History: 20th to 21st Centuries
  • Dr George Frederic Still
  • BPA 1928
  • BAPS 1953
  • RCPCH 1996
  • BSHPCH 2002
Picture
Portrait of George Frederic Still
(from the painting by Gerald Kelly, RA),
 permission sought from Corporate and Legal Services,
Kings College Hospital NHS Trust.
That paediatrics was becoming a recognised specialty was furthered by the stimulus added by individuals but in particular by the bachelor Dr George Frederic Still (1868-1941).  He was appointed as the first Professor of Paediatrics in England by King’s College and he was also on the staff of the Hospital for Sick Children, GOS.  An interesting description of the man was given by his sister that – “he loved children, but with the exception of his mother and the Queen, I have never heard him utter a favourable word on mothers in general”.  Clearly he was not susceptible to female charm.  Still was a major force in the establishment of the British Association of Paediatrics (BPA) and was the first President of the Association.
The establishment of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons (BAPS) was not till 25 years later in 1953.  It is interesting that Charles West attempted to obstruct a surgical appointment at the Hospital for Sick Children as “surgical” children in his view did not require specialist surgeons nor a special environment unlike children with medical disorders.  In contrast some other Children’s hospitals such as Glasgow appointed the same number of surgeons as physicians on the development of the children’s hospitals.  The number of  patients attending the surgical clinics significantly exceeded those attending medical clinics through the 20th century.  

By the latter part of the century the BPA moved toward separation from the ‘adult’ physicians to develop their own College.  This was achieved in 1996 when the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health was established with Dame June Lloyd as President and the BPA was terminated.  Two years later the History section of the College was formed by Dr David Stevens.
The History Section of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health  has moved on and  in 2002 under the guidance of Professor Peter Dunn it become the British Society of the History of Paediatrics and Child Health (BSHPCH), retaining its association with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and also an official link with the British Society of the History of Medicine.

The BSHPCH is open to all who have an interest in the History of Paediatrics and Child Health from any of the multiple aspects which the affect infants and children and their welfare.
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