In November 1981 a meeting was set up at the instigation of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists between representatives of the Department of Health and Social Security, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Paediatric Association, Royal College of Midwives and the RCOG to discuss the implications of establishing a system of confidential inquiry into perinatal mortality throughout England and Wales. After further discussions the committee was reconvened in 1984 as an interdisciplinary working party, with the objective of producing a document on guidelines.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and British Paediatric Association (BPA) Standing Joint Committee evolved out of various ad hoc committees of the two bodies set up in the 1940s to discuss issues of mutual concern. The committee lapsed for some time during the 1950s but was officially reconstituted in January 1965 to discuss in particular the staffing structure of maternity units for the care of the newborn (ref: C4/3/1). The joint committee is made up of equal numbers of members of the two organisations. Its remit is to consider matters of common interest to members of both specialities. In 1998 the BPA was reconstituted as the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health (RCPCH). Servicing the RCOG's contribution to this committee is the responsibility of the Committee Secretary, Administration Department.
The Blair-Bell Research Society was initially established as a research club to informally discuss obstetrical and gynaecological issues at meetings held approximately every three months. In 1961 the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists agreed that the society could use College premises as a regular venue for the club's meetings. From 1962 the club is referred to in College correspondence as "the Blair-Bell Research Society", and the College President has usually been the Society's president.
The sub-specialisation advisory group was established in 1983 by Council to advise it "on practical ways of implementing the recommendations of the working party on further specialisation with particular regard to training and the recognition of training [and] to consider the need for an advisory board or boards to control sub-specialisation and to maintain high standards" (meeting SSG 1, 4 Jan 1983: reference M17/1). The group first met in January 1983, under the chairmanship of T L T Lewis, with instructions to report back to Council within one year, initially on gynaecological oncology. The final report was produced in 1984. In July 1983 Rustum Feroze, PRCOG, and Professor R W Beard, chairman of the Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee (SAPC), decided that the SAPC should make proposals on the training programme of individuals undertaking two-year sub-specialisation training in reproductive endocrinology, gynaecological oncology and fetal medicine. Three groups of specialists were formed, as sub-units of the sub-specialisation advisory group, to make proposals on each of these sub-specialities. These proposals were then to go to the SAPC for discussion, with final proposals to go to Council for ratification.
The RCOG working party and confidential enquiry into laparoscopy was formed under the chairmanship of G V P Chamberlain in order to conduct an investigation into the use of laparoscopy within the United Kingdom. The College was to be assisted by the DHSS, which agreed to handle all data processing and analysis, and by the Defence Societies, which were to help finance printing and postage (see first meeting, 10 June 1975, in minute book: Archives reference M21M/1 p. 1). Although the working party produced its final report in 1978, and no minutes appear to have survived after 1977, it continued to carry out its investigations until 1982.
The Institutional versus Domiciliary Midwifery Committee was established by the RCOG Council under the chairmanship of R C Thomas in 1951 to assess National Health Service obstetric services, to study trends in places of birth, and to define objectives for the next two decades. It changed its title to the Maternity' Services Committee later in 1951 and to the Obstetric Services Committee in 1954. It published its report in the same year; a revised version was published by the College in November 1956. The committee does not appear to have met after 1954. According to a note in T5, p. 17, this committee continued the work of an earlier RCOG committee, the Maternity Committee, 1929-1939.
This committee was set up in 1969, under the chairmanship of E A J Alment, then Honorary Secretary of the College, to consider DHSS plans for maternity accommodation and to provide advice on the planning and design of maternity units and gynaecological departments.
The working party was established in 1979 under the chairmanship of M C Macnaughton. Its terms of reference were "to consider the provision and standards of antenatal and intrapartum obstetrics services, and to make recommendations for possible improvements in necessary standards in future". This working party is an extension of an earlier RCOG/BPA Standing Joint Committee that published its report in 1978, Recommendations for the improvement of infant care during the perinatal period in the United Kingdom. However it was felt that the antenatal and intrapartum period needed to be covered; hence the 1979 working party.
The College's Committee on Human Fertility was established in 1944 to assist the Biological and Medical Committee of the Royal Commission on Population in clinical investigations of sterility. It held meetings from May 1944 to March 1945. The questionnaire sub-committee met from March 1945 to March 1949; it supervised an enquiry (by questionnaire) into infertility which was conducted by E Lewis-Faning. Lewis-Faning's report was published in typescript as follows: Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Report on an enquiry into family limitation and its influence on human fertility during the past fifty years.
In 1966 the Ministry of Health asked the RCOG for its views on a report on ambulance training and equipment produced by the Ministry and the Scottish Home and Health Department.
The working party was set up by the RCOG Finance and Executive Committee in 1965. Its terms of reference were as follows: "to consider the Platt Report `A reform of Nursing Education' and prepare a memorandum for submission to the Minister with particular reference to the effects of the implementation of this Report on the status and future training of midwives" (reference: RCOG memorandum in M4/1). Humphrey Arthure, formerly Honorary Secretary of the College (1947-1955), was the chairman of the working party.
The PROLOG working party was set up as a result of a questionnaire sent to UK Fellows and Members on the role of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in continuing postgraduate education. The main purpose of the exercise was to keep Fellows and Members up to date with progress in the speciality. It was decided to adopt the name of LOGIC (Learning in Obstetrics and Gynaecology for In-Service Clinicians) as a title for the scheme.
In January 1993 a meeting was held to prepare an information document for presentation to the most relevant speciality committee of the Department of Health's London Implementation Group following government acceptance of the recommendations of the Tomlinson Report on the future of London's health services. A submission was presented in July 1993.
In August 1994 two articles based on unsubstantiated research were published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Due to the resulting furore the College President, who was also the Journal editor, felt it necessary to resign from both positions, despite being exonerated from collusion in the deception. This committee was set up as an independent body by Council in November 1994 and produced its report in June 1995. The College Secretary's Office provided the secretariat for the enquiry.
Biographical note: John Harold Peel (b. 1904) KCVO, MA, BM BCh(Oxon), FRCP, FRCS, Hon FRCOG, Hon DSc(Birm), Hon FRCS(C.), Hon FCOG(SA), Hon FACS, Hon FACOG, Hon NMSA, Hon DM(Soton), Hon SCh(Newcastle) served as the College's Honorary Treasurer from 1959-1966 and as President from 1966-1969. He was the author of The Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 1929-1969 (Whitefriars Press Ltd, 1976). He was elevated to the honorary fellowship of the College in 1989. Administrative history: the survey was conducted by Sir John Peel, PRCOG, in 1967. It was divided into three parts: 1: A survey of the reports from 22 teaching hospitals in Great Britain and Ireland covering the years 1949, 1954, 1959 and 1964; 2: a more detailed survey of caesarean sections preformed over the same years at King's College Hospital; 3: a report from 13 of the 22 hospitals on vaginal deliveries after previous caesarean section. Sir John presented his findings at the 18th British Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cambridge in July 1968. The final report is not extant and its whereabouts are unknown at this time.
The working party was established in January 1999 by the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists under the chairmanship of Peter Niven FRCOG. Its remit was "to agree measures of success in structured training and to audit those measures"(report p.5: Ref M53/2). It made its report in december 2000.
this working party was set up under the chairmanship of Professor Ian Cooke FRCOG with the following terms of reference: 1: to consider ways by which Fellows and Members can be represented within the College. 2: to examine the mechanisms by which Fellows and Members are represented on Council. 3: to consider the special needs of Fellows and Members overseas. 4: to review the method of appointment to office in the College. 5: to report to Council within six months. The working party held 5 meetings between September 1995 and March 1996 and presented its final report on 30 March 1996.
Other than the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, produced by the Journal Department, production of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists publications was initially the responsibility of a designated member of staff within the Administration Department. As the function expanded in importance with the establishment of a RCOG Press and a College Bookshop in 1993, a Publications Office was set up within the department; in 2000 this office became the Publications Department. The department is responsible for publishing RCOG Press volumes and serials.
