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The training of men officers began experimentally in Manchester under Ballington Booth in 1879, and in the following year started on a regular basis in two small Training Homes in Hackney: for women, at Gore Road, and for men, at Devonshire House, Mare Street. In November 1881, the former London Orphan Asylum, Clapton was acquired for use as the National Training Barracks and Congress Hall. This served as the principal centre for training officers until the new William Booth Memorial Training College was opened at Denmark Hill in 1929, though during the late 1880s and 1890s, some of the training of cadets took place in regional depots or garrisons, in addition to training at Clapton. The training centres were known at various times as the Training Home, Training Garrison, or Training College, and by 1904 the centre at Clapton had become the International Training College, though later it was known as the International Training Garrison (c 1917-1929). For a few years in the early 1920s additional accommodation at the Mildmay Conference Centre was used for men cadets. At Denmark Hill, the college was generally known as the International Training College (ITC), or the William Booth Memorial Training College until 2000, when the name was changed to the William Booth College.

The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded in 1952 to provide an `academic headquarters for general practice [and] to raise the standards and status of general practice'.

Although various attempts were made in the nineteenth century to found a college to represent general practitioners it was not until the founding of the National Health Service in 1948 that the need became urgent. General practice became responsible for all personal medical care and the gateway for individuals to access hospital, specialist care and sickness benefit. However, general practitioners were not able to cope with such a massively expanded service without a reciprocal rise in physical, financial and administrative support. J S Collings, an Australian visitor to England in 1950 reported that he had observed exhausted and demoralised doctors, hurried work and low standards.

A small group of general practitioners decided to do something to improve matters. They wanted to provide leadership, raise standards of education, practice and research through the establishment of a dedicated college for general practitioners. In 1951 a meeting was held and by February 1952 a steering committee was formed. The committee included seven general practitioners and five sympathetic consultants and was chaired by a former Minister of Health, Sir Henry Willink. Other members included Drs. Fraser Rose, Geoffrey Barber, Talbot Rogers and John Hunt. After only eight meetings the new College of General Practitioners was legally constituted in Nov 1952.

Unlike the other medical colleges the Royal College of General Practitioners has a federal structure with regional faculties and Scottish [1953] and Welsh [1968] councils as well as the College council. The College council meets five times a year and is made up of representatives from the 33 faculties as well as 18 elected members. There are five Honorary officers elected by Council: Chair, two Vice-Chairs, an Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer. The President is elected by membership in a national ballot and like the Honorary officers holds office for three years.

The College of General Practitioners received the prefix `Royal' in 1967 and was presented with its Royal Charter in 1972. In 1972 HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was appointed an Honorary Fellow and became President of the College - since relinquishing the post he has been the College's patron. In 1992, the College's fortieth year HRH The Prince of Wales accepted the Presidency.

The College purchased its London Princes Gate headquarters, the former residence of the American ambassador, in 1962.

Membership was opened in January 1953 and within six weeks 1655 doctors had joined. By the time of the first AGM in November 1953 committees had been established to consider education for under and post graduates and for general practice research.

An examination committee was formed in November 1954 "to give full and detailed study to an examination as a possible method of entry to Membership of the College..." but the first examination for membership [MRCGP] of the RCGP was not held until in 1965 and three years later the examination became the sole method of entry to the College. A new higher class of membership "Fellowship" was formed in 1967, this was traditionally awarded to College members who had made a contribution to the development of general practice and/or to the College. A second route to Fellowship started in 1989 with Fellowship By Assessment [FBA]. An examination board was established in 1987. In November 1995 a working group MAP [Membership by Assessment of Performance] was set up to look into alternate ways of membership than examination with the proviso that such alternative assessment must be of equivalent status and rigour to the MRCGP examination.

Other major activities of the College have included successfully campaigning for compulsory vocational training through its submission to the Todd report [1966]; establishing of university departments in general practice; research including national mortality surveys and oral contraception studies; quality initiatives "What Sort of Doctor" [1985] and clinical practice evaluation CPEP [1998]; patients liaison [1983]; Commission on Primary Care [1991]; work on clinical research and medical ethics; international relations (including helping to form equivalent colleges in other countries) and publications including the British Journal of General Practice. The Royal College of General Practitioners has worked together with other Colleges, medical institutions and government departments on an ongoing basis and on an ad hoc basis to produce specific reports and policy statements.

In 1981 the College was restructured with the creation of four divisions: communications, education, membership and research these were reduced to three in 1987 with "services to members and faculties", "clinical and research" and education. In 1993 the division structure was replaced by four co-ordinating networks covering education, research, quality and services. Each network is supported by committees and task forces concentrating on a specific subject. E.g. prescribing, nutrition, AIDS, inner city, rural, maternity care, substance abuse, women in general practice.

Central records are created by the College Council, Committees, working parties and task forces and those departments based in the College's headquarters in London, including corporate affairs which administers the Council and Committee system which the formulates college policy; administration of the College, examinations, membership, courses, publications, press and PR, finance, information, development and sales.

The College of General Practitioners was founded in October 1952 in an atmosphere of wanting to improve standards of general practice. It was felt that the creation of lectureships and awards for outstanding achievement would help towards building up an academic base of a speciality with few academic traditions and no university departments. The College currently [2002] has over twenty awards, some open to competition and some by nomination.

Most of awards are administered by the Awards Committee, chaired by the President. This Committee was founded in 1955, in 1966 it merged with the Ethics Committee to be the Awards and Ethics Committee but in 1985 it reverted to its original title.

One of the Awards Committee's first acts in 1955 was to agree that some of money donated by founder members to establish the College be used for a Foundation Council Award, to be given occasionally for "work of the highest merit in the realm of general practice or for service of the greatest distinction to the cause of general practice". The same year, 1955 they awarded the first Butterworth Gold medal [an essay competition] as well as creating Honorary Fellowship [for non members of the College] and a strictly limited grade of membership - Fellowship "To be awarded to members of at least five years standing who had rendered special service to general practice and/or the College."

The first lectureship was named after Sir James Mackenzie(1853-1925) and was delivered at the second AGM in 1954 by William Pickles (1885-1969) the first President of the College. Sir Denis Pereira Gray [Forty Years On. RCGP. 1992 page 81] described this decision "[A named lecture] has the effect both of keeping the memory of the person alive ... whilst honouring someone of a new generation at the same time. It can also provide a valuable focus for an event and help to hold the members of an organisation together by uniting them around a set of shared values ... it publicly valued research, reminding the whole membership that as far back as the 1890's, Mackenzie, a British general practitioner was publishing world class research". This major lectureship given at every AGM, concentrates on clinical themes and is always published originally in The Practitioner and laterly in the College's own journal BJGP.

The second major lectureship of the College is the William Pickles lectureship, which was founded in 1968, is usually given during the annual provincial Spring symposium of the College and has an educational theme.

A third lectureship was established in 1992 to commemorate the College's fortieth anniversary. It is named after John Hunt (1905-1987)and is given by someone who is not medically qualified. The inaugural lecturer was HRH The Prince of Wales.

The College is made up of many regional faculties, many of which have developed their own lectures and awards. The first of these was the Gale memorial lecture of the South West Faculty [now the Severn Faculty] in 1957. Many new lectureships have been founded by faculties since the 1980's after the deaths of many distinguished early members of the College e.g. George Swift (Wessex Faculty 1982) and Robin Pinsent (Midland Faculty 1992) lectures.

Other awards include the Upjohn Travelling Fellowship (from 1957); Undergraduate Essay competition (from 1957); James Mackenzie prize for clinical research (from 1961); Astra Awards for trainees (from 1977); George Abercrombie award for outstanding contributions to the literature of general practice (from 1970); Fraser Rose gold medal for highest marks in membership examination(from 1972); Sir Harry Jephcott Visiting Professorship to a British University (from 1972); John Hunt Fellowship to be College Education Dean (1974); Patient Participation award(from 1996); John Fry award for research by a young member (from 1995); Kuenssberg award for an important advance in the provision of medical care in general practice (from 1984) and The President's Medal from 1998).

The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded in November 1952 to provide an ?academic headquarters for general practice [and] to raise the standards and status of general practice?. The founders of the college wanted it to encourage, guide and co-ordinate research into the problems of general practice. They recognised that general practitioners were in a unique position, they could follow diseases of their patients through all their stages, they had a registered list of patients in which to collect morbidity information and were already keeping standard information in patient records.

One of the first things the new College did in Janaury 1953 was to form a Research Committee, convened by Robin Pinsent (1917-1988). It?s first meeting was held in Bath and although a Council Committee it was for many years administered in Birmingham where Pinsent was based. Advertisements were placed in the British Medical Journal and The Lancet on 31st January 1953 asking for those who were interested in research to place their name on the College?s research register. By the end of 1954 there were over three hundred members on the register. The idea of the register was to bring together people of similar interests so that they could collaborate and get to know what ground had already been covered. A panel was formed to co-ordinate research and give advice and guidance. Doctors with an interest in a particular disease could select co-workers from the register.

A research newsletter was started in September 1953, this initially just went to members of the register but the growth interest led to the register being sent to all members and associates of the College and in January 1958 it was renamed the Journal of the College of General Practitioners [now the British Journal of General Practice]. There was still a need for a clearing house of ideas between members of the register and so the Research Committee started publishing Between Ourselves (1956-1968).

The Research committee published A Guide to Research In General Practice in 1962 to train aspiring general practitioners in research methodology. The second edition published in 1969 was entitled A Handbook of General Practice Research.

The regional faculties of the College were encouraged to set up their own Research Committees and the Council Research Committee maintained a register of all research carried out by College members and associates.

It became clear that it became clear that various different strands of research were being carried out including single practice research such as by John Fry (1922-1995) and multi practice research. The Research Committee organised multi-practice research often through ad hoc working parties. This enabled research such as national morbidity studies to be carried out on a much larger scale than could be undertaken by a small group of workers or by a faculty.

Other activities of the Research Committee were setting up study groups for long term investigations e.g. respiratory diseases; the Research Foundation board (1960-1976, at which point it amalgamated with the Education Foundation to form the Scientific Foundation Board) which awarded grants for research and the Records Unit (1959-1965 later Records and Statistical Unit). This unit was a statistical advisory service and grew out of the experience gained in the first National Morbidity Study of 1955-1956 which had to devise and perfect its own methods of working. The unit devised a classification system for disease known as the ?E Book? after Dr T S Eimerl. The E books developed into a diagnostic index. Other tools developed were the ?Age-Sex Register? by Arthur Watts which was designed so that the contents could be used as punch-cards for computers and the records summary or ?S Card? by James Scott.

In 1966 a Research Department was formed ?The maintenance of high standards of research recording in general practice has never been so difficult. There are now fewer doctors in practice and their capacity to meet the needs of their patients is severely strained. Research work must never be undertaken at the expense of patient care and is an addition to the practitioner?s heavy load. If standards are to be maintained every possible step must be taken to lighten the extra commitments that so many general practitioners now voluntarily assume [annual report 1966].? It was renamed the research division in 1976 which was chaired by Clifford Kay and aimed to advise on research policy, co-ordinate the work of the College research units [See ARE Records of Research Units], encourage primary care research in Britain and abroad. Between 1979 and 1994 Research Intelligence was published by the division giving information on primary care research. The College was restructured in 1988 and the Research Division became the Clinical and Research Division.

