his career in Zambia, Baha demonstrated a strong commitment to medical research; a significant proportion of his clinical research was in the field of urinary bilharziasis, though in later years his research was directed towards the impact of HIV/AIDS in the practice of urology.
 
A prolific author, he published and co-wrote over 37 peer-reviewed papers for a number of journals, including the British Journal of Urology, the Medical Journal of Zambia and the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, as well as contributing book chapters to three medical textbooks.
 
It was in Zambia that Baha developed his interest in golf where he was a member of the Lusaka Golf Club and played regularly at Chainama Hills Golf Club too; winning the Lusaka Masonic Open in 1985 was a highlight of his golfing career!
 
Upon his return to the UK in 1994, Baha worked as a Consultant Urological Surgeon in various teaching hospitals, including Guys & St Thomas, before retiring in 2003.
 
In retirement, Baha spent time in both Bangladesh and the UK, enjoying golf, gardening, grandchildren, travel, and supporting the educational aspirations of the next generation, both as a volunteer teacher in medical schools in his home town of Rangpur; and by supporting a number of under-privileged children through school to university. His passion for learning led him to undertake a Diploma in Tropical Medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, becoming their oldest graduate at the young age of 71! He also undertook a short course in acupuncture in Beijing, China, in 2001. A keen observer of politics, to the end Baha retained an interest in current affairs and global issues, and always had time to talk about Zambia and Africa.