The Court of Patrons was inaugurated following the decision of Council on 30 November 1982, with HM Elizabeth the Queen Mother presiding as Patron of the College. Members of the Court were to be 'composed of persons of distinction who have an interest in and concern for the College' (Council minutes, 28 November 1981). The Court was comprised of up to thirty members and the first members were admitted at a Fellows Admission Ceremony on 2 June 1982. Honorary officers were ex-officio members. Membership included seventeen lay members and eight medical members, comprising five former presidents and three former vice-presidents of the College. Members of the Court were appointed by Council. The Court was intended to recognise and honour those who had contributed to securing the fortunes and future of the College, financially or in another capacity.
It was initially intended the Court would meet annually followed by a dinner, meetings however became infrequent and the Court only met a few times. A possible reason for this was that there was never a clear statement of the Court's aims and objectives. This led to its role and remit being discussed and investigated on a number of occasions between 1993-1996. As the Court had no specfic place in the College constitution The Court was serviced variously by the President's Office and the College Secretary's Office.
The Office of Honorary Treasurer is elected to Council by Fellows and Members, the term of office is a maximum of seven years. The post has been in place since 1926, where Comyns Berkeley was made Treasurer. The Honorary Treasurer is responsible for overseeing the financial matters of the College, in 2008 his main duties included:
- Ensuring that an annual budget is produced and that capital expenditure is appropriately planned.
- Overseeing decisions about salary levels and bonus allocation for staff.
- Reviewing budgets of all postgraduate meetings.
- Determining and reviewing the fee subscriptions, examinations, registration, overseas funding allocation and rental of premises.
- Presenting quarterly accounts of income and expenditure for F&E, Council and Investment Panel.
He is responsible for chairing the following Committees: Publications Management, BJOG Management and Management Audit; and is a Member of the of following Committees/Boards: Services Board; TOG Editorial Board; Congress Committee; Finance & Executive Committee; Investment Advisory Panel; Meetings Committee; Investment Advisory Panel; WellBeing; Member of Council, Finance Committee and Fund Raising Committee.
The European Committee of the RCOG was established in 1991 and held its first meeting in September that year. It was set up to monitor developments in Europe, as it was felt that the many changes taking place required more than an ad hoc approach from the College. It worked closely with a number of Europoean organisations, including the European College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (ECOG), of which the RCOG was a founder member, and the European Board of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (EBGO). These two organisations later merged to become the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG), a section of the Union Européenne des Medécins Spécialistes (UEMS), based in Brussels. The Committee took a particular interest in the uniformity and reciprocity of training and in employment issues. It was disbanded in 1998.
The Consumers' Forum was set up in 1993 to provide a multidisciplinary forum for the exchange of views and information between organisations representing and working on behalf of consumers of healthcare services and the specialty of obstetrics and gynaecology. It aimed to ensure that consumer perspectives informed and influenced practice through contributing to working party reports, clinical guidelines and other College activities. Core Forum group members were drawn from organisations whose focus directly related to gynaecology, obstretics or reproductive health (e.g. Maternity Alliance, National Childbirth Trust, Family Planning Association) and from organisations that provided consumer perspectives, but did not have a direct focus on gynaecology or women's health (e.g. the Patients' Association).
The Editorial Board was established in 1992 to plan and oversee publication of 'The Diplomate', reporting directly to the Publications Management Committee. The objective was 'to provide an essential update of techniques and important clinical developments in obstetrics and gynaecology - thereby presenting continuing medical education in an outstanding, understandable and readable form.' (The Diplomate No. 1 Vol. 1 1992, Archives ref P3/1/1). The publication was primarily aimed at Diplomates of the RCOG (those who had completed the College's Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the DRCOG), but it was available for sale to any interested parties. The first 'Diplomate' was published in March 1994. It lost money throughout its existence; consequently the final volume was published in January 1999. Production of 'The Diplomate' was the responsibility of the Publications Officer; its Editor-in-Chief was John Studd FRCOG.