The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded on 28 February 1952. It was decided early on to have regional faculties to relieve the College council of local responsibilies connected with activities of the College. These activities would largely deal with undergraduate education, postgraduate education and research, working in close liaison with local medical schools and universities. The faculties are a resource which generate social and professional contact with peers, and facilitates contact between GPs and those who work in local primary health care. Many faculties are seen as local providers of general practice education. In addition, many produce newsletters designed to keep members informed on local initiatives and provide a medium for members to exchange information and ideas. Faculties mirror the organisation of central Council, the governing body of the College. Each is run by a Faculty board and has a chairman, honorary secretary, treasurer and a number of elected members. At least one representative from each Faculty sits on the College Council.

The first faculty North East England was formed on 4th April 1953. On 28th March and 2 May 1953 statements were published in the BMJ and Lancet on proposed regional faculties in London, Home Counties (South); Home Counties (North); Thames Valley (Oxford); East Anglia (Cambridge); South-West (Bristol); Midland (Birmingham); North Midland (Sheffield); East and West Riding (Leeds); North-West Regional (Manchester); Merseyside (Liverpool); North-East Regionanl (Newcastle); Welsh (Cardiff); South-East Scottish (Edinburgh); West Scottish (Glasgow); East Scottish (Dundee); North-East Scottish (Aberdeen); North Scottish (Inverness) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).

By 1969 the number of faculties had grown to twenty in Great Britain and fifteen overseas and currently [2001] there are 31 faculties in Great Britain.

The Royal College of General Practitioners was founded in November 1952 to provide an `academic headquarters for general practice [and] to raise the standards and status of general practice'.

The founders of the college wanted it to encourage, guide and co-ordinate research into the problems of general practice. A Research Committee was formed in January 1953 [See Central Records ACE G]. The college was to be a centre for family doctors to pool knowledge and experience. Advertisements were placed in the BMJ and The Lancet asking for those who were interested in research to place their name on the college's research register. A panel was formed to co-ordinate research and give advice and guidance.

Through the research register and publications in the college's research newsletter (1953-1959) it became clear that various different strands of research were being carried out including single practice research such as by John Fry (1922-1995) and multi practice research such as College organised studies' in morbidity [1958-1995] and into the effect of antibiotics on measles (1953). The college was pleased with the success of the multi-practice research and wanted to develop the research programme, there was, in the 1950's and early 1960's no university doing general practice research and so the solution was to encourage leading enthusiasts to develop units in and around their practices and their homes. These units provided practical tools and links to those interested in research across the country.

Ian Watson founded the Epidemic Observation Unit in 1953 to collate, analyse and lead groups of general practitioners who reported syndromes and shared information, mainly about infectious diseases. It was based at Peaslake, Surrey. After Watson's death in 1979 the unit was for a while linked with the University of Surrey and led by Professor Paul Grob.[See Records of RCGP Central Departments ACE G15].

The Birmingham Research Unit, directed by Dr. D. Crombie and assisted by Dr. R. Pinsent (College Research Adviser). The Unit was founded at Crombie's suburban practice in 1962 soon after the first National Morbidity Survey. The results of its study of diabetes, published in the British Medical Journal in 1962, brought the quality of its research to the attention of the medical world for the first time. The unit played a major part in disseminating the use of the age-sex and disagnostic registers thoughout general practice. Dr. D. Fleming took over as Director of the Unit upon the retirement of Dr. Crombie.

Scottish General Practitioner Research Support Unit: The Scottish General Practitioner Research Support Unit, directed by Professor Knox of the University of Dundee. The Unit was set up jointly by the Scottish Council of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Scottish Home and Health Department in 1971. Funding from the Scottish Home and Health Department ceased in October 1980. In March 1985 the Unit became independent of the College and its activities were absorbed by the University of Dundee's Department of General Practice.

Manchester Research Unit: The Manchester Research Unit was founded in 1968 and became the Centre for Primary Care Research and Epidemiology on its relocation in 1997, to the Department of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Aberdeen. Since 1968, the Centre has been principally involved in large-scale national longitudinal studies. Its recorder was Clifford Kay. It is perhaps best known for the continuing Oral Contraception Study which has investigated the health effects of the contraceptive pill and which is now over thirty years old. Findings from the study continue to influence clinical practice around the world. The size and comprehensiveness of the database has enabled the study to examine other issues related to women's health, such as the use of hormone replacement therapy and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Other large scale studies have been the joint RCGP/RCOG Attitudes to Pregnancy Study, and Myocardial Infarction Study

Papers relating to the Swansea Research Unit led W O Williams are in the W O Williams papers BWO.

Patrick Sarsfield Byrne was born on 17 April 1913 in Birkenhead, son of John Stephen Byrne, butcher, and Marie Ann Byrne. He attended St Edward's College, Liverpool, between 1923-1930, having won one of two Birkenhead Town scholarships. In 1930 he won a state scholarship, to study at the University of Liverpool. In 1936 he graduated MB, ChB. During his time at Liverpool he was awarded a gold medal in surgery, won several clinical prizes, and was the first holder of a cup for debating. Byrne never lost his debating skills and in later years this, along with his political awareness, kept him ahead of his colleagues on the many committees on which he sat. After a locum tenens post with Dr Caldwell in August 1936, Byrne became a General Practitioner in Milnthorpe, Westmorland, where he practised until he moved to Manchester in 1968. He continued working as a General Practitioner, although on a much smaller scale due to other commitments, until his retirement in 1978, at the Darbishire House Teaching Health Centre.

Byrne began lecturing at Manchester University Medical School in 1965, and in 1968 became the Director of the newly created Department of General Practice, the establishment of which had been largely Byrne's responsibility. The pioneering work in medical education, initiated in the Department, led his discipline into education and training. He was the first to run courses for general practitioner teachers in 1966, and worked at emphasising the needs of medical teachers themselves. His last book, 'Doctors Talking to Patients' (1976), written jointly with B.E.L. Long, was an extremely significant piece of work which provided a scientific analysis based on a multitude of real consultations in real general practice. At the time the Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners predicted that the book would act as a springboard for new discoveries for the doctor/patient relationship. In 1972 he became Chair at Manchester and so the first Professor of General Practice in England. He retired, and was made Professor Emeritus, in 1978.

Patrick Byrne was a founder member of the College of General Practitioners in 1952 (the Royal College of General Practitioners from 1967) and was Chairman and Provost of the North-West England Faculty, between 1966-68 and 1968-70 respectively. He Chaired the Education Committee of Council for six years, between 1964-70, and was subsequently Vice-Chairman of Council, 1965-66, and Chairman of the Board of Censors and Chief Examiner, 1967-73. Byrne served as President of the College from 1973 to 1976.

Byrne was arguably one of the most influential general practitioner authors in the world, producing a proliferation of articles, published in a variety of medical journals, discussing and evaluating the various teaching methods employed at the Department of General Practice. He was a member of the College Working Party which wrote the important work 'The Future General Practitioner - Learning and Teaching' (1972, RCGP). He co-authored several books, including 'The Assessment of Postgraduate Training for General Practice' (1976) and 'The Assessment of Vocational Training for General Practice, Reports from General Practice No. 17' (1976), both with J. Freeman, and 'Learning to Care' (1976), written jointly with B.E.L. Long. In addition to this he co-edited 'A Handbook for Medical Treatment' (1976, Proctor and Byrne) and 'A Textbook of Medical Practice' (1977, Fry et al.).

Byrne was also Chairman of the Working Party of the Leeuwenhorst Group, which had a membership of 11 European countries. The Group's aim was to create a definition of the role of the General Practitioner which would be acceptable to doctors in the eleven countries the group represented, and would serve as a basis for training programmes. The Working Party produced several important statements defining general practice, and more precisely the role of the General Practitioner. The definition has stood the test of time, remaining the best-known one in most European countries. Byrne was also advisor in General Practice to the DHSS in 1972, and took on the role of advisor to the British Council and many foreign governments, advising on medical education and the establishing of Departments or Colleges of General Practice, during his visits abroad.

Byrne received many awards in later life and gave numerous eponymous lectures. He delivered the first William Pickles Lecture at the Royal College of General Practitioners, and the Gale Memorial Lecture, in 1968, and in 1971 gave the W. Victor Johnston Memorial Oration, to the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Byrne was also the first general practitioner to give the William Marsden Lecture at the Royal Free Hospital London, in 1974, whilst in 1975 he was the David Lloyd Hughes Memorial Lecturer at Liverpool.

He was also honoured overseas by the awarding of the Hippocratic medal of the SIMG (International Society for General Practice) in 1963, and the Sesquicentennial medal of the Medical University of South Carolina, 1974. He was made Honorary Fellow of the College of Medicine in South Africa in 1975, and given Honorary Membership of the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1976. At home he was appointed OBE in 1966, and CBE in 1975.

In 1937 he married Dr Kathleen Pearson, a fellow student from Liverpool University. Between 1938 and 1952 they had 2 sons and 4 daughters. Byrne died suddenly at his home, barely 18 months after he had retired, on 25 February 1980.

John Fry was born 16 June 1922, the son of a general practitioner. He was educated at Whitgift Middle School, Croydon, and graduated MB, BS in 1944 from Guy's Hospital. In 1955 he proceeded to MD. His first interest was in surgery and he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons at the early age of 24. However he soon turned to general practice, and just before the National Health Service was introduced, in the late 1940s, he became practitioner in Beckenham, Kent. Fry worked as a general practitioner until his retirement in 1991, never leaving to take up an academic post as some might have expected.

Fry built up a reputation for research and writing that influenced governments at home and abroad, and was arguably the leading research worker in the 1960s, writing and editing more books than any other general practitioner. His early books such as 'The Catarrhal Child' (1961) challenged the then routine procedure of tonsillectomy, whilst 'Profiles of Disease in Childhood' (1966) shed new light on the prognosis of many common chronic diseases. He was fundamental in introducing a new medical magazine, Update, and continued to write for this popular educational journal until his death. As the British Medical Journal explained in his obituary;

'his writings were widely distributed and discussed, and he became a key member of a small group who made general practice a medical discipline. His work was descriptive and analytical rather than experimental... his writing has been described as "user friendly" because it was usually straightforward, logical, and practical' (BMJ, 21 May 1994, Vol. 308, p.1367)
Within his practice he meticulously recorded, for forty years, every consultation that took place. Through this work

'he helped to reveal the goldmine of information which lay in the records of ordinary NHS family doctors... [and]... set an example of blending service work in general practice with academic research and writing which has inspired succeeding generations' (The Times, 6 May 1994)

Fry was a founder member of the College of General Practitioners (later the Royal College of General Practitioners) in 1953. He made a major contribution to the College's development, serving for 34 years on the College Council, and as a member of numerous College committees and working parties. He wrote several of the Present State and Future Needs reports.

The College honoured him with several of their highest awards over the years, including the James Mackenzie prize for research in 1964, the George Abercrombie Award, for his contribution to the literature of general practice, in 1977, the Sir Harry Jephcott Visiting Professorship, 1981/82, the Baron Dr ver Heyden de Lancey Memorial Award in 1984, and the highest of all, the Foundation Council Award in 1993, however he never became President.

