RCGP Archives - Personal Papers
GB/2134/B/HUN John Hunt (1905 - 1987)
Catalogue of Hunt Papers B/HUN/
A. Royal College of General Practitioners Papers
(1948-1979)
A1. Pre-proposals of College
(1983-1945) 1958-1956
A1.1
Nineteenth Century Attempts to Found a College 1951-1956
A1.2 Committee on General
Practice, Royal College of Physicians 1951
A1.4 General
Practice Review Committee, British Medical Association 1951
A2. Proposal for
College, 13 October 1951, 1951 - 1952
A2.1 Published Letter
Proposing 'A College of General Practice' 1951
A2.3 Published Reactions to
Proposed College 1951-1952
A2.4 Private Reactions to
Proposed College 1951-1952
A2.5 Subsequent Publications and Papers 1951
A3.
General Practice Steering Committee, 1951 -
1952
A3.1 Minutes and Related
Correspondence 1952
A3.2
Correspondence with the Steering Committee (Internal)
1951-1953
A3.3
Correspondence with Steering Committee (External) 1951-1953
A3.4 The
American Academy of General Practice 1950-1952
A3.5 Copy Correspondence
1952
A3.6 Articles
and Papers about the Proposed College and Related Correspondence
1952
A3.7
Report of the Steering Committee and Related Correspondence
1952-1953
A3.8
Reminiscing about Founding the College 1964-1972
A4. Foundation Year, 1953
- 1954
A4.1 Correspondence 1953
A4.2 Foundation
Membership 1953
A4.3 Articles and Publications 1953-1954
A5. Honorary
Secretary of Council, 1953 - 1966
A5.1 External
Correspondence 1953-1966
A5.2
Internal Correspondence with Council Members 1954-1965
A5.3
Correspondence regarding Research Committee 1954-1965
A5.4
Correspondence regarding Finance and General Purposes Committee
1954-1962
A5.5
Correspondence regarding Regional and Overseas Faculties
1954-1962
A5.6
Papers and Publications 1954-1967
A6. Presidency, 1967 -
1970
A6.1 Correspondence
1967-1970
A7. Remaining Years, 1970 -
1979
A7.1 Foundation
Council Dinner for Hunt, May 1971, 1970-1971
A7.2 Papers and Publications and Related Correspondence
1970-1979
B. House of Lords 1973- 1983
B1. Life Peerage, 1973 - 1983
B1.2
Correspondence 1974-1979
C. Hunt's Other Commitments 1932 - 1974
C1. St
Bartholomew's Hospital, 1932 - 1936
C1.1 Articles by Hunt
1932-1936
C2. National
Hospital for Nervous Diseases, 1936
C2.1 Articles
by Hunt 1936
C3. General Practice,
1934-1972
C3.1 Articles by Hunt
1934-1972
C4. British
Medical Association 1953-1957
C4.1
British Medical Association Papers 1953-1957
C5. The
Hunterian Society 1952
C5.1 Articles by Hunt 1952
C6. Royal
Society of Medicine, 1957 - 1969
C6.1 Articles by Hunt
1957-1969
C7. Medical
Society of London, 1967 - 1974
C7.1 Medical
Society of London Papers 1967-1974
C8. Armed Forces
Adviser, 1972
C9. Department of
Health, 1971
C9.1 Adviser to
Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health 1971
C10. Publications by
Others, 1932 - 1964
C10.1 Articles sent to
Hunt 1932-1964
D. Hunt's Biographic Material 1935-1988
D1.
Material About Hunt, 1967 - 1988
D1.1 Curriculum Vitae
1968
D1.3 Articles about Hunt 1967-1984
D1.4 Memorial Service
1988
D2.
DM Thesis, 1935 - 1938
D2.1 Papers relating
to DM Thesis 1935-1938
D3. Personal Notes, 1951 -
1970
D3.1 Personal
Notes and Quotations 1951-1970
A. Royal College of General Practitioners Papers
1948-1979
Hunt was instrumental in founding the College of General
Practitioners (from 1967 the Royal College of General
Practitioners). In September 1951 Hunt and Dr Fraser Rose, both
members of the British Medical Association (BMA), presented
memoranda on the subject of the establishment of a College of
general practice and appeared before the General Practice Review
Committee of the BMA to discuss their ideas. They then published
joint letters in The Lancet and the British Medical Journal
inviting suggestions or comments on their proposal. Although there
was a lot of discontent amongst general practitioners it was this
letter, signed by Hunt and Rose, which brought about the
College.
A Steering Committee was brought together in
February 1952, of which Hunt was a member. The Committee met eight
times during 1952 and discussed the many reasons for founding a
college, considering evidence that had been collected from all over
the British Isles, as well as from Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
and America.
On 19 November 1952 the Steering Committee's Report was signed,
and the College of General Practitioners was founded as an
unincorporated association, with a provisional constitution
(memorandum and articles of association and bye-laws), with three
criteria for foundation membership, and with a Provisional
Foundation Council of the ten general practitioner members of the
Steering Committee. In December the Committee's Report was
published in the British Medical Journal.
Hunt was Honorary Secretary of the Foundation Council, and from
1953 to 1966 was Honorary Secretary of the Council. From 1967, when
the College was given its royal prefix, to 1970 Hunt was President
of the College. For the College's first 18 years then Hunt was
inextricably linked to its growth and development. His efforts to
raise the profile of the fledging College within medical circles
both at home and abroad were inexhaustible. The impressive amount
of correspondence he generated within and outside the newly formed
College, especially amongst Steering Committee and then Council
Members, demonstrates this fact. Aware of making history Hunt made
a conscientious effort to preserve the documentation relating to
the founding of the College.
[For correspondence between Hunt and John Horder,
responsible for establishing the archives of the College, about the
need to establish the College archives and retain the records
relating to the early days of the College, see the Library
Committee correspondence, A CE L 2-1]
Arrangement: Functional
A1. Pre-Proposal of
College (1830-1945) 1948-1956
Material relating to events leading up to the publication of
Hunt & Rose's joint letter proposing a possible College of
general practice in the British Medical Journal and The Lancet, on
13 October 1951. An academic body to represent general
practitioners had been considered on occasion from 1830, but since
the failure of the National Association of General Practitioners to
make any progress, no consolidated effort was made, over the next
hundred and twenty years, to sustain the attempt to found such a
body.
Includes copies of press cuttings, 1830 - 1845, a history of
attempts to establish a college in the first half of the nineteenth
century, minutes and correspondence relating to Hunt's contribution
to the Committee of General Practice of the Royal College of
Physicians which gave evidence to the Central Health Services
Council's Committee on General Practice under the National Health
Service, April - July 1951, and minutes of the meetings of the
General Practice Review Committee of the British Medical
Association (BMA), October - November 1951. At the October meeting
Hunt and Rose were invited to discuss the memoranda they had
presented to the BMA in September 1951, includes copies of both
Hunt's and Rose's memoranda.
[See the Fraser Rose Papers, B ROS, for Rose's
notes and correspondence relating to the background to the founding
of the College]
B HUN A 1 1 Nineteenth Century
Attempts to Found a College 1951-1956
Copies of articles appearing in the medical journals of first
half of the nineteenth century about the forming of a college of
general practice, and a history of the early attempts to form a
college with related correspondence. [For a history of the early
attempts to found the College in the nineteenth century,
based on these sources, written by Hunt, see the College of
General Practitioners First Annual Report, 1953, pp.3-7, and 'A
History of the Royal College of General Practitioners: The First 25
Years', John Fry, Lord Hunt of Fawley and R.J.F.H. Pinsent (eds.)