In 2000, the RCOG put in place a new board structure in order to free-up Council's time to concentrate on strategic and specialty wide issues. The three boards (Standards, Services and Education) were given executive and decision-making authority and were able to ratify the decisions of reporting committees and groups. They were responsible directly to Council and met quarterly. The first meeting of the Standards Board took place in July 2000. It assumed some functions of the previous Clinical Effectiveness and Standards Board but also dealt with training and manpower issues. Its initial remit was: development of a structured programme of audit and guideline activity and the co-ordination of a clinical effectiveness programme; development of clinical governance encompassing continuous professional development and revalidation; recognition of UK and overseas training posts and the future accreditation of services; monitoring and development of College programmes leading to Specialist Registration; and consideration of the impact of medical workforce issues on the specialty. As the College began to undertake new work in the area of clinical governance and standards, the Board acquired new functions and in May 2007 a new remit was agreed: to develop the overall strategic direction in relation to professional, clinical and service standards; to consider the views of external organisations and the Consumers Forum; to consider scientific and ethical issues and their impact on the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology; to direct and oversee the RCOG clinical guidelines and audit programmes and activities in relation to service standards, including the development of service models; to supervise continuing professional development, appraisal and revalidation activites and to ensure that satisfactory programmes were established for doctors and trusts requesting support from the College.
In order to assist the work of the Clinical Standards Department and the Standards Board in planning the development of clinical standards, clinical directors of obstetrics and gynaecology in the UK were invited to a meeting in October 2000 to consider the College's approach in this area; to enable liaison with clinical directors and to define how the College's programme of work might help them. From this date regular bi-annual meetings were held 'to identify issues of importance to those at the coal-face and to exchange experiences and views.'
The first edition of The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist appeared in July 1999 as a quarterly journal aimed particularly at those participating in continuing medical education (CME, later known as CPD, continuing professional development) programmes. It included multiple-choice questions to be completed and submitted in return for the award of CME / CPD credits. The responsibilities of Editorial Board members were to advise on the commissioning of review articles in their area of specialty; commission and/or construct multiple-choice questions with explanation of answers; edit and subsequently proof-read their commissioned articles; write guest editorials; advise on new scientific, clinical and technical developments, clinical governance, risk management, areas of educational importance and medico-legal matters, and on the potential need for coverage in the journal; and to proof-read complete editions of the journal. The Board held its first meeting in June 1999.
The Reinstatement Committee was established in 1999 to consider how applications for reinstatement to the College Register from those removed as a result of GMC (or other) disciplinary action should be assessed. The remit of the Committee was:
1) To consider all applications for reinstatement to the RCOG Register of Fellows and Members from those who have been removed for reasons of misconduct;
2) To make all necessary and proper enquiries, as it saw fit, and to act according to equity and rules of natural justice;
3) To produce guidelines on the assessment procedure to be followed by both the applicant and the Committee, including appropriate criteria for reinstatement and an indication of the timeframe for the procedure;
4) To recommend to Council, in writing, the reinstatement, or otherwise, for each application. In 2001 the Committee reported to Council on progress and advised that it was necessary for the College to set up systems to ensure equity following rules of natural justice. This was particularly pertinent following the 1998 Human Rights Act. It was also recommended that the Committee deal with both removal and reinstatement. In 2001 a Removal and Reinstatement Committee was established in order to:
1) Review the membership of the College of those Fellows and Members who had been removed from the Register of Medical Practitioners maintained by the GMC or by the relevant body of any country overseas;
2) Review the membership of the College of those Fellows and Members referred to it by the President or his/her deputy where it was thought the individual had brought the College and/or profession into disrepute;
3) Assess applications for reinstatement received in the College from those who had previously been removed from the College Register for misconduct;
4) Comply with the regulations for removal from or reinstatement to the College Register as approved by Council. The Committee was to reach an agreed decision, which, if necessary, was a majority decision, and advised Council on these decisions. All discussions of the Committee were confidential to the Committee.