In addition to his commitment to his practice and the College, Fry was a consultant to the World Health Organisation, 1965-83, and consultant in general practice to the Army, 1968-87. He was elected every year, between 1970-92, by the whole medical profession to the General Medical Council, where he became Senior Treasurer. The Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust established the John Fry Lecture after he became their longest serving trustee. He was appointed CBE in 1988. Throughout his career he was honoured with several notable awards, including the Sir Charles Hastings Prize of the British Medical Association, which he won twice, in 1960 and 1964, the Hunterian Society Gold Medal, which he also won twice, in 1956 and 1966. In 1968 he was awarded the James Mackenzie Medal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
Fry married twice, first to Joan Sabel in 1944, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Joan died in 1989. He was married a second time in 1989 to Trudy Amiel (nee Scher). Fry retired just three years before his death, on 28 April 1994, at the age of 71. In his remaining years he was debilitated by a chronic lung disease, although his mind remained alert to the end.

John Henderson Hunt was born on 3 July 1905 in Secunderabad, India, eldest son of Edmund Hunt, surgeon in charge of staff of the Nizam of Hyderabad's State Railways and Chief Medical Officer of the Railway Hospital, Secunderabad, and Laura Mary Hunt, daughter of a tea plantation owner. Hunt grew up in England with his mother and his siblings, whilst his father lived and worked in India until 1931, attending pre-preparatory school and then Temple Grove Preparatory School, Eastbourne. He was then educated at Charterhouse School from 1918. In 1923 Hunt achieved an exhibition to Balliol College, University of Oxford, where he graduated with a 2:1 in Physiology in 1927. Hunt was awarded the Radcliffe Scholarship in Pharmacology, St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical School. He was registered BM, BCh, MRCS/LRCP with the General Medical Council in 1931.

Hunt worked as House Surgeon at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1931 and did a locum tenens at Duffield, Derbyshire. In 1933 he became second assistant at the Medical Unit at St Bartholomew's Hospital and in 1934, for two years, he was House Physician at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases. In 1936 he went on to be Chief Assistant to the Consultative Neurological Clinic at St Bartholomew's Hospital. In 1934 he passed the membership examination of the Royal College of Physicians, and in 1935 he obtained his DM Thesis, University of Oxford, on the subject of Raynaud's disease, a published work of the thesis appeared the following year in the Quarterly Journal of Medicine.

Hunt chose to become a general practitioner, and in 1937 joined Dr George Cregan in practice as a partner at 83 Sloane Street, London. The reaction of his teachers and colleagues was that he was 'committing professional suicide' (John Horder) as the differences in education, pay and status were indeed considerable. During the Second World War Hunt served as a neurologist in the Royal Air Force, at Blackpool and Ely, held the rank of Wing Commander. When the war was over he returned to set up independent practice at 54 Sloane Street, London. The practice had its own laboratory and x-ray department. Hunt choose not to enter the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, continuing to run a private service, having an already well-established clientele since establishing the practice at the end of the war.

Although Hunt had not entered the NHS he was acutely aware of the uncertain and unsatisfactory position of general practitioners during the crucial NHS planning stages. It was felt that there was justification for general practitioners to have a college of their own. The notion of an academic body to promote the efficiency of general practice had been proposed as long ago as 1844, but to no effect. However, over a hundred years later the ideas were again being put forward.

In October 1951 Hunt and Dr Fraser Rose wrote a letter, published in the British Medical Journal and The Lancet, proposing 'a possible College of General Practice'. Memoranda published two weeks later provoked both favourable and unfavourable responses, with many influential people, particularly the Presidents of the established Royal Colleges, expressing their opposition. Hunt brought together a group of influential figures, including former Minister of Health, Sir Henry Willink, to form a steering committee which looked into the practical aims and needs of the proposed institution. The Steering Committee, with Hunt as Secretary, persevered and on 19 November 1952 Memorandum and Articles of Association of the College of General Practitioners were signed and in December the Committee's Report was published. Within six months the College had 2000 doctors as members, and had widespread support of both medical and non-medical bodies. Hunt continued his steadfast commitment to, and hard work for, the College, displaying determined leadership as the first Honorary Secretary of Council, 1953-66, and then as President, 1967-70, and developing the College's role and influence both at home and abroad, throughout the rest of his professional life. In the College's first annual report the Foundation Council of the College put on record its appreciation of Hunt, 'in the events leading up to the formation of the steering committee, Dr John Hunt was mainly responsible for bringing together the right individuals and for enlisting the interest and support of the leaders of medical opinion everywhere... the measure of success so far achieved by the College would not have been possible without him' (1st Annual Report 1953, pp.12-13).

'A History of the Royal College of General Practitioners', edited by Hunt, along with John Fry and Robin Pinsent, tells the story of the College's first 25 years. Published in 1983 this was the last of many publications for which Hunt was responsible. A complete collection of his published papers is held at the Royal College of General Practitioners, Princes Gate, London. The writings cover many topics including the foundation of the College.

Hunt was honoured by both medical and lay organisations worldwide, he was appointed CBE in 1970 and in 1973 was given life peerage, as Lord Hunt of Fawley, in the House of Lords. He participated in many debates on medical affairs, with a voice of authority gained from his wide experience, and was responsible for steering the Medical Act of 1978 through the Upper House. It has been suggested though that the keynote speech of his life however was his Lloyd Roberts Lecture, 'The Renaissance of General Practice', delivered in 1957, which illuminated proposals for the future work of the College and of general practitioners. Hunt received many awards including the W Victor Johnson Medal, in 1973, when he was made Honorary Member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Gold Medal of the BMA in 1980.

Hunt was supported throughout his career by his wife Elisabeth who he had married in 1941. They had five children, two daugthers, a son who died in childhood, and two twin sons, both of whom became general practitioners. Hunt was forced to retire due to failing eye sight in 1981, and died 6 years later on 28 December 1987 at his home in Fawley, near Henley-on-Thames.

William Norman Pickles, general practitioner and epidemiologost, was born on the 6 March 1885 in Leeds where his father, John Jagger Pickles was in general practice. Pickles went to Leeds Grammar School and afterwards studied medicine at the medical school of the then Yorkshire College and at the Leeds General Infirmary, where he qualified as a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries in 1909. After serving as resident obstetric officer at the Infirmary, he began a series of temporary jobs in general practice. In 1910 he graduated MB BS London and became MD in 1918.

His first visit to Aysgarth was as a locum for Dr Hime in 1912. After serving as a ship's doctor on a voyage to Calcutta, he returned to Aysgarth later that year as second assistant to Dr Hime. In 1913 he and the other assistant Dean Dunbar were able to purchase the practice. Pickles was to remain in Aysgarth until he retired in 1964, interrupted only by the first world war during which he served in the Royal Naval Volunteers.

In 1926 Pickles read The Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment in Heart Affections by Sir James Mackenzie who had made many important contributions to medical knowledge from his general practice in Burnley. Pickles was inspired by Mackenzies work. An epidemic of catarrhal jaundice broke out in Wensleydale in 1929 affecting two hundred and fifty people out of a population of five thousand seven hundred. Pickles was able to trace the whole epidemic to a girl who he had seen in bed on the morning of a village fete and who he never thought would get up that day. In this enclosed community Pickles was able to trace time and again the short and only possible contact and to establish the long incubation for this disease of twenty six to thirty five days. He published an account of the epidemic in the British Medical Journal 24 May 1930. Two years later he also published record of an outbreak of Sonne dysentry and in 1933 he recorded in the British Medical Journal the first out break of Bornholm disease.

In 1935 Pickles described some of his work to the Royal Society of Medicine . After this meeting a leading article in the British Medical Journal stated "It may mark the beginning of a new era in epidemiology". Major Greenwood, an outstanding epidmeiologist of the time, suggested that he shold write a book on his observations, which was published in 1939 as Epidemiology in Country Practice . This became a medical classic [and is still in print today], and established Pickles's reputation. It showed how a country practice could be a field laboratory with unique opportunities for epidemiologists.

Pickles had by now become famous and was showered with honours. He was Milroy lecturer at the Royal College of Physicians of London (1942) and Cutter lecturer at Harvard (1948). In 1946 he shared the Stewart prize of the BMA with Major Greenwood and in 1955 he was elected an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and was awarded the first James Mackenzie medal. He became the first president of the College of General Practitioners in 1953.

In 1917 he married Gertrude Adelaide, daughter of Harry Tunstill, a wealthy mill owner from Burnley. Pickles died 2 March 1969, his wife died later the same year.

William Pickles (1885-1969) general practitioner and epidemiologist practised medicine in Aylsgarth in Yorkshire between 1912 and 1964. Material reflecting Pickles' career in the medical profession.

Pickles practiced as GP for over fifty years in Aysgarth, Yorkshire, until his retirement in 1964. Throughout this period he conducted extensive research into epidemiology, using the Aysgarth District and its inhabitants he worked tirelessly to investigate epidemiological trends in rural areas. He lectured throughout Britain and worlwide, in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. He was appointed Cutter Lecturer, 1947-48 at Harvard University, America. Pickles was influential in the founding of the College of General Practitoners (later the Royal Collge of General Practitioners) and held the post of First President, 1953-1956.

William Owen Williams (1921-2002) served in general practice in Swansea 1950-1980 and was senior partner in his practice from 1968. He trained at the University College of North Wales, Bangor and the Welsh National School of Medicine, Cardiff. His MD thesis, 'A clinical and epidemiological study of Bornholm Disease', was submitted to the University of Wales in 1958. He later undertook a number of inquiries into the state of MDs by thesis in Britain and abroad; influenza and whooping cough are notable among his other research interests.

The Swansea Research Unit of the RCGP was largely set up due to his activities and he served as Director from its inception in 1975, retiring in 1988. (The unit then ceased to be part of the RCGP and work was carried on by the Postgraduate School of Medicine at the University of Swansea.)

Dr Williams has also written on the work of the general practitioner and undertaken research into medical education. He has worked as a lecturer, served on various training committees and has held various positions with the Royal College of General Practitioners and government medical advisory bodies. He was elected a Fellow of the RCGP in 1970 and awarded the OBE in 1975. He is widely referred to as 'W.O.'

James Mackenzie (1853-1925) was born on April 1853 in Pickstonhill Farm, Scone, where his father was a tenant farmer and was the third child and second son. He attended the local school at Scone and he went to Perth Academy in 1865 but left after three years to serve an apprenticeship as a dispensing chemist at Reid & Donald chemists, George Street, Perth, for four years. After working as an assistant chemist in Glasgow for a year, he decided to study medicine. After some private tuition in Latin, he passed the university entrance examination and entered the medical school at Edinburgh University, qualifying M.B. & C.M. in 1878. He worked as a locum in a colliery practice at Spennymoor, County Durham from June of that year till November when his resident post at Edinburgh Royal infirmary became available. On completing his residency in 1879, he joined Dr. Briggs and Brown in general practice in Burnley, an industrial town in England.

He found himself in a very busy practice where the patients did not correspond to those in the teaching hospital or the textbooks. In Victorian England, infectious disease was rife, and in Burnley in 1879 there were 56 deaths from scarlet fever and the infant mortality was 205/1000 births. He saw 60 to 70 patients daily and attended an average of three deliveries a week but still he found time to complete his MD thesis on Hemi-paraplegia Spinalis in 1882.