(RCGP, 1983), pp.1-5];
(i) Letter to the Editor, The Lancet, from William Gaitskell,
President of the Metropolitan Society of General Practitioners in
Medicine and Surgery, 9 June 1830, ii, pp.451-52;
(ii) Letter to the Editor, Provincial Medical and
Surgical Journal, from Dr James Cole of Bewdley, 1844, 8,
pp.578-79;
(iii) Letter to the Editor, The Lancet, from Dr George
Webster of Dulwich, 1844, ii, p.241, and from Dr George Ross of
Kennington, pp.318-19;
(iv) Discussion of meetings of general practitioners
supporting the establishment of a 'separate college, or body
corporate', The Lancet 1845, i, pp.134-35;
(v) Leading article on the subject, The Lancet, 1845, i,
p.241;
(vi) 'The Great Medical Movement, Incorporation of
General Practitioners', The Society of Apothecaries, The Lancet,
1845, i, pp.43-44, support from the British Medical Association,
p.133, article about the founding of a National Association of
General Practitioners in Medicine, Surgery and Midwifery, for the
purposes of petitioning for a Charter of Incorporation, pp.127-28,
article about the first meeting of the Association where 1,200
practitioners attended, pp.326-27, articles about its failure to
draw up a constitution and the sending of a draft Charter of
Incorporation to the Secretary of State before submitting it to a
General Meeting, causing a loss of confidence amongst general
practitioners, pp.191-92, 356-59, 393
[For Papers of the National Association of General
Practitioners see C HI A, for the Association's Transactions,
1844-45, C HI A 1-1; for the Association's Reports, 1845-46, C HI A
2-1];
(vii) Discussion of the formation of an Academy of
Medicine, The Lancet, 1845, i , pp.415-18;
(viii) Article by E. Belfour, Royal College of
Surgeons of England, revealing the attitude of the Royal College of
Surgeons to foundation of a College of General Practitioners, which
was reasonable, 1845, i, p.422;
(ix) Article by Editor of The Lancet, Thomas Wakley,
M.P., supporting general practitioners right to found a College,
1845, i, pp.563-64, 588-90;
(x) 'The Present Position of the English Surgeons',
William Ryan, Pimlico, voiced an argument against establishing a
College, the Lancet, 1845, i, p.568;
(xi) Discussion about a Fourth Medical Bill, drafted
by Sir James Graham, which was not well received by the profession,
The Lancet, 1845, ii, pp.131, 187, 246-47, 377-78;
(xii) History of the attempts to establish a College
in the nineteenth century, Ian Tait, with accompanying letter from
Tait, to Hunt, explaining his discovery of the "History" amongst
his papers, 11 November 1956
Item: Modern photocopies taken of earlier copies of the
nineteenth century articles, 13 November 2001
N.B. Copies of the original articles are likely to have been
taken by Hunt around 1951
Date details: c.1951 - 11 November 1956.
B HUN A 1 2 Committee on
General Practice, Royal College of Physicians 1951
Hunt served on the Committee on General Practice of the Royal
College of Physicians, April - July 1951. The College had been
asked to submit evidence to the Central Health Services
Council Committee on General Practice under the National
Health Service. The report was published after the Committee had
met three times.
(i) Document outlining the aims and membership of the
Central Health Services Council Committee on General Practice Under
the National Health Service, 18 February 1951;
(ii) Correspondence between Sir Russell Brain, President
of the Royal College of Physicians, and Hunt, requesting Hunt
serves on the Committee, 4-5 April 1951;
(iii) Correspondence between Dr G.O. Barber,
Vice-Chairman of the Central Health Services Council Committee on
General Practice under the National Health Service, and Hunt, about
Hunt's filling in of a questionnaire about the work of the general
practitioner, drawn up by the Committee, 15 May 1951;
(iv) Agendas and minutes of the meetings of the Royal
College of Physicians Committee on General Practice, 1 May, 8
June, and 24 July 1951, including the Interim Report on the
Memorandum on the Submission of Evidence to the General Practice
Committee of the Central Health Services Council and Report of the
Royal College of Surgeons of England Committee, appointed to submit
evidence, 25 May 1951;
(v) Draft Report on the Memorandum from the Central
Health Services Council, includes note from Committee of the
Central Health Services Council, for persons and organisations
offering evidence to the Committee, 20 March 1951;
(vi) 'Royal College of Physicians Report of the
Committee on General Practice, 1951' (final draft)
Date details: 18 February - 24 July 1951.
Copies of articles making reference to the possibility of
establishing a College for general practitioners;
(i) 'General Practice and its Contribution to
Preventative Medicine', Dr W. Edwards, Modern
Trends in Public Health (reprint), c.1948
Date details: c.1948 (no date but references used are
dated 1946-47).
A 1 4 General
Practice Review Committee, British Medical Association
1951
Hunt and Dr Fraser Rose, both members of the British Medical
Association, appeared before the General Practice Review Committee,
on 3 October 1951, to discuss the memoranda they had presented on
the subject of a possible college of general practice in September
1951;
(i) Correspondence between Hunt and Professor James
Mackintosh, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Hunt
asking for Mackintosh's reaction to his suggestion of the general
practitioner's 'need of an academic body of our own behind us', at
the time of Hunt's presentation of a memorandum on the subject to
the British Medical Association, 19-26 September 1951;
(ii) General Practice Review Committee list of
attendance, and copies of Rose's and Hunt's memoranda
(including 2 draft copies and 1 draft copy of letter subsequently
sent to the medical journals, 13 October 1951, see
B HUN A 2), 3
October 1951;
(iii) Minutes of meetings of General Practice Review
Committee, 3 October 1951 and 14 November 1951 (photocopies)
[
For article published in the British Medical
Journal based on the discussion at Committee meeting, when Hunt and
Rose submitted their memoranda on the subject of the establishment
of a College, including Hunt and Rose's memoranda, see
B HUN A 2-5
(i)]
Date details: 19 September - 14 November 1951.
A2. Proposal for College, 13 October 1951,
1951 - 1952
A letter, entitled 'A College of General Practice' proposing
that such a College be founded, signed by Dr Fraser Rose and Dr
John Hunt, was published both in the British Medical Journal and
The Lancet on 13 October 1951. The letter starts
'There is a College of Physicians, a College of Surgeons,
a College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists... but there is no
College of Academic Body to represent primarily the interests of
the largest group of medical personnel in this country - the 20,000
general practitioners'.
In the letter Rose and Hunt asked for suggestions and comments
both for and against their proposal of 'a possible College of
General Practice'. Reactions were immediate and widespread, many
wrote directly to the journals, where their responses were
published, whilst others wrote privately to Hunt and Rose. Hunt
recorded the proportion of those in favour of the project as being
50 to 1 [see the College of General Practitioners First Annual
Report, 1953, p.7].
Includes copies of the now famous letter, published and
private reactions to the letter, October - February 1952, including
Hunt's bound copies of the correspondence in the British Medical
Journal and The Lancet, correspondence between Hunt and Rose about
responses to the letter [see the Fraser Rose Papers for letters
received by him, B ROS], and published letters and papers given by
Hunt in the subsequent months, before the establishment of the
Steering Committee in February 1952, see
B HUN A
3.
A 2 1 Published Letter Proposing
'A College of General Practice' 1951
Copies of the letter which appeared jointly in the British
Medical Journal and The Lancet, 13 October 1951, after Hunt and
Rose had presented memoranda on the subject for discussion at the
General Practice Review Committee of the British Medical
Association on 3 October 1951, see
B HUN A 1-4.
[
Also found in 'The Writings of John Hunt', John Horder (ed)
(RCGP, 1992), p.160; and the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley
Papers and Publications', Volumes 1-3, held at Royal College of
General Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, London];
(i) Original copies of pages from the British Medical
Journal, 13 October 1951, ii, p.683, and The Lancet, 13 October
1951, ii, p.908, that featured the letter, signed by both Hunt and
Dr Fraser Rose (2 copies);
(ii) Rough typed drafts of letter (3 draft copies), 1
copy annotated, dated 3 October 1951 and signed by Rose and
Hunt
Date details: 3 - 13 October 1951.
A 2 2 Correspondence
1951
Mostly between Hunt and people perceived by him as important
and influential to the cause of establishing a College. These
included members of the General Practice Review Committee [see
B HUN A 1-4
for papers relating to meetings of the Committee, September -
November 1951], where Hunt and Rose had presented their memoranda.
Hunt asked for their discretion until the publication of the
letter. He also wrote in order to draw the attention of eminent
medical figures to the forthcoming publication of the letter, as
well as to seek opinions and advice.
