Desmond William George Faris was born on 30 Apr 1901 in Ennis, Co. Clare. He was educated at Epsom College and the London Hospital Medical College, becoming Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1925. He specialised in public health and tropical medicine, gaining the Certificate of the London School of Tropical Medicine, and in 1930, the Diploma in Public Health. From 1924, Dr Faris was Clinical Assistant to Outpatients at the London Hospital.

In Mar 1926, he took a position as a Medical Officer in Malaya (Malaysia), and in Jul 1935 he became acting Senior Health Officer in Penang. He moved on to a similar position in Singapore in Feb 1937. Until the outbreak of war with Japan, he was engaged in anti-malarial work with the Chief Health Officer, Dr J.W. Schaff, who had been appointed honorary adviser to the Royal Air Force (RAF), Far East, on malaria. After the capitulation of Singapore, provisions were made to regulate medical services and public health within the civilian internment camps and Dr Faris became Chief Medical and Health Officer. Very shortly afterwards, in Apr 1942, these duties were divided, with Dr Faris assuming responsibility for public health and Dr J.W. Winchester taking over as Camp Medical Officer. Virtually all of the papers relate to public health provision for the Changi and Sime Road camps, with much useful material on nutritionally-related diseases which Dr Faris and his colleagues had ample opportunity to study. This was later to form the basis of a good deal of his post-war research. Sometime after the end of the war, Dr Faris became Director of Medical Services for the Malayan Union and by 1956 he was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya.