SIR, Early in 1977, Drs Graham Hughes, Ted Huskisson and Barbara Ansell and Mr Barry Taylor (then of Merck Sharp & Dohme) met to discuss the possibility of establishing a society serving consultant rheumatologists in London and the Home Counties. With few societies at that time catering specifically to the speciality, it was felt that a Club, as it became known, offering a regular programme of meetings with high-calibre speakers contributing on rheumatology and related subjects, would be of interest and value to consultants in the area. At the same time, it was envisaged that by establishing a format of supper evenings with guest speakers, an opportunity for social interaction and exchange of views would offer added value to such meetings.
Full sponsorship for the proposed society was sought, and Barry Taylor secured this in the first instance from Merck Sharp & Dohme. This enabled the London Rheumatology Club (LRC) to be formed in 1977, with a complimentary membership of around 100 consultant rheumatologists. The inaugural meeting, held in November that year at the old Royal Society of Medicine, was fully subscribed, with an overseas guest speaker, Professor Ralph Williams, Chief of Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, marking the occasion. The scene was thus set for the many LRC meetings which followed, with eminent physicians, often distinguished rheumatologists from the USA, visiting the UK and making valuable and stimulating presentations.
The organizing committee in 1977 consisted of the founder members Graham Hughes, Barbara Ansell, Ted Huskisson and Barry Taylor, and was subsequently joined for a short period by Drs Hedley Berry and Alistair Mowat. Whilst the Club was still in its formative years, the original committee was further strengthened when Drs Frank Dudley Hart and John Mathews and the late Dr Douglas Woolf became committee members. They, with founder members Graham Hughes, Barbara Ansell and Barry Taylor and, at a later stage Drs David Doyle and Ali Jawad, constituted the Committee, which determined the Club's ongoing meetings programme until its demise. The Committee also benefited from the participation of Professor Rodney Grahame for a short period in the early 1990s.
Barry Taylor was Chairman and organizer of the Club's meetings activities throughout its entire history and the LRC thrived as a result of his expert chairmanship and organizational skills. He was also adept at negotiating and securing the all-important sponsorship from participating pharmaceutical companies.
Following Merck Sharp & Dohme's support for a period of some 10 yr, the LRC enjoyed sponsorship in turn from Sterling Winthrop, Searle, SmithKline Beecham and, finally, Novaris. These pharmaceutical companies were unstinting in their support, which coincided with a phase of special interest in rheumatology, and their sponsorship helped to ensure the LRC's ongoing success and longevity.
Over 40 meetings were held throughout the years, a number of these initially at various London teaching hospitals. Subsequently, however, all meetings were held at the Royal Society of Medicine, which proved a highly popular venue. Two special meetings were held there in recent years; the first, a symposium in November 1997, celebrated the Club's 20th anniversary, with guest speaker Professor Theodore Pincus of the Department of Rheumatology, Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nashville, and Professor Paul Emery. The second symposium, marking the Millennium, was held in March 2000, with Professor Gabriel Panayi, Professor Peter Croft, Professor Cyrus Cooper and Dr Graham Hughes as the keynote speakers. Dr Barbara Ansell, who played a key role in the Committee's deliberations from the Club's inception, chaired both symposia. Some 100 delegates attended each meeting.
In its later years, the LRC boasted some 170 members, and was held in high esteem by the many rheumatologists who actively supported its meetings. It offered not only meetings of quality, with presentations by authoritative speakers on a variety of topics, but, by opening up membership in recent years to registrars and other members of the rheumatology team in teaching and major hospitals throughout London and its environs, afforded the opportunity also for younger rheumatologists to meet with their more senior colleagues, including the doyens of the speciality. Retired members, a number of whom were still active in the profession in a variety of ways, also enjoyed meeting up again with old friends and colleagues at LRC gatherings and contributed during the discussion sessions by giving the benefit of their long and wide experience.
The decision was taken to terminate the Club at the end of 2000 in the light of the increasing number of meetings which had come on-stream in the various subspecialities within rheumatology. It was considered that the LRC had served its purpose and it was time to move on.
The LRC played a unique role within the speciality, and will undoubtedly be missed by the many members who actively supported its activities throughout the past 24 yr.
Notes
Correspondence to: A. Jawad, The Royal London Hospital, Bancroft Road, London E1 4DG, UK.
Accepted 30 July 2001