This correspondence, in particular the letters sent by
Hunt, reflects the strategy Hunt took at this critical early stage
of proposing the College. [For correspondence between the Steering
Committee and external individuals and bodies, during the period of
the Steering Committee, see
B HUN A
3-3.] Arranged chronologically with multiple letters from the
same correspondent to be found together;
i) Correspondence with such people as Dame Hilda Lloyd
(President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
and member of the General Practice Review Committee); Sir Cecil
Wakeley (President of the Royal College of Surgeons); Sir Russell
Brain (President of the Royal College of Physicians); and Lord
Webb-Johnson (Royal Society of Medicine, and former President of
the Royal College of Surgeons), 8 - 19 October 1951;
(ii) Correspondence with Dr Fraser Rose about the retention,
copying, and exchange of the letters they receive, and discussing
the most recent developments since the publication of the letter,
15 October - 29 November 1951;
(iii) Correspondence with such bodies and individuals as
the
Society of Apothecaries; Bruce Cardew (Medical Practitioners
Union); Ancrum Evans (subsequently auditor for the College, 1953);
the editors of the British Medical Journal (Hugh Clegg) and The
Lancet (T.F. Fox) about further publications; Sir Heneage Ogilvie
(The Practitioner), about the possibility of that journal being the
College's 'official Journal'; Dr George Abercrombie, subsequently a
member of the Steering Committee; the British Medical Association,
South-West Essex Division, inviting Hunt to address its members
[see
B HUN A 3-6 (vii) for
paper]; P.K. Murphy (Guards Barracks Chelsea), who supported Hunt
and Rose's proposal and refers to a letter he had written in March
1949 advocating such a College [see
B HUN A 1-3 for
attempts to establish the College before Hunt and Rose's
letter]
Date details: 8 October - 30 December 1951
A 2 3 Published
Reactions to Proposed College 1951-1952
Many doctors reacted to the proposal, set out by Hunt and Rose
in their letter of 13 October 1951, by writing to the British
Medical Journal and The Lancet. Responses mostly contained
enthusiastic support, although some suggested alternatives, for
example, the fusion of the three Royal College into an 'Academy of
Medicine'. Reactions to the letter also appeared in other medical
publications, including the Manchester Guardian, The Medical World
Newsletter, News Chronicle, and The Practitioner, found in
(iii).
Amongst those sending letters to the journals were
- Dr A. Talbot Rogers (subsequently a member of
the Steering Committee);
- Dr G.Ian Watson (later a President of the
College, 1971);
- G. Roche Lynch, (Master of the Worshipful
Society of Apothecaries of London);
- Sir George B. De lisle Gray (Hampstead);
- Professor Ian Aird (Department of Surgery,
Postgraduate Medical School, and subsequently a member of the
Steering Committee);
- r Robin Pinsent (subsequently a member of the
Steering Committee and Chairman of the Research Committee of the
College, 1953-64);
- Dr G.O. Barber (subsequently a member of the
Steering Committee, and previously Vice-Chairman of the Central
Health Services Council Committee on General Practice under the
National Health Service [see B HUN A 1-2]).
Also includes editorials by the journals, such as
'Fragmentation or Integration?', The Lancet, 8 December 1951, ii,
p.1071 [Also to be found in 'The Writings of John Hunt', John
Horder (ed.), (RCGP, 1992, pp.163-65 & to be found in the bound
copy 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers and Publications', Volumes 1-3,
1932-83, located at the Royal College of General Practitioners, 14
Princes Gate, London];
(i) Hunt's personal bound copy of correspondence in the
British Medical Journal, entitled 'College of General Practitioners
Correspondence (British Medical Journal) Before Foundation',
includes letter proposing College signed by Rose and Hunt, 13
October 1951, 13 October 1951 - 29 December 1951;
(ii) Hunt's personal bound copy of correspondence in the
British Medical Journal, entitled 'College of General Practitioners
Correspondence (Lancet) Before Foundation', includes letter
proposing College signed by Rose and Hunt, 13 October 1951, 13
October 1951 - 29 December 1951;
(iii) Loose cuttings of published letters reacting to
the proposal (usually two copies, with important passages marked),
20 October 1951 - 9 February 1952, includes correspondence with
International Press-Cutting Bureau about their service to supply
press-cuttings, 7 January 1952, to be found amongst loose
cuttings.
[Some correspondents also engaged in correspondence with
the Steering Committee during its work in 1952, see
B HUN A
3-3, and wrote in reaction to the Report of the Steering
Committee, published in December 1952, see
B HUN A
3-7]
Date details: 13 October 1951 - 9 February
1952.
A 2 4 Private Reactions to
Proposed College 1951-1952
Many opted to react privately to the published letter of Hunt
and Rose, proposing a 'possible College of General Practice', 13
October 1951, by writing directly to either/both Hunt or/and Rose.
There were also doctors who choose to do both, publishing a
reaction and writing privately. [File also contains some copies of
letters to Rose. Hunt and Rose agreed to supply each other with
copies of the reactions they received, see
B HUN A
2-2.]
As with the published reactions most responses were
positively in favour of the idea of a College, although many voiced
concern over how exactly the College might be brought about. Hunt
made a conscious effort to respond to the reactions, to encourage
those voicing positive opinions to write to the medical journals,
and then to keep all the correspondence he received. Arranged
chronologically, with multiple letters from same correspondent
together.
Includes letters from
- Dr J. MacLeod (Fraserburgh);
- Dr H. Leeson (Sussex);
- Dr John Fry (Kent, who became a foundation
member of the College and closely involved with its later
work);
- Dr Lindsay W. Batten (Hampstead);
- Professor Ian Aird (Department of Surgery,
Postgraduate Medical School of London, subsequently a member of the
Steering Committee);
- Dr Robin Pinsent (Birmingham, subsequently a
member of the Steering Committee and Chairman of the Research
Committee of the College, 1953-64).
[Some correspondents also engaged in correspondence with
the Steering Committee during its work in 1952, see
B HUN A
3-3, and wrote in reaction to the Report of the Steering
Committee, published in December 1952, see
B HUN A
3-7]
Date details: 12 October 1951 - 11 February
1952.
A 2 5
Subsequent Publications and Papers 1951
Articles and letters written by Hunt and Rose which were
published in the medical journals throughout the remaining months
of 1951, and paper given by Hunt, after their letter proposing the
College was published on 13 October 1951. A conscious effort was
made by the two men to keep the question of a College in the public
eye, and thus in the minds of doctors, medical bodies and members
of the public, in an effort to sustain and stimulate the
debate;
(i) 'Reviewing General
Practice', Supplement to the British Medical Journal, 27 October
1951, article based on the discussion at a meeting of the General
Practice Review Committee of the British Medical Association, when
Hunt and Rose submitted their memoranda on the subject of the
establishment of a college, includes Hunt and Rose's memoranda (2
copies) [see
B HUN A 1-4
for minutes of the meetings of the Committee]. [Also found in 'The
Writings of John Hunt', John Horder (ed) (RCGP, 1992), pp.157-59
& can also be found in the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley
Papers and Publications', Volumes 1-3, 1932-83, found at the Royal
College of General Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, London];
(ii) Untitled letter asking for reports of meetings at
which the formation of a college is discussed, F.M. Rose and J.H.
Hunt, The Lancet, Vol. 2, 17 November 1951, p.943 (photocopy)
[identical letter to the British Medical Journal, Vol. ii, p.1223].
[Can also be found in the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers
and Publications', Volumes 1-3, 1932-83, found at the Royal College
of General Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, London];
(iii) Paper read by Hunt to the St Marylebone Division
of the British Medical Association, 19 November 1951 (3 draft
copies) and article referring to paper given, ‘College of General
Practice: More Evidence Collected’, Health Centres in Hospitals,
supplement to the British Medical Journal, Vol. II, 15 December
1951, pp.262 (photocopy) [Article can also be found in the bound
copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers and Publications', Volumes 1-3,
1932-83, found at the Royal College of General Practitioners, 14
Princes Gate, London];
(iv) ‘A College of General Practitioners?’, F.M. Rose
and J.H. Hunt, Letters to the Editor, The Lancet, Vol. 2, 29
December 1951, p.1226, the British Medical Journal, Vol. ii,
p.1582. [Also found in 'The Writings of John Hunt', John Horder
(ed) (RCGP, 1992), pp.161-62 and in the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of
Fawley Papers and Publications', Volumes 1-3, 1932-83, found at the
Royal College of General Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate,
London]
[For correspondence with the editors of the medical
journals about the publishing of articles and letters on the
subject of establishing a College, see B HUN A 2-2]
Date details: 27 October - 29 December 1951.
A3.
General Practice Steering Committee, 1951 -
1952
The General Practice Steering Committee was brought together
on 28 February 1952, under the chairmanship of the Right Honorable
Henry Willink, Q.C. (Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and
Minister of Health, 1943-45), with Hunt as its Honorary Secretary.
The Committee consisted of five general practitioners and five
consultants, namely G.O. Barber (GP, Essex); J.H. Hunt (GP,
London); Fraser Rose (GP, Lancashire); Richard Scott (GP
Edinburgh); A. Talbot Rogers (GP, Kent); Professor Ian Aird
(Consultant, from Postgraduate Federation); John Beattie
(consultant, member of Royal College of Obstetricians and
Gynacologists); Sir Wilson Jameson (consultant, member of Society
of Apothecaries); Professor James Mackintosh (consultant, member of
Royal College of Physicians); and Sir Heneage Ogilvie (consultant,
member of Royal College of Surgeons).
Throughout 1952 much discussion and correspondence took place,
with the Committee meeting eight times. In June an exploratory
papers was published [see
B HUN A 3- for
this publication]. Five more general practitioners were asked to
join the Steering Committee, they were George Abercrombie (London);
D.M. Hughes (Carmarthenshire); Robin Pinsent (Birmingham); J.D.