In his spare time, he studied Greek and German, played golf and started to write a novel, which was concerned with the social deprivation prevalent at that time. In 1885, he was able to afford the time and the money for a holiday in America. The highlight of his visit was to Yellowstone Park. Two years later, he married Frances Jackson and honeymooned in Italy. He had two daughters Dorothy born in 1888 and Jean in 1893.

While engaged in this very busy practice, he made original observations and had over fifty papers published. Although many of his articles were on cardiology, he also wrote on many other topics particularly neurology and pain mechanisms. He was among the first to own a motorcar in Burnley and a photograph in one of his biographies shows him in this car with a driver.

In 1890 he made the seminal observation that the chambers of the heart could beat out of their correct order, when he discovered extra systoles. But it was not until the distinguished pharmacologist, Professor Cushny, demonstrated extra systoles experimentally in the mammalian heart that Mackenzie's findings were generally accepted. Before his discoveries were widely known, many people were made cardiac invalids by the anxiety of their doctors who, on discovering the irregularity due to extra systoles, confined the patient needlessly to bed or ordered them to curtail their activities.

By carefully following up his patients with extra systoles, Mackenzie showed their benign nature. At first he used a sphygmograph for graphically recording a peripheral pulse. The tracings were made on a smoked drum which was then varnished to preserve the record, a very time consuming process. He then developed the polygraph, a portable clockwork, ink-writing instrument with two tambours with which he was able to record radial and jugular pulses simultaneously and to measure the atrioventricular interval. He used the polygraph to diagnose the various types of heart block. This work was all done in the course of the usual busy medical practice. At this time his knowledge of cardiology was growing very fast cardiac irregularities were regarded with concern by the profession and the laity, as none knew their significance.

In 1897 he noted that in a patient with mitral stenosis, the presystolic murmur disappeared with the onset of irregularity of the pulse but he also noted that the 'a' waves in the jugular venous pulse had also disappeared and concluded that the auricle was paralyzed, which functionally it was. This disordered irregularity described by Mackenzie was later called auricular fibrillation.

Another of his discoveries was the action of digitalis on conduction in the atrio-ventricular bundle, so slowing the ventricular response in atrial fibrillation. He also devised a safer and simpler regimen for prescribing digitalis.

He managed to find the time to do an immense amount of research together with a heavy workload of family practice, he had an enormous capacity for work and was driven by an intense desire to advance his understanding of disease. Mackenzie was expert with the polygraph and painstaking in storing and interpreting those records. He filed his notes and tracings for further reference and as illustrations in his textbooks. At the age of 49, the first of his books, "The Study of the Pulse" [1902] was published after twenty-three years in general practice.

By this time he had become the world clinical authority on heart disease. His publications attracted the attention of many famous medical personages and including Weckenbach [from 1902] and Sir Arthur Keith in 1903. Mackenzie sent the hearts of patients obtained at autopsy to Keith who studied the pathology particularly the conducting system.

In 1906 he attended the BMA meeting in Toronto and the GP from Burnley became engaged in a lively debate with Dr. Morrow, professor of physiology at McGill University and it appears Mackenzie got the best of the argument. The following year saw the formation of The Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, the membership of which was limited to 200 hospital physicians and lectures in clinical medicine. Mackenzie, although a general practitioner, was elected and opened the discussion on the heart at the first meeting.

He left Burnley for London and set up as a consultant in November 1907. He was invited to join the staff of the West End Hospital for nervous disease under Sir James Purves-Stewart and was appointed to the staff of Mount Vernon Hospital Hampstead. His second book, "Diseases of the Heart", was published in 1908. The following year, he rented consulting rooms in Harley Street and in a very short time, was very busy with private patients. Although he was he was elected FRCP in 1909 but his main objective, a place on the consultant staff of the London Hospital eluded him although he was appointed lecturer in cardiac research, in 1911 to that hospital and was allowed the use of six beds.

Mackenzie's third textbook, "Symptoms And Their Interpretation", was published in 1909 and the following year he was made an LLD of Aberdeen University. More honours followed in 1911 when he delivered the Oliver Sharpey lecture on heart failure to the Royal College of Physicians and the Schorstein lectures on auricular fibrillation to the London Hospital. In 1913 he was appointed physician in charge of the new cardiac department at the London hospital and was involved in setting up the military cardiac department at Mount Vernon hospital. In his eleven years in private consultant medicine, he did not charge excessive fees but still earned a considerable amount of money.

In 1915, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; a knighthood followed later that year. The following year he published "Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment in Heart Infections". To all intents he had made it in London, become a consultant to the prestigious London Hospital, and had done well financially. So, it seems strange that two years later, at the age of sixty-four, he decided to leave London and move to St. Andrews to set up an institute for research in general practice.

By October 1919 he had established his research institute in St. Andrews and managed to involve all the general practitioners in the town in his project. He also found the time to publish another work "The Future of Medicine". The various programmes considered at the institute included the investigation of pain, of glandular enlargement, disease of children and consumption, a somewhat daunting task for five GPs. He was very keen to get the general practitioner involved in keeping good records and in the epidemiology of the maladies occurring in practice. He was probably one of the first to think of epidemiology in terms of non-infectious diseases. In 1920 he was appointed Honorary Physician to the King and he put forward proposals for a postgraduate school for training panel doctors.

In 1923 his large output of textbooks was expanded with the two publications, "Heart Disease in Pregnancy" and "Angina Pectoris". The achievements of the institute were modest and it did not last long after his death but he did draw attention to the importance of family doctors and their need for special training. It is worth noting that three university chairs of general practice in Britain are named in his honour.

Mackenzie had suffered from angina pectoris for many years and died on a visit to London in January 1925. A postmortem examination was carried out by his former assistant, Sir John Parkinson who on Mackenzie's prior instructions, had his heart taken to the anatomy department of St. Andrews University.

The Drapers' Company was formally founded in 1361, though there appears to have been an informal association of Drapers as early as 1180. A Brotherhood of Drapers, a religious fraternity attached to the church of St. Mary Bethlehem in Bishopsgate, is also known to have existed in the 1360s.

The Company's first Royal Charter given in 1364, states that the brothers and sisters were to meet four times a year, pay their fees, hold feasts and assist one another. In 1438 a Charter of Incorporation was given, which recognized the Drapers as a legal corporate fraternity, a Company which has perpetual succession and a Common seal. The original privileges granted by Royal Charter have been confirmed and amended by successive monarchs. The current acting Charter is that granted by James I in 1607, amended by three Supplemental Charters, most recently in 1964.

In the 1420s the Company built a Hall to house its headquarters and offices, in St Swithin's Lane. In 1543 they moved to the former mansion of Thomas Cromwell in Old Broad St (now Throgmorton St), and leased the old Hall. This mansion along with the old Hall were destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666, and a new Hall was built to a plan designed by Edward Jarman (d.1668) and completed by Thomas Cartwright. The present Hall has undergone successive alterations by John Gorham following damage by a fire in 1772, and has had further alterations by Herbert Williams in the 1860s, and Sir Thomas Jackson, 1897-1900.

Members of the Company's governing body were first called Assistants in 1521, and the Court of Assistants has controlled the administration of the Company since the early 16th century. In 1601, the Company was reincorporated by a Charter which required at least twelve governors. Assistants numbering between 26 and 53, were co-opted mainly from the Livery, and the Wardens were ex-officio court members. The Court of Council of Assistants originally met on quarter days, but moved to monthly meetings by 1819. In the 19th century, the Company administration was increasingly delegated to committees made up of 6 or 7 members of the Court, elected annually. Business of both the Committees and the Council of Wardens was submitted to the full Court for approval.

There were four methods of admission to the Company. Apprenticeship, was the main method and involved the master draper paying an annual fee to the Wardens for an apprentice. Apprenticeship normally lasted 7 years, and on payment of a further fee the apprentice was given entry into the Freedom. Redemption was a method of entry from the 1420s onward for those wishing to avoid the apprenticeship term. Entry via Patrimony instituted as early as 1481, was restricted to children born after their father had been admitted. All Freeman were required to pay Quarterage, for which the Livery in return was expected to provide four dinners annually.
Initially membership primarily consisted of drapers, by the end of the 16th century members included porters, tailors, solicitors and schoolmasters, as well as drapers.
Admission is currently by redemption (interview) or patrimony (by virtue of a parent being a Draper).

In the 16th century, benefactions to the Company led to the founding of almshouses, schools or hospitals, the donation of pensions to the old and distressed poor of the City of London.

The Drapers' were one of the City Livery Companies who took part in the colonization of Ulster along with the Irish Society in 1610. They acquired 38 800 acres of the barony of Loughinsholin in County Londonderry, comprising the Divisions of Moneymore, Brackagh, Slieve Gallion, and Ballinascreen. This estate was mostly sold between 1872 and 1900.

The Drapers' Company has always had a concern for the relief of the poor, as early as 1371 its ordinances stress the role of the fraternity in helping members in misfortune. Numerous bequests, gifts and trusts have been left to the Company for charitable purposes. Initially lands left to the Company tended to be designated for the provision of a chantry for the deceased benefactor. During the 16th century, the endowments were mainly for provision for the poor - either freemen of the Company or poor in the City of London. A number of almshouses were also founded at this time

The Company's involvement with education originated in the medieval apprenticeship scheme. It was formalized after 1551 when exhibitions were awarded to scholars at Oxford and Cambridge. The Company became involved with the establishment and management of thirteen schools. Later it founded and financed technical schools, university departments, libraries and laboratories and in conjunction with other Livery Companies, established the City and Guilds of London Institute.

Bequests and endowments which formed the basis of the Trusts came from Thomas Howell, d. 1537/8; John Walter; Francis Bancroft; Samuel Harwar, 1693-1694; Theophilus Royley, d.1656; William Lambarde, 1536-1601, founder of Queen Elizabeth College; Henry Dixon, and Henry Dixon, jnr d.1680; John Kendrick; Thomas Russell, d.1593; John Rainey, d 1633; William Dummer, d.c.1589; Samuel Pennoyer, d 1654; John Pemel; Sir William Boreman; Sir Samuel Starling; John Stock; Henry Colbron; Christopher Clarke, d.1672; Sir Thomas Cullum; Sir Ambrose Crowley; Henry Lucas; William Calley, d.1515; Robert Buck; John Edmanson, d.1696; Sir John Jolles, d.1621; Jonathan Granger; Thomas Soley, d.1881; and Sir Thomas Adams.

Barrett Street Trade School was founded in 1915 by the London County Council Technical Education board to train pupils for industries that required skilled craft labour. During the nineteenth century both skilled men and women employed in the clothing industry earned their trade through an apprenticeship, but by the end of the century the system was not training sufficient workers and trade schools were established to provide more skilled labour. The school ran a variety of courses including dressmaking, ladies tailoring, embroidery and hairdressing and beauty. Men's tailoring and furrier courses were established later.

The school took pupils from the age of 12 following elementary education, and trained them for two years to work primarily in London's West End couturier houses and hair salons. Women were employed in the ready-to-wear trade centred on London's East End, or in the fashionable dressmaking and allied trades in the West End, based around the South Kensington and Oxford Street areas. Women working in this area were highly skilled, and the early needle-trade schools in London, including Barrett Street trained women for this high quality couture work. Almost all pupils obtained employment on completion of their courses.