In 2005, the Post Graduate Medical Education Board (PMETB) was established as an independent regulatory body responsible for postgraduate medical education and training. It assumed its statutory powers on 30 September 2005 taking over the responsibilities of the Specialist Training Authority of the Medical Royal Colleges (STA) and the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP). PMETB's statutory responsibilities included establishing, promoting, developing and maintaining standards and requirements for postgraduate medical education and training across the UK. In order to practice in the UK, doctors are legally required to be on the registers of specialists and general practicioners (GPs) maintained by the General Medical Council (GMC). A major facet of PMETB's work was to ensure that doctors were appropriately qualified and certified for application to the specialist and general practice (GP) registers. In response to this national development, the Equivalence of Training Committee was set up in August 2005, reporting to the Education Board. Its remit was to: redefine "equivalence" in respect of Specialist Registration; determine the standards required for an NHS Consultant within the specialty of obstetrics and gynaecology; agree methods of assessment according to guidance issued by PMETB; assess applications and submit recommendations to PMETB; liaise with PMETB on all appropriate issues; consider the liability to the College and how this may be indemnified. The Committee's primary function was to assess applications from O&G doctors applying to be included on the Specialist Register maintained by the General Medical Council: assessing and judging if a doctor's medical experience can be seen to be equivalent to the medical training they would have undertaken if they had passed the MRCOG. Previously the College had been responsible for deciding who should be entered onto the Specialist Register, but PMETB as an independent body took over this function in 2005. The Equivalence of Training Committee was established to report to the PMETB with recommendations on the equivalence of training, the College was no longer responsible for making the actual decision.
Following the Royal Commission on Medical Education and the establishment of the Central Committee on Postgraduate Medical Education it was felt, in 1967, that the College should increase its role in sponsoring and organising postgraduate education and an ad hoc Sub-committee on Continuing Education met to discuss the issue. This led in 1968 to the establishment of a Postgraduate Medical Education Committee to deal with postgraduate training for the three year period from registration up to the MRCOG examination and beyond. It was to oversee the administration of existing programmes, such as demonstrations, conferences, symposia and scientific meetings, and also to determine overall policy with regard to postgradute training regionally and locally. It was renamed the Postgraduate Committee in 1973. The Committee was disbanded in 1992 when it was replaced by the Education Board. From 1968 Regional Advisers (subsequently known as College Advisers and then Regional College Advisers) enabled the College to be better informed about postgraduate training at a local level. Their role included promoting the views of the College locally, providing the College with information on education and training in their regions, giving advice on the specialty to those organising training and also to trainees. From the early 1970s meetings of these Advisers were held quarterly and their discussions reported to the Postgraduate Committee.
The Population Investigation Committee (PIC) was established by the Eugenics Society in 1936 to promote and undertake inquiries into various aspects of population questions. In 1945 a Joint Committee of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the PIC was established with the aim of conducting a survey of maternity services in selected areas throughout England, Scotland and Wales; the survey was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. All women in Great Britain who had given birth during a single week in March 1946 were interviewed by health visitors, and information collated on their use of maternity services, economic and social background, infant feeding and survival of the baby. The results were published in Maternity in Great Britain (Oxford University Press, 1948). In 1948 the Joint Committee's scope was broadened to include the study of child health and development, and a Follow-up Survey Sub-committee comprising RCOG, PIC and the Institute of Child Health (London School of Economics, University of London), was established to conduct a survey of the children enrolled in the 1946 survey. Two studies were made, in 1948 and 1950, again with funds from the Nuffield Foundation. In 1951 the College withdrew from the Joint Committee on the grounds that the work now extended beyond the scope of the College.
The Joint Steering Group of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care on teenage pregnancy was set up in July 1993. Its terms of reference were in line with the definition in Section D of the government document "Health of the Nation"(1993):
- To reduce the rate of conception amongst the under 16s by at least 50% by the year 2000.
- To reduce the number of unintended teenage pregnancies.