Simpson (Cambridge); and J. Campbell Young (Belfast).
The Committee's unanimous Report was signed on 19 November
1952 and published in the British Medical Journal of 20 December
1952, and as a supplement in the Practitioner, January 1953. The
Report contained a provisional constitution with memorandum and
articles of associations and bye-laws. The Committee perceived that
the evidence was overwhelming for the foundation of an academic
body, with broad educational aims, to be the headquarters of
general practitioners in Great Britain and to help and encourage
them to maintain a high standard, and that it should be established
as soon as possible. The Steering Committee paid particular
attention to the title, functions, criteria for foundation
membership, regional representation, relations with other
professional bodies, accommodation, and finances.
Hunt was meticulous in retaining his notes, minutes, and
correspondence of the Steering Committee. He worked tirelessly at
maintaining internal communications and keeping all relevant
external bodies and individuals informed of developments, as well
as the general public through published articles and letters.
Includes minutes of meetings, correspondence with members of
the Committee, correspondence with external bodies and individuals,
including the American Academy of General Practice, papers and
publications relating to the work of the Committee, and the
Committee's Report of 19 November 1952 and the related
correspondence.
[For the General Practice Steering Committee Minutes, 28
February -19 November 1952, and the Committee's Papers, 19 February
1952 - 21 January 1953, see the institutional records of the
College, A CE B 1; A CE B 2]
A 3 1 Minutes and Related
Correspondence 1952
Copies of the minutes of meetings of the Steering Committee,
retained by Hunt in his personal files. Attached are copies of
correspondence seemingly discussed at the meetings.
[Copies of correspondence can be found in the
correspondence files on the subject of reactions to the publication
of Hunt and Rose's letter in the medical journals, 13 October
1951, B HUN A
2]
(i) Minutes of the 1st meeting, 28 February 1952, with
draft notes of speech made by Hunt to introduce the first meeting
(2 annotated draft copies), and attached notes on 'The Birth of a
College', Sir William Fletcher Shaw, and copies of correspondence
received by Hunt between November 1951 and the first meeting 28
February 1952, likely to have been brought by Hunt to the first
meeting [found in a file entitled 'Committee Meeting Copies of
Letters for 28/2/1952'], amongst the correspondents are members of
the Steering Committee, The Practitioner; The Lancet; the American
Academy of General Practice [for file on the Academy see
B HUN A 3-4];
notes on a 'Possible Criteria for Foundation Membership'; Sir
Russell Brian (Royal College of Physicians); Dr Nogales Puertas
(Spain); Westland Hospital (New Zealand); Dr George Swift (Joint
Secretary of the EC1 Club and later member of the Foundation
Council); and Professor A.D. Gardner (Regius Professor of Medicine,
University of Oxford). Also seating plan of members of the
Committee;
(ii) Minutes of the 2nd meeting, 20 March 1952,
including letter from Professor James Mackintosh (London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and later member of the Steering
Committee);
(iii) Minutes of the 5th meeting, 17 September 1952,
with discussion of the 4th meeting (2 draft copies);
(iv) Minutes of the 6th meeting, 9 October 1952;
(v) Minutes of the 7th meeting, 31 October 1952;
(vi) Minutes of the 8th (final) meeting, 19 November
1952 (2 draft copies) [typed and annotated copy noted as being a
'valuable verbatum account of the meeting']. Including drafts of
'The Secretary's Progress Report' (3 draft copies with annotations)
and the 'The Interim Report', 19 November 1952, with related
correspondence from Dr Fraser Rose, Dr D.M. Hughes, Sir Wilson
Jameson, Sir Henry Willink, Dr Robin Pinsent, Professor James
Mackintosh, Dr K. Dalton, Dr J. Campbell Young and Dr George
Abercrombie, mostly responding to the draft of the Committee's
report and the memorandum and articles of association, circulated
by Hunt in October 1952, 13 October 1951 - 19 October 1952.
[Retained with Hunt's notes on the report, it seems
likely that he would have referred to these letters whilst
compiling his report] [See B HUN A
3-7 for the published version of the Report and
related correspondence]
N.B. Includes copies of correspondence dating from 20
November 1951
Date details: 28 February - 19 November 1952.
A 3 2
Correspondence with the Steering Committee (Internal)
1951-1953
Correspondence between members of the Steering Committee and
Hunt, on subjects such as membership of the Committee, arrangements
for meetings of the Committee [for the Hunt's copies of the minutes
of the Committee and related correspondence see
B
HUN A 3-1], topics to be discussed at meetings, including
discussion about letters to members of the Steering Committee, from
doctors and members of the public, with an interest in the work of
the Committee and the prospect of a College of General Practice.
Hunt sent copies of correspondence received to members of the
Committee [see the correspondence with Willink for an example of
this].
The correspondence contained in this file mostly relates
to the period when the General Practice Steering Committee was at
work, throughout 1952, in the aftermath of the published proposal
of a College, on the criteria of the proposed College. Some
correspondence extends into 1953, for example with Willink, whereby
loose ends are tied up [for material relating to the early years of
the College see
B HUN
A 4].
Letters are arranged mostly chronologically [as they
were found to have been arranged], although letters from the same
correspondent are to be found together. The volume of
correspondence indicates the interest in the proposed College and
the intense efforts made by the Steering Committee to consider the
question of the College so thoroughly during 1952.
Correspondence with Dr Fraser Rose, Dr G.O. Barber, Dr A.
Talbot Rogers, Dr J. MacLeod (initially a member of the Committee,
who had to relinquish his position due to ill health), Sir Henry
Willink, Sir Wilson Jameson, Sir Heneage Ogilvie, Professor James
Mackintosh, Professor Ian Aird, Dr John Beattie, and later members
who were asked to join in March 1952, Dr Robin Pinsent, Dr George
Abercrombie, Dr D.M. Hughes, Dr J.D. Simpson, and Dr J. Campbell
Young, as well as Ancrum Evans (subsequently auditor of the College
in 1953).
[For correspondence relating to the Report signed by the
Committee at their last meeting, 19 November 1952, and published in
the British Medical Journal, 20 December 1952, and letters of
congratulations to Hunt see
B HUN A 3-7]
Date details: 28 November 1951 - 12 January
1953.
A 3 3
Correspondence with Steering Committee (External)
1951-1953
Correspondence between Steering Committee, addressed to and
from Hunt as Honorary Secretary of the Steering Committee, and
external bodies and individuals, medical and non-medical, and
members of the public. Hunt usually replied to letters, often
copies of his responses are to be found attached to the letter
received.
[Some correspondents also
wrote to Hunt and to the medical journals when Hunt and Rose's
letter was published on 13 October 1951, their correspondence can
also be found in
B HUN A 2-3;
B HUN A
2-4].
Correspondence is arranged chronologically [as the
letters were found to be arranged], letters from the same
correspondent are to be found together.
Much of the correspondence was presented before the
Steering Committee by Hunt, the Honorary Secretary, at its
meetings. [For minutes of the Steering Committee, and related
correspondence, including copies of some of these letters received
between November 1951 and the first meeting of the Committee on 28
February 1952, found with the minutes, see
B
HUN A 3-1] As is discernible from the correspondence, Hunt
often approached specific bodies and individuals asking for their
advice and opinions on the latest developments, as well as
suggesting people should write to the medical journals to voice
their support.
Amongst the correspondents are Bruce Cardew, of the
Medical Practitioners' Union; Linklaters and Paines [from whom Hunt
sought legal advice and who became solicitors to the Steering
Committee]; Dr George Swift (later a member of the Foundation
Council, see
B HUN A 4-1); Dr R.M.S.
McConaghey (later a member of the Foundation Council, see
B HUN A 4-1); Dr H. Leeson
(Sussex); Dr J.P. Horder (later to become a prominent member of the
College, responsible for the College archives, and editor of 'The
Writings of John Hunt' (RCGP, 1992)); Dr Lindsey W. Batten
(London); Dr H.L. Hodkinson (Surrey); Sir Morton Smart (Sussex); Dr
W. Edwards (Surrey); Hugh Clegg (Editor of the British Medical
Journal); T.F. Fox (Editor of The Lancet), Sir Russell Brain
(President of the Royal College of Physicians), and Sir Cecil
Wakeley (President of the Royal College of Surgeons), Hilda N.
Lloyd (President of the Royal College of Obstetricians &
Gynaecologists), Lord Webb-Johnson, Dr Alexander (President of the
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh); the British Medical
Association; A.D.D. Broughton (of the Parliamentary Medical Group);
and the Canadian Medical Association.
