Symons , Cecil , 1921-1987 , physician and cardiologist

Cecil Symons (1921-1987) was a physician and cardiologist at the Royal Free Hospital. In 1946 he was appointed Casualty Medical Officer at Hampstead General Hospital. He became Senior Medical Registrar at Hampstead General in 1951, and First Assistant to the Cardiac Department at the Royal Free in 1956. In 1961 he was appointed Consultant Physician at New En Hospital, and in 1968 he also became Consultant Physician and Cardiologist at the Royal Free. On his retirement in 1987 he became Honorary Consultant Physician and Cardiologist, but died a few days later. He is best remembered for his wide-ranging interests, and his activities in the fields of art and collecting of antique medical equipment. He was involved in many extra-mural activites both within the hospital and the local community, and instituted the Works of Art committee and the annual Marsden lecture. He also commissioned the artist Peter Jones in 1972 to make a series of pictorial representations of the old hospitals which were to be demolished to make way for the building of the new Royal Free. These are now held in the Archives Centre, and known as the Symons Bequest.