- To ensure the provision of effective family planning services for those people who wanted them. The first chairman was Stanley Simmons PRCOG, followed by David Bromham, chairman of the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care (FFPRHC). Members of the group also included representatives of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, the Department of Health, the Health Education Authority and the Brook Advisory service. On 24th August 1993 it established three working groups to consider: emergency contraception, its availability, access and promotion; the need and content of research and audit; all aspects of sex education and promotion in relation to teenagers and other related groups. In 1994 the second working group passed its research and findings to the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care who were establishing an audit unit, and ceased to investigate further. The Steering Group organised a consensus conference on emergency hormonal contraception in December 1994; a book was produced.
This Working Party was a multidisciplinary group set up by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) in 2000. It was also supported by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), amongst others. It acted as an independent multidisciplinary body that campaigned for improvements in maternity care. It was formed to raise awareness of the public health implications of the rising caesarean section rate; to highlight the health and social needs of women and their families; and to emphasise the contribution that women-centred maternity services might make to the promotion of public health. In 2001, the NCT, RCM and RCOG, commissioned by the Working Party, published a commissioning toolkit for Primary Care Trusts designed to help them to update themselves on current thinking in maternity care provision and to improve local maternity services. In 2006 a second edition of this report was produced.
The National Birthday Fund for Maternity Services (later National Birthday Trust Fund) was founded in 1928. In the inter-war period it campaigned for the provision of analgesia in childbirth and improvements in midwifery services and also conducted research into nutrition. Following the Second World War, its primary activity became sponsoring research, particularly into perinatal mortality. It conducted nationwide surveys in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1984, 1990 and 1994 and also supported on-going cohort studies of the development of children. At the end of the 1960s there had been proposals that the Fund be merged with the RCOG, although this never came to fruition, although in subsequent years the Fund developed a close relationship with the RCOG, which became involved in a number of its research projects. Ties between the two organisations were enhanced by the involvement of Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain, later President of the RCOG, in several Fund projects. The second perinatal survey in 1970 focused on the care of mother and baby for the first week after birth. The RCOG offered specialist advice and underwrote some of the salary costs for the survey. The survey was published as 'British Births 1970: A survey under the joint auspices of the National Birthday Trust Fund and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' edited by Dr Roma Chamberlain and others (London, 1975-78). Following the establishment of the National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit in 1978, the Fund decided to focus instead on single-subject surveys. One such was a 1984 confidential enquiry into place of birth, the results of which were published as 'Birthplace: Report of the confidential enquiry into facilities available at the place of birth conducted by the National Birthday Trust Fund' edited by Geoffrey Chamberlain and Philippa Gunn (Chichester, 1989). In 1993 the Fund joined forces with Birthright, a charitable branch of the RCOG which had been founded in 1963 and funded medical and scientific research into women's health. Birthright became the corporate Trustee of the Birthday Trust and the official merger of the two organisations accompanied its renaming as Wellbeing.
The College acts as a pressure group and as an advisory body for the Department of Health, its predecessors and various government agencies, on particular issues relating to obstetrics and gynaecology. It also liaises on these issues with private and international organisations concerned with womens' health and the medical profession.
In 1968, the Ministry of Health was dissolved and its functions transferred (along with those of the similarly dissolved Ministry of Social Security) to the newly created Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS). (Twenty years later, these functions were split back into two government departments, forming the Department of Social Security (DSS) and the current Department of Health.)
The College has released annual reports since its establishment as the British College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929. In 2006 the Annual Report was renamed the Annual Review, with the Annual Report and Accounts being published on the College website.
These books contain the minutes of more than one College committee, joint committee or working party. The practice of maintaining multi-purpose minute books was discontinued in 1987.
Florence May Peever enrolled with the Central Midwife's Board, 12 Dec 1925, she practised in Lancashire and West Yorkshire.
Eardley Lancelot Holland (1879-1967), kt, MD, Hon LLD, FRCP(Lond), FRCS(Eng), FRCS(Ed), Hon MMSA, was educated at Murchison Castle and King's College Hospital, where he became obstetric registrar and tutor in 1907. In 1916 he took up an appointment at the London Hospital, where he embarked on a programme of research into the causes of stillbirth at the request of the Ministry of Health. He served as an adviser in obstetrics to the Ministry of Health between 1937-1940 and on the outbreak of war in 1939 was responsible for organising the evacuation of pregnant women from London to the country. He played an important role in organising material for a report by the College to the Ministry on a national maternity service (see A5/4/3). He married twice and had three daughters.