Correspondence covers a variety of subjects including
the offering of support, for example Hugh Clegg (of the British
Medical Journal) wrote to Hunt declaring that the journal would
'like to help you and the College of General Practitioners by
giving you what support the B.M.J. can give' (17 December 1952),
whilst Sir Cecil Wakeley wrote explaining he would 'always give all
the help I can' [this was much to the surprise of Hunt and his
colleagues who had initially faced opposition from the Royal
Colleges]; the offering of services, such as requesting membership
of the Steering Committee; offering their interpretations of what
the College should offer and how it should function, for example,
suggesting the Committee enlists the help of the Royal Society of
Medicine; and discussion about a possible official journal of the
College.
Date details: 13 October 1951 - 20 January
1953.
A 3 4 The
American Academy of General Practice 1950-1952
The American Academy of General Practice was founded in 1947,
Hunt was aware of the Academy and interested in what it could
offer, in the way of a pattern, to the debate on the proposed
College for general practitioners in Britain.
[For papers relating to the American Academy of
Family Physicians (until 1971, the American Academy of General
Practice), 1954-85, see the College's institutional records, A CE N
14]
Hunt began correspondence with the Academy in November
1951, stating his eagerness to 'find out as much as I can about
your Academy; how it was founded, how it elects it's membership,
how it is financed and what are it's functions' (letter from Hunt
to Dr Jay of the Academy, 29 November 1951). He brought the case of
the American Academy of General Practice before the Steering
Committee for discussion, and also outlined the role and functions
of the Academy in a paper he gave to the South-West Essex Division
of the British Medical Association in April 1952 [see
B HUN A 3-6
(vii) for paper]. He used the Academy to support the case
for the establishment of a similar body in Britain. Includes:
(i) Correspondence between Hunt and Dr Jay and Dr
Alvarez (of the Academy), and Mac F. Cahal (the Executive Secretary
and General Counsel), about the role of the Academy for American
general practitioners, its organisation, objectives and operation,
29 November 1951 - 26 May 1952;
(ii) Copies of the Academy's publications and articles
relating to general practice in America, sent to Hunt by Mac F.
Cahal;
'A Compendium of Resolutions and Reports on General
Practice', October 1950;
'Manual on General Practice Departments in Hospitals: A
Guide to the Establishment and Operation of the Department', March
1951;
'American Academy of General Practice: Constitution and
By-Laws', March 1951;
'The American Academy of General Practice:
Transactions', March 1951;
'Survey of General Practice in Hospitals', Charles E.
Nyberg, GP, July 1951, Vol. IV, No. 1 (reprint);
'Medical Study Courses for the General Practitioner',
September 1951; 'Fifty First Annual Report on Medical Education in
the United States and Canada by the Council on Medical Education
and Hospitals o the American Medical Association from July 1, 1950
to June 30, 1951', September 1951;
'Internships and Residency Training for General
Practice', GP, November 1951, Vol. IV, No. 5 (reprint)
Date details: October 1950 - 26 May 1952.
A 3 5 Copy Correspondence
1952
Hunt's copy correspondence of letters received from doctors,
members of the public and medical and lay bodies in Britain and
around the world, reacting to the proposal to established a College
for general practitioners, pages numbered 145 - 213. Hunt was
meticulous in filing and retaining the documentation relating to
the events surrounding the proposal of a College, during 1951 and
1952, aware that ultimately he and his colleagues were making
history. He was also committed to circulating to all members of the
Steering Committee the letters received by him, in his role as
Honorary Secretary of the Committee.
[Whilst the originals and other copies of these letters
may be found in
B HUN A
3-2 and
B HUN A 3-3>, this file shows Hunt's
system of documentation, reflecting the extremely organised
character of the Steering Committee, largely due to Hunt's
inexhaustible drive to achieve the establishment of a College for
general practitioners.]
Date details: 28 June - 20 August 1952.
A 3 6 Articles
and Papers about the Proposed College and Related Correspondence
1952
Throughout the period that the Steering Committee met, from
February to November 1952, the question of the College remained in
the public eye, through continued debate in both the medical and
the lay press. Hunt and the Committee were keen to keep the subject
current, and in the minds of all those with any possible interest.
They used the press both as a vehicle to disseminate their ideas
and to keep people aware of the progress being made. Indeed, in
June 1952 an exploratory paper was published which discussed the
many reasons for establishing a College, the different titles that
had been suggested, the possible functions of the College, criteria
for membership, and its relations with other medical bodies. The
Committee also asked for financial support for the project, see
(vii).
Articles were also generated by other bodies and
individuals, including the press themselves. Arranged
chronologically with related correspondence attached;
(i) 'Colleges and Faculties', The Lancet, 19 January
1952; Letters to the Editor, 'Colleges and Faculties', from
Arthur Jordan, K.T. Brown, A.V. Neale, 19 January 1952;
(ii) 'Doctors want G.P. College: "Their Right and Just
Due"'; 'Many Proposals go to Committee', Daily Telegraph, 28
January 1952 (2 copies; 1 photocopy);
(iii) 'Colleges and Faculties', The Lancet, Letters to
the Editor, K.T. Brown, 2 February 1952;
(iv) 'The Hengrove Experiment', The Lancet, 1 March
1952;
(v) 'Fees and Patients', The Times, 6 June 1952; 'Sequel
to the Award', The Lancet, 7 June 1952; 'Rewards of Practice', the
Economist, 14 June 1952, on the subject of remunerations;
(vi) 'Call for G.P.'s College', The Glasgow Herald;
'Plea for Early Establishment of G.P. College', Edinburgh Evening
News; F.R.C.G.P.', The Manchester Guardian (2 copies), 27 June
1952;
(vii) 'A College of
General Practice' A Paper read before the South-West Essex Division
of the British Medical Association, 9 April 1952 (2 copies); ‘A
College of General Practice’, John H. Hunt, Supplement to the
British Medical Journal, Vol. i, 28 June 1952, p.335-49 (2 copies -
reprint and original) [shortened version of paper read before the
South-West Essex division of the BMA, 9 April 1952] [also found in
the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers and Publications',
Volumes 1-3, 1932-83, located at the Royal College of General
Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, London, and in 'The Writings of
John Hunt', John Horder (ed) (RCGP, 1992), p.167-82]; ‘College of
General Practice’, John H. Hunt, Letter to the Editor, British
Medical Journal, Vol. i, 28 June 1952, p.1410; and Medicine
Illustrated, p.367 (2 copies - reprint and original; 1 original
copy) [also found in 'The Writings of John Hunt', John Horder (ed)
(RCGP, 1992), p.166];
Comments on the exploratory paper, 'College of General
Practice', The Times (2 copies); and 'G.P.s Want Own College',
Western Mail and South Wales News, 28 June 1952;
Responses to the request for financial support from the
28 June exploratory paper. The large number of responses reflects
the great interest and faith in the proposed College. As well as
sending a donation, many correspondents expressed their reasons for
doing so, and thus their opinion of the proposed College. Donations
came from individuals and bodies interested in sustaining the
efforts to establish a College, amongst those sending donations
were Dr H. Leeson (Sussex); Dr Lindsey W. Batten (Hampstead); Dr W.
Edwards (Surrey); Dr G.O. Barber and Professor James Mackintosh
(members of the Steering Committee); Dr J.P. Horder (later a
prominent member of the College, responsible for founding the
College archives, and editor of 'The Writings of John Hunt' (RCGP,
1992).); Dr John Fry (Kent, later a prominent member of the
College); Dr George Abercrombie, Dr J. Campbell Young, and Dr Robin
Pinsent (subsequently members of the Steering Committee); and The
Proprietors of The Lancet.
[
The correspondence of some of these people can be
found in file relating to the reactions to the publication of Hunt
and Rose's letter in the medical journals, 13 October 1951,
B HUN A
2-3; B HUN A 2-4, and
external correspondence with the Steering Committee, B
HUN A 3-3, for others this was their first voicing of
support for the proposed College.]
;
(viii) 'That College Again', Medical World, 4 July 1952,
pp.480-81, includes copy of ‘College of General Practice’, John H.