All pupils followed a curriculum that was two-thirds trade subject and one-third general education. Following the success of the full time courses Barrett Street started to run a variety of day release and evening courses for women already working in the trade. The school worked very closely with the trades and had consultative committees that were almost exclusively made up of members from the industries. These committees advised in the suitability of courses for the prevailing employment conditions in the clothing industry at the time, and courses were introduced or adapted accordingly. For example in 1926 Barrett Street Trade School started running courses for older students who wanted careers as dress designers.

After the Second World War and the 1944 Education Act, which required pupils to continue full time general education until 15, Barrett Street was given technical college status. The junior courses were discontinued and senior courses expanded. Management courses were introduced. The school was renamed Barrett Street Technical College, and after 1950, began to take on male students. The college amalgamated with Shoreditch College for the Garment Trades in 1967 to form the London College for the Garment Trades, later renamed the London College of Fashion.

C & A Ltd, clothing retailers and manufacturers, was founded by Clemens and August Brenninkmeyer in Sneek, Holland, in 1841. Their descendants continued to serve with the firm in Great Britain. The first British store opened on 376/384 Oxford Street and Bird Street in 1922 (this store was completely destroyed by a German bomb in November 1940). The company aimed to produce a wide range of quality, affordable clothing, backed by large scale newspaper and magazine advertising and attractive window and in-store displays. The firm rapidly expanded during the 1920s and 1930s; stores opened in Liverpool in 1924, Birmingham in 1926, Manchester in 1928, and Leeds and Glasgow in 1929. The first C & A factory commenced production at Wilson Street, London, in 1928, but demand quickly outstripped production, and a larger factory was opened at Goswell Road in 1930. The first suburban store was opened in Peckham, South London, in 1930; new stores in Kensington, Sheffield and Newcastle opened in 1932, and in Edinburgh and Southampton in 1936. In March 1939, a third C & A store opened on Oxford Street; this was a huge flagship store named 'Hereford House', located near Marble Arch. Following World War Two, new designs in women's fashion combined with increasing consumer spending power allowed further expansion of the company in the British market. Three new shops opened during 1946-1947, seven between 1952-1959, rising to twenty between 1960-1969, and twelve in the period 1970-1972.

During the 1990s trading difficulties grew, as competition from other clothing retailers intensified on the high street, with the company attempting to attract consumers who were disinclined to spend as freely as in the 1980s. In June 2000, the company announced that it would cease trading in the UK. Most of the 109 British stores closed in January 2001, with the last British stores at Bradford and Hounslow closing in May 2001. The C & A group, based in Brussells, continues to operate some 500 stores in eleven other European countries.

Visiting Lecturer in History of Art and Design/Media Studies, Derby Lonsdale College, 1983-1987; VT Lecturer in History of Costume, Chesterfield College of Technology and Art, 1985-1986; Visiting Lecturer in History of Art and Design, Derbyshire College of Further Education, 1986-1987; Lecturer in History of Art and Design, Carmarthen College of Technology and Arts, 1987-1990; Visiting Lecturer in Contextual Studies, University of East London, 1990-1992; Visiting Lecturer, 1990-1993, Lecturer, 1993-2001 in Cultural Studies, London Institute.

Messrs Cooling Lawrence & Sons of 47 Maddox Street, London were civil, naval and military tailors, specialising in uniforms.

A Leather Trade School was founded in Bethnal Green in 1887 by the Leathersellers and Cordwainers Company, City and Guilds of London Institute and the Boot and Shoe Manufacturers' Association. The school became the Cordwainers Technical College, and was incorporated in 1914 to continue and develop the work of the Leather Trade School. The College was moved to Hackney in 1945, and became grant-aided by the Inner London Education Authority. The College buildings were enlarged in 1956, and an extra wing was added in 1977, providing a larger technicians' section, lecture room and extra work room. The College provided specialist education and training courses in footwear, accessories, leather goods and saddlery, at all levels up to degree, as well as general art and design courses at pre-degree level. In 1991 the College was renamed Cordwainers College. Cordwainers College became part of the London Institute and merged with the London College of Fashion in 2000. The College is now known as Cordwainers at the London College of Fashion.

Costin was born in Lewisham, South-East London in 1913. He became a journalist, working briefly for the local paper the Lewisham Journal and Kent Mercury before becoming assistant editor for Health for All magazine in 1930. During the Second World War he saw service in West Africa and North West Europe. After leaving the army in 1946 he became a writer for Style for Men and Style Weekly, and wrote for many specialist magazines in Europe. From 1982 to 1995 he was editor of The Glover, the magazine of the Worshipful Company of Glovers.

During the first half of the 20th century it was customary for French couture houses to send their models to display selected dresses at race meetings in the Paris district. Mr N Driver attended several meetings as a member of a textile manufacturing firm from the early 1930s. He took black and white photographs of the models and then used 16mm cine Kodachrome film, using the first colour film in 1937. Except for a break during to the Second World War Mr Driver continued to film the meetings until 1954.

Ethel E Cox was English Mistress at Shoreditch Technical Institute Girls Trade School from 1911 to 1915, and the first Principal of Barrett Street Trade School from 1915 to 1950. She was an English graduate and ensured that "dramatic literature" featured on the curriculum. Miss Cox and the trade staff of Barrett Street Trade School had close working relationships with many West End firms, some of whom donated materials for students use. Many girls either went to work or were working for these firms, and attended day or day release courses. Traditionally the firms' representatives would attend the school's annual exhibition of work to select their future employees. Ethel Cox died in 1979, aged 93.

Courses at Barrett Street Trade School included dressmaking, ladies tailoring, embroidery and hairdressing and beauty. Men's tailoring and furrier courses were established later. Pupils joined the school from the age of 12 following elementary education, and trained for two years, primarily for work in London's West End couturier houses and hair salons. Women were employed in the ready-to-wear trade centred on London's East End, or in the fashionable dressmaking and allied trades in the West End, based around the South Kensington and Oxford Street areas. All pupils followed a curriculum that was two-thirds trade subject and one-third general education. Following the success of the full time courses Barrett Street started to run a variety of day release and evening courses for women already working in the trade.

After the Second World War and the 1944 Education Act, which required pupils to continue full time general education until 15, Barrett Street School was given technical college status. The junior courses were discontinued and senior courses expanded. Management courses were introduced. Barrett Street Trade School was renamed Barrett Street Technical College, and after 1950, began to take on male students. The college amalgamated with Shoreditch College for the Garment Trades in 1967 to form the London College for the Garment Trades, later renamed the London College of Fashion.

The Federation of Clothing Designers and Executives is the oldest technical body for the clothing industry in the UK, and is based at Beckenham, London.

Hayes Textiles Limited of Vencourt Place, 261/271 King Street, London, specialised in high quality Jacquard Fabrics and the production of Nigerian headwear. The Directors were D A Butler, S Ryman and M J Nettleton. On the death of the founder D A Butler, the company closed.

The International Wool Secretariat (IWS) was founded in 1937 and promoted the use and export of Australian wool, working with textile companies, designers and retailers. The International Wool Secretariat soon began special export promotions to the USA and South Africa, and during the 1940s and 1950s offices were established in several European countries, Canada and Japan. In 1964 the International Wool Secretariat began to use their Woolmark logo and continued to expand in size and profit, branching out into new areas such as knitwear, including menswear and womenswear, and carpets. In 1994 the activities of the International Wool Secretariat were merged with those of the Australian Wool Research and Promotion Organisation (AWRAP), and operated as one organisation under the control of AWRAP. In 1997 the International Wool Secretariat became the Woolmark Company, specialising in textile innovation and technical research, and the London office was closed as Woolmark moved its operations and headquarters to Melbourne, Australia.

The London Alliance of West End Cutters was founded in 1892 by J P Thornton, and was a professional society for tailors. Annual dinners were held and lectures given to meetings. The Alliance was wound up in 1987.

The London College of Fashion has its origins in the first women's trade schools: Shoreditch Technical Institute Girls Trade School (founded 1906), Barrett Street Trade School (founded 1915), and Clapham Trade School (founded 1927). The schools were set up by London County Council Technical Education board to train pupils for industries that required skilled craft labour. The schools ran a variety of courses that included dressmaking, ladies tailoring and embroidery. Barrett Street Trade School ran a hairdressing and beauty course and Clapham ran a millinery course. Men's tailoring and furrier courses were established later. Almost all pupils obtained employment on completion of their courses. Women were employed in the ready-to-wear trade centred on London's East End, or in the fashionable dressmaking and allied trades in the West End, based around the South Kensington and Oxford Street areas. Women working in this area were highly skilled, and the early needle-trade schools in London trained women for this high quality couture work.

After the Second World War and the 1944 Education Act, which required pupils to continue full time general education until 15, Shoreditch and Barrett Street schools were given technical college status. The junior courses were discontinued and senior courses expanded. Management courses were introduced. Barrett Street Trade School was renamed Barrett Street Technical College, and after 1950, began to take on male students. Shoreditch Girls Trade School merged with Clapham Trade School and became Shoreditch College for the Garment Trades, also including men on their courses. The colleges were amalgamated in 1967 to form the London College for the Garment Trades.

The new college was organised into four departments; Design, Clothing, Hairdressing and Beauty Culture and General Studies. In 1968 courses in beauty therapy, fashion writing and modelling were added to the curriculum. By 1970 the college catered for over 3,000 day and evening students from the age of 16 onwards taking examinations for college certificates, City and Guilds and the Institute of Trichologists. In 1974 the Governors supported the recommendation by the Academic Board that the name of the college should be changed to the London College of Fashion. In January 1986 the college bacame a constituent college of the London Institute, merging with Cordwainers College in August 2000.

The time log was a method of evaluating and paying for the work of tailors and tailoresses, and was an attempt to deal with industrial unrest at the end of the 19th century. Detailed lists of times allocated for the making of designated garments were set out, for example dress and frock coats. In some parts of the country the log created more problems than it solved, but the system was adopted in London and log books were produced for every type of garment including alterations. Machine logs, deducting times for operations when sewing machines were used, were also given. The log was agreed to by various trade unions, including the Association of London Master Tailors, the Amalgamated Society of Tailors and the London Society of Tailors. It was considered and amended by a Conciliation Board and new editions produced. The board met to consider the log and matters affecting the salaries and working conditions of tailors and tailoresses.

The log covered gentleman's coats, waistcoats, trousers, breeches and livery, uniforms, ladieswear, naval, court and diplomatic dress. The London Log continues to exist as a method of payment for piecework and is negotiated annually between the Federation of Merchant Tailors and the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers. It operates in a closely defined geographical area for all workers, and corresponds approximately with the W1 postcode area and Knightsbridge.

William Cooling Lawrence was President of the Association of London Master Tailors and Chair of the Joint Log Committee.

PROFITS, or Professional Fashion Industries Technology Service, was organised by London College of Fashion and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry as an Enterprise Initiative aimed at the clothing industry. The information packs sold to businesses were the result of 9 months research into the clothing industry in London.

Shoreditch Technical Institute founded a Girls Trade School in 1906 to train girls for the garment trades. The school offered trade courses in dressmaking, embroidery and upholstery and was set up by the London County Council Technical Education Board. During the nineteenth century both skilled men and women employed in the clothing industry earned their trade through an apprenticeship, but by the end of the century the system was not training sufficient workers and trade schools were established to provide more skilled labour.