Eardley Holland was a founder member of the Gynaecological Visiting Society and a Foundation Fellow of the RCOG. From 1929-1939 he held the position of Honorary Treasurer and he was for a time editor of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire. In 1946 he became President of the College.
William Fletcher Shaw (1878-1961) was born near Manchester and educated at Manchester Grammar School and Owens College (later the Victoria University of Manchester). In 1920 he was appointed Professor of systematic obstetrics and gynaecology in the University of Manchester, where he remained until his retirement in 1943. He was married twice, with three sons by his first marriage. He was knighted in 1942.
Fletcher Shaw was a gynaecologist of considerable distinction, with particular interests in conditions of the uterus and the use of analgesics in labour. He was an active member of medical societies, including the North of England Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society, Gynaecological Travellers and the Gynaecological Visiting Society. He was the joint founder, with William Blair-Bell, of the RCOG and its first Honorary Secretary, from 1929-1938. He was also the author of the first history of the College, Twenty-five years: the Story of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 1929-1954 (J & A Churchill Ltd, London, 1954). bibliography: Sir John Peel, Lives of the Fellows, pp.38-40.
John Bateman Lawson (1922-1997) MA, MB, Bchir, FRCS(Glasgow), FRCOG, has been a member of several committees of the College, including the Fellowship Selection Committee 1971-1976 and 1987-1989, Scientific Advisory and Pathology Committee 1972-1974, Postgraduate Committee 1978-1987, Examination Committee 1980-1987, Accreditation Committee 1981-1984, Council 1981-1983 and 1985-1989, Hospital Recognition Committee 1981-1987 and Higher Training Committee 1984-1987. He was Director of Postgraduate Studies 1981-1987 and Vice President from 1987-1989. He was also a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was renowned for his work in African countries.
Emil Novak (1844-1957), MD 1904, Hon FRCOG 1948, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He qualified at and held internship and resident appointments at Baltimore Medical College, later becoming Associate Professor. In 1915 he joined Cullen's Department at Johns Hopkins where be studied and lectured in gynaecological pathology, which was to become his speciality. He was an active member of the American Gynaecological Society and became its president in 1948. he was made an Honorary Fellow of the RCOG in the same year (bibliography: : see Sir John Peel, Lives of the Fellows, pp.34-35). He presented a gavel to the College as a token of appreciation; the gavel was an exact replica of an original belonging to the American Gynaecological Society.
Wendy Diane Savage (b 1935), BA, MB, BCh, MRCS, LRCP, MRCOG 1971, FRCOG 1985, is Senior Lecturer in the Academic Department/General Practice and Primary Care at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London (bibliography: Register of Fellows and Members, RCOG, 1997). In 1985 she was suspended from her post at the Royal London Hospital for alleged incompetence. An enquiry was held and in 1986 she was exonerated.
John Nussey (1794-1862) was the favourite medical attendant of King George IV. In 1825 he was appointed Apothecary in Ordinary to the King, and served William IV, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in a similar position. He attended Queen Victoria in several of her confinements, including that of the future Edward VII. He was Master of the Society of Apothecaries of London from 1833-1834 and a Member of the Court of Assistants for many years. His Court dress and sword are on display in the foyer of the College.
John Nussey (1794-1862) was the favourite medical attendant of King George IV. In 1825 he was appointed Apothecary in Ordinary to the King, and served William IV, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in a similar position. He attended Queen Victoria in several of her confinements, including that of the future Edward VII. He was Master of the Society of Apothecaries of London from 1833-1834 and a Member of the Court of Assistants for many years. The items of clothing listed here were his property; his court dress and sword are on display in the foyer of the College.