Hunt, published in British Medical Journal, 28 June 1952,
pp.502-03;
(ix) 'President's Address: Topics, Thoughts, and
Tendencies', P.T. O'Farrell, British Medical Journal, 12 July
1952;
(x) 'A College of General Practice', The Medical Press,
Letter to the Editor, 16 July 1952 (version of ‘College of General
Practice’, John H. Hunt, published in British Medical Journal, 28
June 1952);
(xi) 'Remuneration in General Practice', Dr J. Macleod
(initially a member of the Steering Committee), British Medical
Journal, 19 July 1952, p.74;
(xii) 'College of General Practice', A. Wilfred Adams,
British Medical Journal, 19 July 1952;
(xiii) 'College of General Practice', Medical World, 25
July 1952, pp.581-83, discussing the producing of a newsletter
devoted to the subject of the proposed College; 'GPs and a College
of General Practice', Medical World Newsletter, 31 July 1952 [noted
that this newsletter was sent by post to every practitioner in
Britain] (2 copies); 'College of General Practice', letter from G.
Ralston, London, Medical World, 22 August 1952, pp.697-98;
(xiv) 'Syringe Service in Practice', B.R.S. Mainwaring,
Staffordshire, British Medical Journal, 26 July 1952;
(xv) 'A College of General Practice', The Practitioner,
1 August 1952, pp.113-14;
(xvi) 'Now the G.P.s Want a Leg Up', Dr Stephen Taylor,
News Chronicle, 20 August 1952;
(xvii) 'College of General Practice', letter from R.B.
Raffle, South Shields, British Medical Journal, 23 August 1952,
p.444;
(xviii) 'What of General Practice', The Lancet, 6
September 1952, p.471;
(xix) 'General Practitioners and Postgraduate
Education', letter from H.H. Pilling, Sheffield, British Medical
Journal, 20 September 1952, p.667;
(xx) 'Recognition for the G.P., The Medical Press,
Editorial, 1 October 1952, Vol. CCXXVIII, No. 14;
(xxi) 'General Practitioners' Part in Health Service',
publication unknown, undated, about address given by Mr Iain
Macleod, Minister of Health, at annual meeting of the Executive
Councils Association; 'The Front Line', The Times, 3 October 1952,
referring to Macleod's speech; 'Closer Contact', British Medical
Journal, 11 October 1952, pp.822-23; 'The Expanding Health Service:
The Ministry's Annual Report', The Lancet, 11 October 1952,
pp.729-31;
(xxii) 'Function of a College of General Practice',
letter from W.N. Leak, Cheshire, British Medical Journal, 25
October 1952, pp.172-73;
(xxiii) 'A College of General Practitioners', St
Bartholomew's Hospital Journal, December 1952, Vol. LVI, No. 12,
562-63 [This articles was printed before the publication of the
Steering Committee's report, 20 December 1952] (copy of entire
journal);
(xxiv) 'Co-operation between the British Postgraduate
Federation and the Proposed College of General Practitioners', John
H. Hunt [publication unknown] [undated, c.1952] (typed copy);
(xxv) Extract from The Lancet, 1953, about the Steering
Committee (typed copy):
'O fledgeing college, steered to birth
By Willink slaves and J.H. Hunt,
Let's hope that you may prove your worth
And earn an R in front'
Date details: 19 January - December 1952.
A 3 7 Report
of the Steering Committee and Related Correspondence
1952-1953
The unanimous report was signed on 19 November 1952, on the
same day the College was founded as an unincorporated association.
It was then published in the British Medical Journal on 20 December
1952, the news having been announced by the BBC in its morning news
the day before, and as a supplement to The Practitioner in January
1953. The report made full reference to the discussions of the
Steering Committee that occurred during 1952, and stated in the
opening passages that it was 'clear to the steering committee that
the leadership of a "British Academy of Medicine" is the goal
towards which all of us must strive' (p.2 of the published Report,
British Medical Journal).
[See
B HUN A 3-1 for minutes and notes
of the meetings of the Steering Committee, including Hunt's draft
report prepared for the last meeting, 19 November 1952.]
The report concluded that an academic body should be
established as soon as possible, that it should have broad
educational aims and should be the headquarters of general
practitioners in Britain, encouraging and helping them to maintain
a high standard. Furthermore the 'considered proposals about the
new college... [were]... along lines which the majority of our
correspondents seem to desire' (p.17)
Includes published copies of the report and articles
about it, and correspondence, giving reactions to the report,
received by Hunt.
[Some correspondents also wrote to Hunt, and to
the medical journals, with their initial reactions to the
publication of the Hunt and Rose letter proposing a College, 13
October 1951, see
B HUN A 2-3 and
B HUN A 2-4, and were in
correspondence with the Steering Committee during 1952 in the lead
up to the Report, see
B HUN A 3-3 and
B HUN A
3-6];
(i) ‘A College of General Practitioners: Report of the
General Practice Steering Committee (1952), John H. Hunt (Honorary
Secretary), British Medical Journal, Vol. ii, 20 December 1952,
pp.1321-28, 1344 (2 copies - reprint & photocopy); ‘College of
General Practitioners: Report of the Steering Committee’,
Supplement to The Practitioner, January 1953, vol. 170 (reprint)
[also found in the bound copy 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers and
Publications', volumes 1-3, 1932-83, and in 'The Writings of John
Hunt', John Horder (ed) (RCGP, 1992), p.183-207];
(ii) 'College of General Practitioners', The Lancet, 20
December 1952, pp.1211-12 (2 copies - reprint and photocopy);
'College of General Practitioners', The Practitioner, January 1953,
Vol. 170, No. 1015, pp. 1-3 (photocopy);
(iii) Letters of reaction to the report, sending
congratulations on the achievement of the Steering Committee, and
the inauguration, the 'actual birth of the College' (from letter
from Pamela Hunter, 22 December 1952). Includes some correspondence
with former members of the Steering Committee and, in some cases,
replies from Hunt.
The letters are of a congratulatory nature, and as Hunt
pointed out, with particular reference to Sir Russell Brain
(President of the Royal College of Physicians), who had voiced such
staunch opposition from 13 October 1951 onwards, 'the expected
counter-attack has not yet materialised and my impression is that
the feeling at the top is one of scepticism and slight bewilderment
rather than open antagonism at present' (reply to Professor James
Mackintosh, 9 January 1953) [There is also a short note from Brain,
with no hint of criticism]. Amongst the correspondents are Dr
William Pickles, first President of the College [See B PIC for
personal papers of William Pickles]; Professor Sir Francis Fraser
(of the British Postgraduate Medical Federation); T.F. Fox (Editor
of The Lancet); Dr Charles D. Reed (Institute of Obstetrics and
Gynaecology); Sir Henry Cohen (Liverpool); Major P.K. Murphy
(London); the Association of Police Surgeons of Great Britain;
Professor James Mackintosh, Sir Henry Willink, Professor Ian Aird,
Sir Heneage Ogilvie, and Dr G.O. Barber (members of the Steering
Committee); Sir Russell Brain (President of the Royal College of
Physicians); and the British Medical Association.
Date details: 20 December 1952 - 20 January
1953
A 3 8
Reminiscing about Founding the College
1964-1972
Correspondence between Hunt, or Dr J.P. Horder (subsequently
responsible for establishing the College archives, and former
members of the Steering Committee), and others, about the period
leading up to the formation of the College of General Practitioners
(from 1967, the Royal College of General Practitioners). Also
includes Hunt's personal notes on the subject.
Hunt was aware of the importance of capturing the history of
the foundation of the College, and proactive in seeking the
reminiscences of key figures from the early days.
[For correspondence with Dr J.P. Horder, on the need to
document the foundation of the College, see A CE L 2-1];
(i) Letter to Dr J.P. Horder from Sir Henry Willink
(former Chairman of the Steering Committee), about Willink's
sending his 'reminiscences of the Steering Committee'. Willink was
emphasise 'the dynamic energy of John Hunt' and that 'the most
dramatic episode... was the overcoming of the initial prejudice of
the Royal Colleges', 3 January 1964; letters to Hunt with further
recollections of 1952, 8 April 1970 - 8 June 1971;
(ii) Correspondence between Hunt and Dr G.O. Barber
(former member of the Steering Committee), about Sir Wilson
Jameson's early connection with the College, and a meeting between
the Nuffield Provincial Trust and about 20 general practitioners,
in Oxford in the autumn of 1950. At the meeting what could be done
to help general practice was discussed, 8 - 19 February 1968; copy
of letter from Barber to Sir Wilson Jameson asking for his
recollections of the autumn meeting,, 14 February 1951;
(iii) Letter from Dr Fraser Rose responding to Hunt's
wish for notes made in the early days of the College's existence, 7
October 1971;
(iv) Correspondence between Hunt and Dr Stephen Hadfield
(Scottish Secretary of the British Medical Association (BMA)),
about Dr Fraser Rose, and his connection with the BMA prior to the
presentation of his memorandum before the General Practice Review
Committee, 3 October 1951. [For material relating to this meeting,
including a copy of both Rose and Hunt's memoranda, see
B HUN A
1] and about suggestions of a College made prior to 1951 [see
B HUN A 1], 5 - 11 October
1972;
(v) Biographic notes written by Dr George Abercrombie
(President, 1959-62), entitled 'Foundation Member, College of
General Practitioners'.