Pupils were taken from the age of 12 following elementary education, and were trained for two years to work primarily in London's West End couturier houses and hair salons. Women were employed in the ready-to-wear trade centred on London's East End, or in the fashionable dressmaking and allied trades in the West End based around the South Kensington and Oxford Street areas. Women working in this area were highly skilled, and the early needle-trade schools in London, including Shoreditch, trained women for this high quality couture work. Almost all pupils obtained employment on completion of their courses. All pupils followed a curriculum that was two-thirds trade subject and one-third general education. Following the success of the full time courses the school started to run a variety of day release and evening courses for women already working in the trade. The school worked very closely with the trades and had consultative committees that were almost exclusively made up of members from the industries. These committees advised in the suitability of courses for the prevailing employment conditions in the clothing industry at the time, and courses were introduced or adapted accordingly. For example, with the developments in clothing mass production the consultative committees introduced further wholesale classes at Shoreditch

The 1944 Education Act required pupils to continue full time general education until 15 and gave Shoreditch technical college status. The junior courses were discontinued and senior courses expanded. Management courses were introduced. Shoreditch merged with Clapham Trade School and became Shoreditch College for the Garment Trades in 1955, including men on their courses. Renamed Shoreditch College for the Clothing Industry in 1966, the college amalgamated with Barrett Street Technical College (formerly Barrett Street Trade School) in 1967 to form the London College for the Garment Trades, later renamed the London College of Fashion.

Miss Winifred K Shunn was an embroidery and tambour teacher at Barrett Street Trade School from 1928 to 1962. She married in 1938 and was the first female member of staff to be allowed to continue teaching after her marriage.

The Tailors' and Outfitters' Assistants' Mutual Association was established in 1893 for the relief of poverty and distress of employees working in a department of a tailoring or outfitting establishment, qualified teachers of the trade and their dependants. In 1972 the Association became known as the General Friendly Society. The Tailors' and Outfitters' Assistants' Mutual Association Benevolent Fund was established in 1970 by trust deed. The Society was dissolved in 1978, and the benevolent fund was merged in 1993 with the Tailors' Benevolent Institute, a trust fund to 'relieve either generally or individually persons who are or have been journeyman tailors or tailoresses'.

St Mary's Training College was founded in 1850 on the initiative of Cardinal Wiseman. The Catholic Poor School Committee which was concerned with providing primary education to children of poor Roman Catholics throughout the united Kingdom, purchased a former girls school at Brook Green House, Hammersmith, and adapted it for use as a college with accommodation for 40 men students. A legal trust created on 16 Jul 1851 in connection with this property and its use as a training college for Catholic schoolmasters was confirmed in perpetuity.

The college was established on similar lines to that of the Brothers of Christian Instruction (les Freres d'Instruction Chretienne) at Ploermel, Brittany, where English students were sent between 1848-1851. A French brother, Brother Melanie, was initially placed in charge of St Mary's College, until the appointment of an English principal, Rev John Melville Glennie in 1851.

The college opened with six men students who had begun their training at the novitiate of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, Ploermel, Brittany. It was expected that students would join the teaching religious order, however in 1854, in response to a shortage of suitably qualified candidates, the decision was taken to admit lay students to the college. In 1855, additional accommodation was provided for 50 lay students. By 1860 only lay students were attending the college.

With the appointment of the fourth principal Father William Byrne CM in 1899, the association of the College with the Congregation of the Mission (usually known as the Vincentians) commenced. This inaugurated a period of change and augmentation, seen in the increase in staff and student numbers, the introduction of the office of Dean, and the extension of the College premises made possible by funding from the Catholic Education Council. At the same time the College was concerned with adjusting to the requirements of the Education Acts of 1902-3 and their effect on the development of elementary education.

In 1898 Inter-College Sports were introduced between Borough Road, St Mark's, St Johns, Westminster and St Mary's colleges. The college magazine The Simmarian began a new series in 1903-4. Originally in manuscript form, it become a printed paper in 1905.

By 1924 there were 129 resident students at the College. Recognising the limitations of facilities at Hammersmith, the Principal the Very Rev Dr J J Doyle CM along with Sir John Gilbert and Sir Francis Anderton negotiated the sale of the Hammersmith site to the neighbouring Messrs J Lyons and Co. in 1922 and in 1923 the purchase of the Walpole-Waldegrave property at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, from Lord Michelham.

The College moved to its Strawberry Hill site in 1925, despite the extensive new buildings, designed by S Pugin-Powell, being yet incomplete and it was not until June1927 that they were officially opened. The new College site provided accommodation for 150 students, with 190 students altogether.

The majority of students were from England and Wales and entered according to Board of Education regulations. There were also a number of private students from 1925 onwards, including approximately 40 coming annually from Northern Ireland, as well as students from Malta, and brothers from England and Wales. Private students lived in accommodation separate from the College.

Prior to 1928 the Certificate of Education course and examinations were jointly controlled by the Board of Education and individual training colleges. With the introduction of a new scheme for London teacher training colleges, the Board of Education retained its inspectorship functions, but delegated its authority over the courses and examination to the University of London. Under this scheme, the four resident male teacher training college in London (St Mary's, Strawberry Hill; Borough Road, St Mark's and St John's; and Westminster) were formed into a group under the supervision of University College London (UCL). This group was jointly responsible with UCL for drawing up the syllabuses of the courses taught at the colleges, while the final examinations were designed to qualify students for the Certificate of Education awarded by the University of London. To direct the scheme, the Training College Delagacy was established, composed of representatives of the University, the Teacher training colleges, religious denominations and local authorities. Meanwhile, two representatives of the University of London joined the governing board of St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill.

In 1930, in addition to the Certificate of Education course and examination, degree courses were provided at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, leading for successful candidates to a London University degree. At the same time a one year colonial course was established at the College to train Priests and Brothers destined to join overseas missions. In 1935, responsibility for this course was transferred to the Jesuits.

The College became a Constituent College of the University of London Institute of Education, inaugurated on 19 December 1949, and the incorporation of the College into the Institute was formally approved by the Senate of the University in April 1950, the College's centenary year.

In response to the increasing demand for teachers, it was agreed in 1959 to expand the college to 500 places. By 1966, there were 1000 students 1966 also saw the admission of the first full time women students to the college. Other developments include the introduction in 1968 of an extra years study for the conversion of the Teachers Certificate to a Bachelor of Education degree, and in 1975, the first students pursuing the London University Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Humanities and Bachelor of Science.

In 1979 the University of London severed links with College. The University of Surrey agreed to take over the validation of its courses. Representatives from St Mary's College attend meetings of the University of Surrey Delegacy which was set up in 1980. In 1986 the first students of the college graduated with degrees from University of Surrey.

With the retirement of the Fr Desmond Beirne, as Principal in 1992, the College's links with the Vincentians came to an end, and Dr Arthur Naylor was appointed the first lay principal.

The Catholic Poor School Committee was founded in 1847 under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops of Great Britain to provide primary education for the children of poor Catholics in the UK. At this time there was an urgent need to address the lack of schools and teachers for Catholic children, who either attended non-Catholic schools or had no formal education at all.

The Committee consisted of 24 members comprising a clergyman and two laymen from each of the eight ecclesiastical districts into which England and Wales was then divided.

Chaired by the Hon Charles Langdale, the committee was recognized as the body nominated to act as intermediary between the Catholic body and the Committee of the Privy Council on Education, with a view to obtaining a share of the Government Grant for National Education, providing assistance for the building and support of Catholic schools and establishing training colleges for teachers.

In December 1847, the Committee of Council on Education set the conditions for aid grants to the Roman Catholic Schools

It was this Catholic Poor School Committee who purchased the Hammersmith site on which St Mary's College was established in 1850.

From 1888, this committee was known as the Catholic Schools Committee, and in 1905 its was converted into the Catholic Education Council, a much larger body with 80 members. The Catholic Education Council continued and enlarged on the work of its predecessor, fostering the building and extension of schools, promoting and establishing training colleges and secondary education to meet the needs of a growing Catholic population. It continued to by chaired by the 15th Duke of Norfolk until his death in 1916.

[The Committee of Council on Education consisting of four ministers of the Crown, was created in 1839 to superintend the application of any sums voted by Parliament for the purpose of promoting public education. The Education Committee of the Privy Council became the Board of Education and subsequently the Education Department.]

Before 1951 the Committee of Principals of Catholic Training Colleges was known as the Association of Catholic Training Colleges, and then the Association of Principals of Catholic Training Colleges.

: St Mary's Training College was founded in 1850 on the initiative of Cardinal Wiseman. The Catholic Poor School Committee which was concerned with providing primary education to children of poor Roman Catholics throughout the united Kingdom, purchased a former girls school at Brook Green House, Hammersmith, and adapted it for use as a college with accommodation for 40 men students. A legal trust created on 16 Jul 1851 in connection with this property and its use as a training college for Catholic schoolmasters was confirmed in perpetuity.

The college was established on similar lines to that of the Brothers of Christian Instruction (les Freres d'Instruction Chretienne) at Ploermel, Brittany, where English students were sent between 1848-1851. A French brother, Brother Melanie, was initially placed in charge of St Mary's College, until the appointment of an English principal, Rev John Melville Glennie in 1851.

The college opened with six men students who had begun their training at the novitiate of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, Ploermel, Brittany. It was expected that students would join the teaching religious order, however in 1854, in response to a shortage of suitably qualified candidates, the decision was taken to admit lay students to the college. In 1855, additional accommodation was provided for 50 lay students. By 1860 only lay students were attending the college.

With the appointment of the fourth principal Father William Byrne CM in 1899, the association of the College with the Congregation of the Mission (usually known as the Vincentians) commenced. This inaugurated a period of change and augmentation, seen in the increase in staff and student numbers, the introduction of the office of Dean, and the extension of the College premises made possible by funding from the Catholic Education Council. At the same time the College was concerned with adjusting to the requirements of the Education Acts of 1902-3 and their effect on the development of elementary education.

In 1898 Inter-College Sports were introduced between Borough Road, St Mark's, St Johns, Westminster and St Mary's colleges. The college magazine The Simmarian began a new series in 1903-4. Originally in manuscript form, it become a printed paper in 1905.

By 1924 there were 129 resident students at the College. Recognising the limitations of facilities at Hammersmith, the Principal the Very Rev Dr J J Doyle CM along with Sir John Gilbert and Sir Francis Anderton negotiated the sale of the Hammersmith site to the neighbouring Messrs J Lyons and Co. in 1922 and in 1923 the purchase of the Walpole-Waldegrave property at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, from Lord Michelham.

The College moved to its Strawberry Hill site in 1925, despite the extensive new buildings, designed by S Pugin-Powell, being yet incomplete and it was not until June1927 that they were officially opened. The new College site provided accommodation for 150 students, with 190 students altogether.

The majority of students were from England and Wales and entered according to Board of Education regulations. There were also a number of private students from 1925 onwards, including approximately 40 coming annually from Northern Ireland, as well as students from Malta, and brothers from England and Wales. Private students lived in accommodation separate from the College.

