W H Taylor

William Henry Taylor (standing in a dinner jacket) was born in South Norwood, Surrey. In 1925 he became both editor of The Chiropodist and then elected President of the Incorporated Society. In 1928 he was inaugurated into the Post Curam Otium Lodge.

His Presidency ended in 1930 and in 1935 he resigned from Council. He married Miss G Batchelor in 1940 and passed away in 1956.

At the Annual Dinner in 1928, Norman C Lake gave a toast to Taylor saying:

During the three years that Mr Taylor had been in office the most important changes had been the extension of the training period of students from six months to a year; certainly a change for the better. Further Mr Taylor had shown great interest in promoting the work of the various branches, especially those of Edinburgh and Liverpool.

He had also expended a great amount of energy in endeavouring to raise the general status of members of the profession; while during his term of office the Hospital had been transferred from the control of the Society to that of a lay committee, thus placing itself on a par with most of the other great London hospitals.

Then, there had been changes in the Articles of Association of the Society which had an important bearing upon the future, as well as re-organisation of the whole procedure of examinations which was also very badly needed.

When one realised that Mr Taylor had had to neglect his practice in order to spend a great deal of time at the Foot Hospital in Charlotte Street; that he not only attended to his official presidential duties, but that he actually worked as an ordinary clinician in the clinic, then no praise could be too much.

In addition, Mr Lake reminded those present that never before in the history of the Society had its relationships with his own profession been upon such friendly terms.

During Mr Taylor's year of office, the first provincial convention had been held at Manchester, followed by a second one at Leeds.

One heard a great deal about strong silent men. That conjured up in his mind the picture of a dumb man manipulating a dumb-bell. Mr Taylor was not of that type. He was rather a man of quiet efficiency, and he had proved during his term of office that it was possible to be extraordinarily efficient without shouting it from the house-tops. He assured Mr Taylor that that quiet type of efficiency which he had so ably displayed during the past three years was greatly appreciated.  

The Society owed a great debt of gratitude to the President for all that he did on its behalf; certainly in proposing the toast, Mr Lake felt that members of the Society had a President worthy of their regard, their respect and their admiration, and he therefore asked them to drink enthusiastically to the toast of "The President".

(From The Chiropodist, 1928?)