Background to the collection

The heritage of two important collections

In July 2008, the library of Colin Dagnall, chiropodist/podiatrist 1927-2020, came up for sale at auction. The library contained many key books on chiropody and podiatry which the (then) Society for Chiropodists and Podiatry successfully bid for, acquiring the lion's share of the collection.  An account of the auction was published in Podiatry Now, Vol 11, Issue 10, in October 2008 {link if possible}.

The College already held a substantial part of the collection of Walter Seelig, 1898-1955, a chiropodist who ran a practice in Birmingham during the late 1940 after escaping Nazi Germany. The Dagnall collection was a valuable addition to existing archival holdings documenting the history of the College of Podiatry and its members.

It was recognised at this time that a more formal approach to managing the historical records and library would be beneficial to members, academic researchers and the general public. When the College of Podiatry gained charitable status in 2011, the importance of maintaining the archives was formally recognised in the Articles of Association of the College.

Lord Morris of Manchester, "Alf Morris", President of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists from 1997 - 2012 opened the archive, now known as the Centre for the History of Podiatric Medicine (CHoPM), in April 2011.