Prior to 1928 the Certificate of Education course and examinations were jointly controlled by the Board of Education and individual training colleges. With the introduction of a new scheme for London teacher training colleges, the Board of Education retained its inspectorship functions, but delegated its authority over the courses and examination to the University of London. Under this scheme, the four resident male teacher training college in London (St Mary's, Strawberry Hill; Borough Road, St Mark's and St John's; and Westminster) were formed into a group under the supervision of university College London (UCL). This group was jointly responsible with UCL for drawing up the syllabuses of the courses taught at the colleges, while the final examinations were designed to qualify students for the Certificate of Education awarded by the University of London. To direct the scheme, the Training College Delagacy was established, composed of representatives of the University, the Teacher training colleges, religious denominations and local authorities. Meanwhile, two representatives of the University of London joined the governing board of St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill.

In 1930, in addition to the Certificate of Education course and examination, degree courses were provided at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, leading for successful candidates to a London University degree. At the same time a one year colonial course was established at the College to train Priests and Brothers destined to join overseas missions. In 1935, responsibility for this course was transferred to the Jesuits.

The College became a Constituent College of the University of London Institute of Education, inaugurated on 19 December 1949, and the incorporation of the College into the Institute was formally approved by the Senate of the University in April 1950, the College's centenary year.

In response to the increasing demand for teachers, it was agreed in 1959 to expand the college to 500 places. By 1966, there were 1000 students 1966 also saw the admission of the first full time women students to the college. Other developments include the introduction in 1968 of an extra years study for the conversion of the Teachers Certificate to a Bachelor of Education degree, and in 1975, the first students pursuing the London University Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Humanities and Bachelor of Science.

In 1979 the University of London severed links with College. The University of Surrey agreed to take over the validation of its courses. Representatives from St Mary's College attend meetings of the University of Surrey Delegacy which was set up in 1980. In 1986 the first students of the college graduated with degrees from University of Surrey.

With the retirement of the Fr Desmond Beirne, as Principal in 1992, the College's links with the Vincentians came to an end, and Dr Arthur Naylor was appointed the first lay principal.

: St Mary's Training College was founded in 1850 on the initiative of Cardinal Wiseman. The Catholic Poor School Committee which was concerned with providing primary education to children of poor Roman Catholics throughout the united Kingdom, purchased a former girls school at Brook Green House, Hammersmith, and adapted it for use as a college with accommodation for 40 men students. A legal trust created on 16 Jul 1851 in connection with this property and its use as a training college for Catholic schoolmasters was confirmed in perpetuity.

The college was established on similar lines to that of the Brothers of Christian Instruction (les Freres d'Instruction Chretienne) at Ploermel, Brittany, where English students were sent between 1848-1851. A French brother, Brother Melanie, was initially placed in charge of St Mary's College, until the appointment of an English principal, Rev John Melville Glennie in 1851.

The college opened with six men students who had begun their training at the novitiate of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, Ploermel, Brittany. It was expected that students would join the teaching religious order, however in 1854, in response to a shortage of suitably qualified candidates, the decision was taken to admit lay students to the college. In 1855, additional accommodation was provided for 50 lay students. By 1860 only lay students were attending the college.

With the appointment of the fourth principal Father William Byrne CM in 1899, the association of the College with the Congregation of the Mission (usually known as the Vincentians) commenced. This inaugurated a period of change and augmentation, seen in the increase in staff and student numbers, the introduction of the office of Dean, and the extension of the College premises made possible by funding from the Catholic Education Council. At the same time the College was concerned with adjusting to the requirements of the Education Acts of 1902-3 and their effect on the development of elementary education.

In 1898 Inter-College Sports were introduced between Borough Road, St Mark's, St Johns, Westminster and St Mary's colleges. The college magazine The Simmarian began a new series in 1903-4. Originally in manuscript form, it become a printed paper in 1905.

By 1924 there were 129 resident students at the College. Recognising the limitations of facilities at Hammersmith, the Principal the Very Rev Dr J J Doyle CM along with Sir John Gilbert and Sir Francis Anderton negotiated the sale of the Hammersmith site to the neighbouring Messrs J Lyons and Co. in 1922 and in 1923 the purchase of the Walpole-Waldegrave property at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, from Lord Michelham.

The College moved to its Strawberry Hill site in 1925, despite the extensive new buildings, designed by S Pugin-Powell, being yet incomplete and it was not until June1927 that they were officially opened. The new College site provided accommodation for 150 students, with 190 students altogether.

The majority of students were from England and Wales and entered according to Board of Education regulations. There were also a number of private students from 1925 onwards, including approximately 40 coming annually from Northern Ireland, as well as students from Malta, and brothers from England and Wales. Private students lived in accommodation separate from the College.

Prior to 1928 the Certificate of Education course and examinations were jointly controlled by the Board of Education and individual training colleges. With the introduction of a new scheme for London teacher training colleges, the Board of Education retained its inspectorship functions, but delegated its authority over the courses and examination to the University of London. Under this scheme, the four resident male teacher training college in London (St Mary's, Strawberry Hill; Borough Road, St Mark's and St John's; and Westminster) were formed into a group under the supervision of university College London (UCL). This group was jointly responsible with UCL for drawing up the syllabuses of the courses taught at the colleges, while the final examinations were designed to qualify students for the Certificate of Education awarded by the University of London. To direct the scheme, the Training College Delagacy was established, composed of representatives of the University, the Teacher training colleges, religious denominations and local authorities. Meanwhile, two representatives of the University of London joined the governing board of St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill.

In 1930, in addition to the Certificate of Education course and examination, degree courses were provided at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill, leading for successful candidates to a London University degree. At the same time a one year colonial course was established at the College to train Priests and Brothers destined to join overseas missions. In 1935, responsibility for this course was transferred to the Jesuits.

The College became a Constituent College of the University of London Institute of Education, inaugurated on 19 December 1949, and the incorporation of the College into the Institute was formally approved by the Senate of the University in April 1950, the College's centenary year.

In response to the increasing demand for teachers, it was agreed in 1959 to expand the college to 500 places. By 1966, there were 1000 students 1966 also saw the admission of the first full time women students to the college. Other developments include the introduction in 1968 of an extra years study for the conversion of the Teachers Certificate to a Bachelor of Education degree, and in 1975, the first students pursuing the London University Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Humanities and Bachelor of Science.

In 1979 the University of London severed links with College. The University of Surrey agreed to take over the validation of its courses. Representatives from St Mary's College attend meetings of the University of Surrey Delegacy which was set up in 1980. In 1986 the first students of the college graduated with degrees from University of Surrey.

With the retirement of the Fr Desmond Beirne, as Principal in 1992, the College's links with the Vincentians came to an end, and Dr Arthur Naylor was appointed the first lay principal.

St Mary's Training College was founded in 1850 on the initiative of Cardinal Wiseman. The Catholic Poor School Committee which was concerned with providing primary education to children of poor Roman Catholics throughout the united Kingdom, purchased a former girls school at Brook Green House, Hammersmith, and adapted it for use as a college with accommodation for 40 men students. A legal trust created on 16 Jul 1851 in connection with this property and its use as a training college for Catholic schoolmasters was confirmed in perpetuity.
The college was established on similar lines to that of the Brothers of Christian Instruction (les Freres d'Instruction Chretienne) at Ploermel, Brittany, where English students were sent between 1848-1851. A French brother, Brother Melanie was initially placed in charge of St Mary's College, until the appointment of an English principal, Rev John Melville Glennie in 1851.

The college opened with six men students who had begun their training at the novitiate of the Brothers of Christian Instruction, Ploermel, Brittany. It was expected that students would join the teaching religious order, however in 1854, in response to a shortage of suitably qualified candidates, the decision was taken to admit lay students to the college. In 1855, additional accommodation was provided for 50 lay students. By 1860 only lay students were attending the college.

With the appointment of the fourth principal Father William Byrne CM in 1899, the association of the College with the Congregation of the Mission (usually known as the Vincentians) commenced. This inaugurated a period of change and augmentation, seen in the increase in staff and student numbers, the introduction of the office of Dean, and the extension of the College premises made possible by funding from the Catholic Education Council. At the same time the College was concerned with adjusting to the requirements of the Education Acts of 1902-3 and their effect on the development of elementary education.

In 1898 Inter-College Sports were introduced between Borough Road, St Mark's, St Johns, Westminster and St Mary's colleges. The college magazine The Simmarian began a new series in 1903-4. Originally in manuscript form, it became a printed paper in 1905.

By 1924 there were 129 resident students at the College. Recognising the limitations of facilities at Hammersmith, the Principal the Very Rev Dr J J Doyle CM along with Sir John Gilbert and Sir Francis Anderton negotiated the sale of the Hammersmith site to the neighbouring Messrs J Lyons and Co. in 1922 and in 1923 the purchase of the Walpole-Waldegrave property at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, from Lord Michelham.

The College moved to its Strawberry Hill site in 1925, despite the extensive new buildings, designed by S Pugin-Powell, being yet incomplete and it was not until June1927 that they were officially opened. The new College site provided accommodation for 150 students of its 190 students.

For further information on the College following its move to Strawberry Hill see description for St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill.

In July 1898 Mr E White Wallis, scientist, and Mrs Alice Mullins (wife of E Roscoe Mullins, sculptor) issued a circular titled 'A proposed rational school'. This led to the formation of the King Alfred School Society (KASS) which had as its object 'the furtherance, in every possible way, of true educational methods', which was a protest against contemporary education practice. The founding members of the Hampstead based Society along with Alice Mullins, were Isobel White Wallis, F W Miall, Cecil J Sharp, Hamo Thorneycroft, Gerald C Maberly and J Godfrey Hickson. A preliminary prospectus for the new school was issued in December 1897.

The stated principles which were the basis for the school were to educate boys and girls together; to cater for children of all ages; to limit class sizes to secure greater individual attention from teachers; to hold the object of teaching to develop faculty in all directions and to draw out the self-activity of the child; to award no scholarships, prizes or awards on the understanding that learning should be encouraged for its own sake; studies and occupations were to be carefully co-ordinated instead of being treated as separate subjects, the various subjects would be interlinked; closer cooperation between parents and teachers; that the home must help the school to achieve its aim though a common bond of sympathy; and that the school be free from any religious or political organisation.

These were based on the rationalist ideology and theories of education reformers such as Pestalozzi, Herbart, Herbert Spencer, and Louis Compton Miall.

The school opened on 2 May 1898, with Charles E Rice, formerly of Bedales School, Hampshire, as its first headmaster. By the time of the official opening on 24 Jun 1898, performed by Millicent Garret Fawcett, leader of the suffrage movement, the school had seven pupils, though this quickly expanded to twenty during the autumn term, organised into a senior and junior school.

Initially located at 24 Ellerdale Rd, Hampstead in a residential house. The acquisition of 22 Ellerdale Rd in 1906, increased available space for the school.

In 1901, the relationship between Rice and the School Council had deteriorated, amidst attempts by Rice and some members of the Council to limit the School to pupils aged 14 years or younger, to the point where Rice resigned, and later established his own school -West Heath School in Ferncroft Avenue, Hampstead.

The second principal, John Russell a more experienced teacher, former assistant master at University College School, was able to consolidate the effectiveness of the School. By 1911 the school was described as a demonstration school, such was the interest taken in it and in the educational reforms which it exhibited in its curriculum and practice. Enrolments had also jumped from 31 pupils in 1901 to 91 pupils in 1920. During the period, two 'garden schools' for younger children were operated in the vicinity.