James Young Simpson graduated from Edinburgh University in 1832. He was made President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh in 1835 and became Professor of Midwifery there in 1839. He was especially famous for his advocacy and use of chloroform in obstetric practice, but was also renowned for his work in gynaecology and obsterics, particularly in the use of forceps and for various methods of ovariotomy.
Sir William Osler was born in Canada, 1849; educated, Trinity College, Toronto, 1867; McGill University, Montreal, 1870-1872; postgraduate study in University College Hospital, St Thomas's Hospital, University College and the Brown Institute, London, 1872; studied pathology in Berlin and Vienna; returned to Canada, 1874; lectureship in the Institutes of Medicine at McGill University; attending physician at Montreal General, 1878; member of the Royal College of Physicians, 1878; fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 1883; chair of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, 1884; founder member of the Association of American Physicians, 1885; physician-in-chief at the hospital and professor of medicine at the medical school, Johns Hopkins University, 1889; regius chair of medicine, Oxford, 1905; died, 1919.
Tom Lewis was born in Hampstead, London, 27 May 1918. He spent his early childhood with his grandfather, A J S Lewis, a civil servant and later mayor of Cape Town, South Africa, where Tom attended the Diocesan College, Rondebosch. In 1933 he moved to London to live with his father, the artist Neville Lewis, and was educated at St Paul's School. He studied medicine at Jesus College, Cambridge and at Guy's Hospital, London, qualifying in 1942. He obtained the Gold Medal in Obstetrics.
In 1943 Lewis returned to Cape Town and enlisted in the South African Air Force, but was seconded to the Royal Army Medical Corps. He served in Egypt, Italy and Greece. After the Second World War, Lewis returned to Guy's Hospital, gaining the FRCS in 1946 and the MRCOG in 1948. He was appointed consultant at Guy's in 1948 and at Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital for Women in 1950. He also developed a thriving private practice.
Lewis was a keen supporter of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. He served three times on the College Council, was Honorary Secretary, 1961-1968, and Senior Vice-President, 1975-1978. He was also active in the obstetric section of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the Gynaecological Club. He was awarded the CBE in 1979. Lewis died aged 85, 9 April 2004.
Publications: Progress in Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology (London: Churchill, 1956).
Born, 1849; educated at Merchant Taylors' School, at a school in Honfleur, France; and Lincoln College, Oxford; studied clinical medicine at St Thomas's Hospital, and obstetrics in Dublin, at the Rotunda Hospital; worked at Marischal College, Aberdeen; graduated MD from Aberdeen University, 1875; returned to London and became closely associated with his father's practice; member the Royal College of Physicians, 1877; editorial staff of the British Medical Journal; member of the Board of Examination of Midwives, instituted by the Obstetrical Society of London (he subsequently transferred himself from this Society to the British Gynaecology Society); physician to the British Lying-in Hospital and the Great Northern Central Hospital, where he later became senior physician; physician to the St George's and St James's Dispensary; consulting physician at the Royal Maternity Charity and the Prudential Assurance Company; physician to the Chelsea Hospital for Women; Honorary Corresponding Fellow of the Societe de Gynecologie de Paris, the Gynaecological Society of Boston, USA, and the Societe Imperiale de Medecine, Istanbul (then Constantinople); by the mid-1890s Barnes had practically retired from hospital work, devoting himself entirely to private practice; died, 1908.
Publications:
A Manual of Midwifery for Midwives (9 eds., last 1902)
System of Obstetric Medicine and Surgery (jointly written with Robert Barnes)
'The Indications Afforded by the Sphygmograph in the Puerperal State', Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London (1875)
Perineorrhaphy by Flap Splitting
Martin's Atlas of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (translated and edited)
German English Dictionary of Medical Words
Neugebauer on Spondylolisthesis (for the New Sydenham Society)
Harriet Amelia Scott Bird was born, 1864; educated, Medical College for Women, Edinburgh, 1893-1898; studied in Vienna in Ernst Wertheim's department, 1898; studied in Berlin; non resident house surgeon, Leith Hospital; gave up medicine after her marriage, 1901; died, 1934.