[For Abercrombie's obituary written by Hunt, see
B HUN A7-2] (handwritten) [undated];
(vi) Biographical notes written by Dr J.D. Simpson
(Foundation Council Member) (typed), about his involvement with the
early days of the College [undated];
Notes made by Hunt about the formation of the College,
including note on the home of the Steering Committee, at 7
Mansfield Street, Portland Place, by the Honorable Mrs Geoffrey
Evans, and the offering of her late husband's medical books as the
nucleus of the library.
[The library was named the Geoffrey Evans Library;
their son Ancrum Evans became Auditor of the College in
1953.]
[These notes were possibly used in speeches made and
papers given in subsequent years, or as an aide for the book his
co-edited 'A History of the Royal College of General
Practitioners', John Fry, Lord Hunt of Fawley and R.J.F.H. Pinsent
(eds.) (RCGP, 1983)]
Date details: 3 January 1964 - 11 October 1972.
A4. Foundation Year, 1953 - 1954
The Foundation Council was formed on 18 February 1953. In the
interim, between the dissolving of the Steering Committee on 19
November 1951 and the formation of the Foundation Council, a
Provisional Foundation Council served. Dr George Abercrombie was
its Chairman, Dr Fraser Rose Vice-Chairman, and Hunt Honorary
Secretary. The other members were Dr G.O. Barber, Dr A. Talbot
Rogers, Dr Richard Scott, Dr J. Campbell Young, Dr J.D. Simpson, Dr
Robin Pinsent and Dr D.M. Hughes.
Specialist committees to investigate issues highlighted by the
Steering Committee were quickly set up. A Finance and General
Purposes Committee was elected on 17 December 1952 [for Finance and
General Purposes Committee see the College's institutional records,
A CE C 1, Minutes, 1953-94; A CE C 2, Papers, 1953-84; Attendance
Registers, 1964-84] and on 21 January 1953 three other committees
were formed: an Undergraduate Education Committee [for
Undergraduate Education Committee Minutes, 1954-64; Reports,
1953-58, 1953-61; Correspondence and Reports, 1953-56, 1959-65, see
the College's institutional records, A CE H 1-1; A CE H 2-1, H 2-2;
A CE H 3-1, H3-2], a Postgraduate Education and Regional
Organization Committee [for Postgraduate Education Committee
Minutes, 1954-64; duplicate minutes, agendas, and reports, 1954-64;
correspondence, 1953-58, 1956-60, 1956-61, see the College's
institutional records, A CE H 1-2; A CE H 2-5; A CE H 3-3, H3-4,
H3-5], and a Research Committee [for Research papers see the
College's institutional records, A CE G, in particular, A CE G 1,
Research Committee Minutes, 1952-88; A CE G 2, Research Committee
Papers, 1953-76; A CE G 3, Research Committee Circulars, 1955-69; A
CE G 4, General Correspondence, 1953-78; A CE G 5, Chairman's
Correspondence, 1952-70].
In February, when the Foundation Council was formed,
membership was enlarged to 21, by approaching general practitioners
who had shown particular interest in the work of the Steering
Committee. Names were chosen, from 500 potential members. A
conscious effort was made to reflect the federal, regional
structure of the College, so in an attempt to avoid an elitist
'gentleman's club'.
The objects of the Foundation Council were to lay the
foundations of the College in the way that the Steering Committee
had recommended, and to establish an early membership in order that
it could present to the first Annual General Meeting in November
1953, a strong and united young College, ready to take on the large
workload the College had set itself.
[For the Foundation Council papers, see the Council papers
held within the College's institutional records, A CE B 3, Council
Minutes, 1952-97; A CE B 4, council Attendance Registers, 1952-87;
A CE B 5, Council Papers, 1952-80]
Foundation membership opened on 1 January 1953. In the first
three weeks 1,077 members and 142 associates enrolled, mostly from
Britain but also from overseas, and £11,800 was deposited in the
bank. Before the College was six months old, over 2,000 general
practitioners had joined, 130 of whom were from overseas (figures
quoted in the 1st Annual Report, 1953). Foundation membership
lasted until the first Annual General Meeting, subsequently those
seeking membership became members of the College.
[Membership files of all members of the College are held
by the Membership Department at the Royal College of General
Practitioners Headquarters, 14 Princes Gate, London.]
Includes Hunt's correspondence as Honorary Secretary of the
Provisional Foundation Council and then Foundation Council,
applications for Foundation Membership of the College, and articles
published by the College during its foundation year.
A 4 1 Correspondence
1953
Hunt's correspondence as Honorary Secretary of the Provisional
Foundation Council, November 1952 - February 1953, and the
Foundation Council, February 1953 - November 1953. During this time
Hunt and the rest of the Council were keen to lay the foundations
for the future College, along the lines outlined by the Steering
Committee in their conclusive report of 19 November 1952 [see
B HUN
A 3-7].
Hunt continued his habit of keeping informed all those
considered important, influential, and relevant. File includes
copies of letters sent by him.
Arranged chronologically, letters from the same correspondent
are to be found together. Correspondence is on a variety of
subjects, such as the nomination of general practitioners to serve
on the Foundation Council; the formation of Committees, such as the
giving of addresses at the Royal Medical Society, Edinburgh, and
the London Hospital Medical Society, on the subject of the new
College, in February 1953; the establishing of a Research
Committee; the First Annual General Meeting and Report, including
telegrams sending the Queen their loyal greetings, and a reply from
the Queen's Private Secretary thanking the Foundation Council,
November 1953; the report by the Undergraduate Education Committee
entitled 'The Teaching of General Practice by General
Practitioners' [see
B HUN A 4-3], in particular Hunt's informing
people of its imminent publication, discussing with journal editors
their publication of the report, and letters of congratulations;
arrangements with the Society of Apothecaries as to the use of
their premises [Black Friars Lane was the College's postal address
until 1957]; the developing of faculties of the College;
Amongst the correspondents are members of the Foundation
Council, such as
- Dr Robin Pinsent, later Chairman of the Research
Committee, 1953-64 [for Pinsent's Papers, including correspondence
relating to his membership of the Steering Committee and Foundation
Council, see B PIN],
- Dr George Abercrombie,
- Dr R.M.S. McConaghey,
- Dr G.O. Barber;
- Dr C.J. Morgan,
- Dr George Swift,
- Dr Rodney Maingot (nominees for the Foundation
Council);
- Dr H. Leeson (Sussex);
- Sir Henry Cohen (Liverpool, former Chairman of
the General Practice Review Committee of the British Medical
Association (BMA));
- T.F. Fox (Editor of The Lancet); Bruce Cardew
(of Medical World [the publication of the Medical Practitioners
Union?]);
- Dr John Fry (Kent, later a prominent member of
the College);
- Dr William Pickles, about his becoming first
President of the College [see B PIC for personal papers of William
Pickles];
- New York State Academy of General Practice,
Inc.;
- Sir Heneage Ogilvie (former member of the
Steering Committee); Sir Henry Willink (former Chairman of the
Steering Committee).
Date details: 2 January - 24 November 1953.
A 4 2 Foundation
Membership 1953
Letters of application for foundation membership. It had been
decided by the General Practice Steering Committee, and outlined in
the report of 19 November 1952 [see
B HUN A
3-7] that foundation membership should be restricted to doctors
in the British Isles or overseas whose names were on the Medical
Register. The criteria was then that the general practitioner had
to fulfil one of the following: to have been twenty years in
general practice in a school, factory or other institution, or in
service; five years in general practice and an undertake to attend
a certain amount of postgraduate instruction every year; or five
years in general practice and be in possession of a higher medical
postgraduate degree or diploma.
[For the criteria in full see the Steering Committee's
Report of 19 November 1952,
B HUN A
3-7]
File constitutes a small percentage of the 2,000 plus
applications received by Hunt and the Foundation Council throughout
1952. Membership was not advertised by the College, instead the
Council responded for requests for membership from general
practitioners, who seemed more than willing to pay the ten guineas
fee.
Of those applying for membership were Dr Peter Turtle
(London); Dr N.C. Das (Liverpool); Dr D.M. Hughes (Carmarthen,
former member of the Steering Committee), requesting application
forms to circulate to his colleagues; Dr H.C. Harley (Radnorshire);
Dr Arthur Levin (London); Dr H.E.W. Hardenberg (London); Father C.
Vere Nicoll (Buckinghamshire).
Date details: 2 - 19 January 1953.