Russell was succeeded by Joseph Wicksteed, and in the climate of economic collapse the school faced financial stringency just at a time when it was relocating premises at Manor Wood, North End Rd in 1921. In 1918, the School had purchased the Garden Suburb Montesorri School, however, it refused to tie its curriculum to the Montesorri philosophy. Wicksteed favoured a broader education and based his new curriculum on the Dalton plan. He also embarked on a building programme, completing a new hall in 1926 and new teaching blocks for science and the arts and a junior block prior to his retirement in 1933. The school population peaked at 170 in 1930, but dropped to 139 in 1932.

Violet Hyett, former senior mistress and Holland de Birkett, former senior master were appointed joint heads of school to succeed Wicksteed. They largely continued the educational principles of their predecessor. In 1936, the School Council approved plans to find a country base for the school for weekend and summer camps, as well as a safe haven in the event of war. Flint Hall Farm, near Royston, Hertfordshire, was purchased, and the buildings gradually transformed to accommodate the school. The school moved to Royston in early 1940, returning in September 1945, as Manor Wood buildings were vacated by the Home Guard, but facilities at Royston continued to be used, mainly by local residents, until July 1946.

In the meantime, Baron Harleigh Montgomery had been appointed the new head as Birkett and Hyett had retired. He faced an initial challenge in refurbishing the school building for habitation, as well as the need to persuade parents of the lasting value of the KAS education system on the face of competition for better discipline and examination results comparable to the new grammar schools. The post-war inspection by the Board of Education in 1949 was scathing of the Dalton philosophy. The Council and staff refused to change course, determined to maintain its progressive ethos, however the pressure to prepare pupils for examinations in a wider range of subjects, and in particular the GCE and 11+ examinations, did produce some modifications to the curriculum.

In [1959], it was decided to appoint a woman joint head from outside the school, and the post was filled by Mrs Nikki Paul Jones (later Nikki Archer). She joined the staff in April 1959, and in Oct 1962, Alan Humphries, took up the post of co-head on Montgomery's retirement, but left in 1970 to found the British School in Brussels, leaving full responsibility of headship to Archer. Pupil numbers increased from 298 in 1962 to 410 in 1982 when Archer retired. She was replaced by Francis Moran, head from 1983-1999. He was succeeded by a number of short headships - Lizzie Marsden, 1999-2001 and Sue Boulton, 2001-2003. In 2003, Dawn Moore was appointed head.

The New College of Speech and Drama was established in 1962 by the senior staff of the former Speech and Drama Department of the Royal Academy of Music. Owing to the lack of space at the academy, a company limited by guarantee was formed to found this independent college which was transferred to Ivy House, Hampstead, (the former home of ballerina, Anna Pavlova from 1912-1931) a property specially acquired for this purpose. As a non-profit making educational institution, the College was governed by a Board of Trustees.

The College provided a three year course for teachers in speech and drama. Students could work towards a University of London Diploma in Dramatic Art, the LRAM (Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music) in Speech and Drama, the LRAM in Mime, or the certificate of the International Phonetic Association. They also receive the Diploma of the New College of Speech and Drama, which was recognised by the Ministry of Education as conferring Qualified Teacher status.

In 1974 the College joined with Middlesex Polytechnic, (now part of Middlesex University), and was eventually relocated to Trent Park. The freehold of the Ivy House property was purchased by King Alfred School in July 2002.

John Russell was born at Wyke, in 1855, the son of a bookkeeper. He was educated at St John's College Cambridge, 1878-1882. He graduated with a second class degree in Theology, and chose a career in teaching.

He was a master at Islington High School 1882-1883 where he taught modern languages - French and German, as well as various elementary subjects, athletics and cricket. He resigned in 1883 in order ostensibly to pursue studies in modern philology in Germany, but in fact to seek out alternative educational models on the Continent, such as those that Jules Ferry, Minister of Education in the Third French Republic, was introducing in France. This model included an emphasis on modern languages, and pedagogy based on the Pestalozzian principle of observation. These reforms had distinctly secular and political goals, and were to be a significant influence in Russell's subsequent teaching career.

Returning to England in 1886, he took up a post as assistant master at the University College School, located at this time in Gower St, London. In 1901 he was appointed the second headmaster of the King Alfred School, London to whom he was recommended by a former pupil at UCS. He was appointed followed the complete deterioration of the relationship between the King Alfred School Council and its first Headmaster. A popular and successful head, he oversaw the Schools acquisition of the property at number 22 Ellerdale Rd in 1906. He was also responsible for introducing to the school a Parliament of Pupils, 1904, and the introduction of examinations as a regular part of the curriculum, 1908. He retired from teaching in 1920.

Outside school life, Russell was Warden of the Passmore Edwards settlement in Bloomsbury [1895], an active member of the Teacher's Guild and an acknowledged expert on Pestalozzi. He translated Baron Roger de Guimp's Life and works of Pestalozzi [1886], and wrote articles on modern teaching techniques and for the Guild's Journal of Education.

He was married to Elizabeth (Bess) Collins, who died in 1923. In 1925, he married Estelle Basden, who was the sister was Violet Horton, wife of Dr Horton.

The Children's Society was founded in 1881 by Edward De Mountjoie Rudolf, a young Sunday school teacher and civil servant. Two of his Sunday School pupils were found begging on the streets after their father had died. Their plight highlighted the fact that there were no Church of England Homes capable of taking children at short notice and without payment.

Rudolf gained support from within the Church of England (including the Archbishop of Canterbury) and the Church of England Central Home for Waifs and Strays was founded in 1881. The original intention was to provide Receiving Homes for boys and girls in each diocese, prior to finding them suitable permanent homes. The Society intended to board out (foster) the children "under guarantees for their proper maintenance and education in the principles of the Church of England." However, this quickly evolved into providing longer term Homes and in November 1883 the new name was adopted: Church of England Central Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays.

The Society underwent two further name changes. In 1893, it became the Church of England Incorporated Society for Providing Homes for Waifs and Strays (commonly known as the Waifs and Strays Society). Then, in 1946, the name was changed to The Church of England Children's Society (commonly known as The Children's Society). In 1982, while its legal title remained the same, the name The Children's Society was formally adopted by the organisation.

By the last quarter of the twentieth century social attitudes had changed considerably from those which were prevalent when Edward Rudolf set up The Children's Society. Because of this, The Children's Society made major changes to the way it worked: it closed many children's homes, moving away from adoption and fostering and instead focusing on helping young people solve their own problems.

In 1969 The Children's Society opened its first day-care centre, Foulkes House in south London. The centre was successful and The Children's Society opened more across the country, often on the sites of its former residential nurseries.

In the 1990s, The Children's Society also began focusing working for social justice. This included new projects, lobbying to change legislation and welfare provision, and allowing young people to speak and act for themselves so they could shape their own lives.

The Children's Society maintained a case file for each child who was admitted to its care between 1882 and the 1970s.

The Waifs and Strays Society (later The Children's Society) opened its first two homes in 1882: Clapton Home for Boys in East London and Dulwich Home for Girls in South London. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, children were received into the Homes via three routes:
voluntary cases, where a family member or other concerned adult (often a member of the clergy or social worker) would apply for a place for the child; via the Guardians of the Poor Law, who could choose to house children with voluntary agencies rather than in their own workhouses. The Guardians would pay a fixed amount for each child (equivalent to the cost of maintaining the child in the workhouse.) Some Waifs and Strays Society Homes were certified for the reception of such children; and thirdly as industrial schools, where children would be sent by the magistrates for a range of reasons including truancy, petty crime and living in immoral surroundings. The children were paid for out of central government funds. The successor to these was approved schools.

With the disbanding of the Guardians of the Poor Law in 1930 and the increasing responsibility of local authorities for children's services, more children were placed in the care of the organisation by local authorities. The 1969 Children's Act set up the Assisted Community Homes system and some Children's Society Homes became part of that. Different types of home and resident: receiving homes: homes to which children were sent prior to a longer term place being found in another Home; training homes/ industrial homes: these Homes were specifically for older children in order to train them to earn their own living. Amongst others, St Chad's in Far Headingly in Leeds trained "delicate girls" in machine knitting and also provided laundry training, whilst the Islington Home for Boys provided training in shoemaking; carpentry; and tailoring; convalescent homes: usually on the south coast. "family homes": up to World War Two the Homes were generally single sex, apart from those for children with disabilities and for very young children. After 1946 more Homes became "mixed units", allowing brothers and sisters to remain together. Alice Brooke Home in Scarborough was the last of The Children's Society's Homes solely for girls, with boys only arriving in 1969; children with physical disabilities: from 1887 to the 1980s The Children's Society operated residential homes for children with physical disabilities. During the 1970s and 1980s, The Children's Society continued to provide support for children with physical disabilities in what were then termed "mixed units" which also housed non-disabled children; diabetic children: from 1949 to 1971 The Children's Society provided residential care for diabetic children at St Monica's in Kingsdown in Kent, Carruthers Corfield House in Rustington, Sussex and St George's in Kersal near Manchester; nurseries: these became more prolific after World War Two when there was an increase in the number of babies and toddlers needing places; children with learning difficulties: the Edward Rudolf Memorial Homes opened in south London in the 1930s to provide places for children with what were then termed "behaviourial problems."

The St Nicholas' Home for Crippled Children was opened at Upper Tooting, Surrey in 1888. In 1893, the home was moved to West Byfleet, Surrey, and in 1908, the home was moved once again, this time to Pyrford, Surrey. The St Martin's Home For Crippled Boys was opened at Surbiton, Surrey in 1898. In 1916, the home was moved to Pyrford, Surrey. The St Nicholas' and St Martin's homes in Pyrford were located next door to each other. In 1923, the two Pyrford homes were amalgamated to become St Nicholas' and St Martin's Orthopaedic Hospital and Special School. In 1948, St Nicholas' and St Martin's was taken over by the National Health Service and was renamed the Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic Hospital. More information about the homes can be found on the Hidden Lives Revealed website: St Nicholas' Home, Tooting - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/TOOTI01.html; St Nicholas' Home, Byfleet - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/BYFLE02.html; St Nicholas' Home, Pyrford - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/PYRFO01.html; St Martin's Home, Surbiton - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/SURBI01.html; St Martin's Home, Pyrford - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/PYRFO02.html; St Nicholas' and St Martin's Home, Pyrford - http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/PYRFO03.html.

The home was opened in 1938 as a replacement for St Agnes' Hostel For Girls, Croydon, London. It was closed in 1972 and the residents were moved to Harvey Goodwin House Home, Cambridge. In 1974 the building was reopened in as a holiday home for small groups of children in the care of The Children's Society. It was sold the following year.More information about St Agnes' Home, Pevensey Bay, Sussex, can be found on the Hidden Lives Revealed website: http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/PEVEN01.html

Corfield House Home, Rustington, Sussex, was opened in 1951. In 1971, Fairlight Home (The Blanche Wimbridge Trust), which was also based in Rustington, closed down, and the residents and some of the staff from the Fairlight Home were moved into Corfield House Home.
Corfield House Home closed in 1981. More information about Corfield House Home can be found on the Hidden Lives Revealed website: http://www.hiddenlives.org.uk/homes/RUSTI01.html