Innes Albert Brodziak was born on 22 July 1903. He was the only son of Rosetta Ida van Millingen and Albert Aaron Brodziak, a successful investor who spent time in South Africa and the South Pacific when young. He had two sisters; Faith (Yeldham) and Jean (Baume). His nephew is Professor Peter Baume. Married first to Val Dunrich, he had two children; Susan and John. He then married Ella (formerly Hartley) in 1983, Val having passed in 1981.

He was the fourth generation of his wider family to be medically qualified. He was educated at The Scots College in Sydney, attended St Andrew’s College and graduated in medicine in 1927, from the University of Sydney. He spent time in London where he obtained the MRCP in 1930, later becoming an FRACP in 1951. He was a member of the RACP NSW State Committee from 1954 to 1958.

With the outbreak of World War II, he enrolled in the Australian Imperial Force. He saw extensive active service, spending some time unexpectedly in the Mediterranean Sea after the evacuation from Crete. He served in Greece, Crete, North Africa and New Guinea, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and was responsible for the history of his unit, the 2/5 Australian General Hospital (Proudly we served, 1988). He later joined the staff of the fledgling Royal North Shore Hospital, rose steadily to become a senior physician, and helped it to become a noted and valuable teaching hospital within the University of Sydney.

Known to generations of students as 'Brod' he was an elegant, tall and quietly spoken, but forceful, doctor and teacher. Brod died on 12 March 1997, after a long illness ending with a CVA. He was a beloved teacher, and is remembered as a 'dignified and special' person.