A 4 3 Articles
and Publications 1953-1954
Articles and publications resulting from the work of the
Foundation Council, during 1953;
(i) ‘The Teaching of General Practice by General
Practitioners: Report of the Undergraduate Education Committee of
the Foundation Council of the College of General Practitioners’,
J.H. Hunt, British Medical Journal, Vol. ii, 4 July 1953, pp.36
(reprint) [see also the bound copy of 'Lord Hunt of Fawley Papers
and Publications', to be found at the Royal College of General
Practitioners, 14 Princes Gate, London];
(ii) Hunt's personal copy of 'The College of General
Practitioners First Annual Report 1953', with his mother's
signature on front cover, includes photocopy of notice of the first
Annual General Meeting, 14 November 1953;
(iii) 'A College of General Practitioners', British Medical
Students Journal, 1954, Vol. 8, pp.16-18, with extracts of the
Steering Committee Report of 19 November 1952, and reference to the
First Annual Report 1953.
Date details: 4 July 1953 - 1954.
A5 Honorary Secretary of Council, 1953 -
1966
At the first Annual General Meeting of the College, on 14
November 1954, the Foundation Council was re-elected as the first
Council of the College [for material relating to Hunt's involvement
in the Foundation Council, see B HUN A 4], with Dr George
Abercrombie as Chairman, Dr Fraser Rose as Vice-Chairman, Dr H.L.
Glyn Hughes as Honorary Treasurer, and Hunt as Honorary
Secretary.
[For material about the Council see the College's
institutional records, A CE B; for Council Minutes, 1952-1997, A CE
B 3; for Council Attendance Registers, 1952-1987, A CE B 4; for
Council Papers (supporting papers for meetings of Council,
including duplicate minutes, agendas, reports and correspondence),
1953-1980, A CE B 5; for Council Elections, 1953-65, A CE B 6; for
Council Correspondence (concerning affairs of Council), from 1953,
A CE B 7]
The first few years of the Council saw the formation of the 22
regional faculties, as well as the forming of the Australian and
New Zealand Councils. There was an extension throughout the College
of the work of the teaching of general practice by general
practitioners, the planning of postgraduate courses was developed,
and there was fruitful liaison between the College and universities
and medical schools, with the planning of departments of general
practice in some of them. [Dr Patrick Byrne was greatly involved in
these efforts, establishing the Department of General Practice at
the University of Manchester, see Personal Papers Patrick Byrne, B
BYR] The research organisation of the College was also expanded in
this period. The first Scottish Council was founded during these
early years. Criteria for membership and associateship, and a
possible examination, were discussed, and a Board of Censors was
elected. Commander A.E.P. Doran was appointed lay secretary of the
College.
As Honorary Secretary of Council Hunt continued to perform an
active and prominent role within the College. The volume and
content of material, largely correspondence, retained by him and so
contained within this series, suggests how busy the College was in
these early years and the diverse nature of business conducted.
Series contains correspondence with external bodies and
individuals, both medical and lay; internal correspondence between
committees of the College, and members of the Council; and articles
published, and papers given by Hunt during these years, on the
subject of the College's work and development.
A 5 1 External
Correspondence 1953-1966
Correspondence between Hunt as Honorary Secretary of Council,
on behalf of the College, and external bodies and individuals, both
medical and lay. Correspondents are often doctors approaching the
College for advice and guidance. The content of the letters
reflects the perceptions of the College from outside, what others
considered the College should be concerning itself with, and the
diversity of the people looking to the College for advice.
Correspondence is arranged chronologically, letters from the same
correspondent are to be found together.
Amongst the subjects discussed are membership of the
College, particularly life membership; the opening of the College
of General Practice of Canada; the location of the College, the
acquisition of 47/48 Lincolns Inn Fields, as a possible
headquarters for the College; the establishing of an essay writing
prize for students; publishing of College papers and reporting of
College activities in the medical journals; donations; requesting
College representation on various committees or at conferences of
external bodies, such as the General Practitioners' Convention in
Sydney, Australia, 1963; suggesting collaborative educational
courses or projects; general practitioner facilities at the Charing
Cross Hospital [correspondence with the Local Medical Committee for
the County of London]; an Honorary Chaplaincy for the College; a
possible overlap between the position and responsibilities of the
College and the British Medical Association.
Amongst the correspondents are the
- British Medical Association;
- Dr V.P. Smolnikoff [he was the first life member
in 1959];
- Sir Russell Brain (President of the Royal
College of Physicians);
- Bruce Cardew (of the Medical Practitioners
Union);
- Graham Family Settled Estates Ltd., about the
College's relocation to Lincolns Inn Fields; Public Welfare
Foundation, Inc. [For papers relating to the Public Welfare
Foundation Prize [essay competition], see the College's
institutional records, A CE E 8-1];
- British Medical Journal;
- College of General Practice of Canada;
- College of General Practitioner's Group in
Israel;
- Dr Lindsey W. Batten (Kent);
- the Australian College of General
Practitioners;
- Oxford Regional Hospital Board;
- World Medical Association;
- American Academy of General Practice [see
B HUN A 3-4;
and the College's institutional records, A CE N 14];
- Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company,
Inc.;
- the Indian Medical Association;
- the Nuffield Foundation;
- the Central Council for the Care of
Cripples;
- Claire Wand Fund;
- Chelmsford and Essex Hospital;
- Chelmsford Group Hospital Management
Committee;
- University of Cambridge, Department of Human
Ecology;
- The CIBA Foundation.
Date details: 29 November 1953 - 21 December
1966.
A 5 2
Internal Correspondence with Council Members
1954-1965
Correspondence between Hunt, as Honorary Secretary, and
various Council and committees members, relating to the internal
affairs of the College, such as subjects brought up for discussion
at Council meetings.
[For minutes of Council meetings,
1952-97; Council Papers, 1953-80; and Council correspondence, 1953,
see the College's institutional records, A CE B 3; A CE B 5; A CE B
7.]
Also includes correspondence between Hunt and the
President of the College, during Hunt's time as Honorary Secretary,
including Dr William Pickles (President, 1953-56) [For Pickles'
personal papers, see
B PIC], Dr George Abercrombie (President,
1959-62), and Dr Annis Gillie (President, 1964-67). Correspondence
is arranged chronologically, letters from the same correspondent
are to be found together.
Amongst the subjects discussed are the criteria
for membership, and the creation of a committee for the discussion
of that criteria [for the Criteria Committee Minutes, 1954-59; and
the Criteria Committee Papers, 1954-63, see the College's
institutional records, A CE F 1; A CE F 2]; support for the World
Health Organisation (WHO), by involvement with their United Kingdom
Committee; discussion about applying for a Royal Charter; the
election of the first Honorary Fellows, 1956; the system of
remuneration to general practitioners (memorandum by Ian D. Grant,
sent to Hunt); involvement in the Royal College of Surgeons'
Working Party on Life Saving and Accidents [for article by Hunt,
'Accidents and General Practitioners', given as a paper at 1963
Convention at the Royal College of Surgeons, see
B HUN C 3-1]; an exhibition by
the College's Medical Recording Service [for the Service's papers,
1957-76, see the College's institutional records, A CE L 9];
sponsorship of the Medical Services Review Committee (the Porritt
Committee) [for reports and memoranda submitted to the Committee
see the Research Committee General Correspondence, 1953-78, A CE G
4]; patenting of the Coat of Arms of the College; and the Council
and Provosts' Dinner, 1965.
Correspondents include Dr R.M.S. McConaghey (Honorary
Editor of the Journal of the College of General Practitioners
(later the British Journal of General Practice, BJGP)); Professor
James Mackintosh; Guy Ollerenshaw (Chairman of the Adhoc Committee
on Criteria for Membership); Dr G. Ian Watson (later President of
the College, 1970-72); Dr John Henderson; Sir Henry Willink; Dr
Fraser Rose; Dr Robin Pinsent; Dr Sylvia Chapman (Honorary
Registrar to the Council, 1952-62, and appointed as Honorary Fellow
in 1962); Dr J.P. Horder; Dr George Swapp; Dr Ian D. Grant; Dr D.M.
Hughes (appointed Honorary Fellow, 1962); Dr H.L. Glyn Hughes; Dr
Patrick Byrne (Vice-Chairman of Council, 1965) [For Byrne's
personal papers, see
B BYR]; and Dr John Fry [For Fry's personal
papers, see
B
FRY].
Date details: 22 January 1954 - 5 November
1965.
A 5 3
Correspondence regarding Research Committee
1954-1965
Correspondence between Hunt, as Honorary Secretary of Council,
and Dr Robin Pinsent, Chairman of the Research Commit