Harrogate 1931

The Sixth Provincial Convention of the Incorporated Society of Chiropodists opened at the Hotel Majestic, Harrogate, on Thursday 24 September 1931 and ran for three days. It was was clearly an important occasion and one that was regarded as a great opportunity for establishing and strengthening professional connections, for while The Chiropodist reported that the Convention opened officially at 7.00pm,

"it might almost be said to have begun on the 1.40 train from King's Cross, which carried most of the members from London and the south of England. Many old acquaintances met again after a long parting, and many newcomers realised the warmth of fellowship that annimates the society". 

Indeed, in his opening address, the President, Mr George F Cooper, reinforced the importance of these relationships in his wish to "meet you all individually, and hope that you will give me that pleasure before we leave."

We don't know exactly how many attended the Convention, but a group photograph shows around 70 attendees, among them Miss Norrie, founding member of the Society and of the Edinburgh Foot Clinic; Mr Hanby, a later President of the Society (1945-1956); and Mr Runting, one of the founder members of the London Foot Hospital. Around half of the attendees were female.

Why Harrogate?

Harrogate in the 1930s was of course "one of the most beautiful and efficient spas in the world", "famed for its remarkable health-giving mineral waters" (F J C Broome), and perhaps the association with good health was one of the reasons for meeting in Harrogate. But it also had geography on its side for as the Mayor pointed out in his address to gathering, Harrogate sits at the very centre of Great Britain, midway between Lands End and John O'Groats, between London and Edinburgh and between the North and Irish Seas, and so from the travel point of view, it was an ideal town in which to hold conferences.

It was also undoubtedly a popular and fashionable holiday resort, making it an attractive location for the Convention. F J C Broome wrote:

"It is one of the beauty spots of England, it is a favourite holiday resort both of young and old, it is a centre for motor and walking tours to some of the most delightful vales and dales in the kingdom .... it is second to none because of its wonderfully bracing air, it pure natural water and its perfect sanitation."

A road trip, a civic welcome and the Royal Baths

From The Chiropodist's account of the Convention, it is clear that the three days were planned to make full use of all that Harrogate and its neighbourhood had to offer. After the President's welcome and introductory lectures on the first evening, the following morning

"... the members of the Convention assembled at 9.15 outside the Hotel Majestic, where they entered coaches for a country tour of exceptional interest, embracing Ripley Village, Brimham Rocks, Fountains Abbey and Fountains Hall, Ripon, Boroughbridge, York and Knaresborough."

This surprisingly long day-trip, which was the main feature of the only full day in Harrogate, included lunch at the Station Hotel in York, and visits to York Minster and Knaresborough Castle.

The President and Dr Oxford are pictured below, prior to the motor tour, and below that, a group photograph.

Returning to Harrogate in time for tea, members then received a lecture on Some abnormal swellings of the feet, before proceeding to their next engagement, a Civic Welcome by the Mayor of Harrogate, hosted at the Royal Baths and including a short tour of the Baths. A further lecture was given later that evening, by Mr Norman C Lake, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, drawing the second day of the Convention to a close.

The Convention Luncheon 

The final day of the Convention began with an informal breakfast "at which we had a very useful exchange of ideas". But after the extensive social programme and civic welcome of the previous day, the key engagement of the final day was the prestigious Convention Luncheon, hosted by the President and attended by distinguished guests including civic dignatories, such as the Mayor and Mayoress, and guests from other professions who had addressed the gathering. The Chiropodist tell us that around 110 people attended.

After the Loyal Toast to His Majesty the King, a further toast was proposed to "The Town of Harrogate". Once again, the importance of the town in which they had chosen to meet was discussed at some length, including the discovery of the springs in 1600, the growth of Harrogate as a spa town and the development of accompanying medical traditions. Poems were recited and medical practices of the time discussed.

In response, the Mayor commented that "The profession of the Society ... brought it in touch with people who suffered in various ways." He also hoped that delegates would go away impressed by "what Harrogate was prepared to offer towards the cure of suffering humanity".

But the Luncheon ended on a slightly controversial note. The "Toast to the Society" was proposed by Dr W H Maxell Telling, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He noted the Society's great pride in its membership of over 500, but thought that the number was "hopelessly inadequate".

"The state of the public foot was such that a membership of 500 efficient practitioners did no more than scratch the surface of the problem, and the number required to be trebled, quadrupled, multiplied many times over before the Society could with any adequacy do all the work that it ought to be called on to do. Unfortunately the public did not recognise its pedal shortcomings, but if it did ...it would flock to the Society in numbers which would lead to a much more rapid increase in membership. The Society was too modest; it did not advertise enough. The public as a whole did not know of it. How was that to be altered?"

In response, the President commented that since the Bye-laws of Incorporation had been granted nearly twenty years ago:

"the Society had advanced slowly, but he ventured to say, surely. It had advanced slowly because its Founders had recognised that its strength and the measure of its service to the public lay in efficiency rather than quantity, and that a sound training was the first essential. It had continued to build up its organisation, placing good work and ethical conduct in the forefront of its programme."

"The Society, like every other young and striving organisation, had its difficulties, but these would only spur it on to greater efforts. There was a great future for chiropody, and the best was yet to come."

The final lecture of the Convention was on Backache and painful feet; the value of chiropody during the treatment of women's diseases, by Dr Muriel Keyes, gynaecologist from the Royal Baths Hospital and Rawson Convalescent Home, with a vote of thanks proposed by Miss Norrie.

Thoughts on the 1931 Convention

While many elements of the 1931 Convention are similar to conference today - a three-day event, an exhibition, speakers from other professions - there are other things to note:

Community
Reports from 1931 show a very strong sense of community within the profession, from the fellow chiropodists travelling together from Kings Cross, to ideas exhanged over breakfast, and  the enjoyment of one anothers company away from the formalities of the event.

Social activities
The social aspect of the Convention was seen as a key means of fostering the sense of  community, enabling delegates to get to know other practitioners in a social setting. This was just as important as the lectures, discussions and exchange of ideas, and even, as we see above, important enough to have photographer on hand to capture these occasions. Indeed, the Editorial The Chiropodist noted that:

"The social side showed that the progress which the Society has made in recent years is being well maintained. It is of the greatest assistance to the Society's work that members at these gatherings should renew old acquaintances and make fresh ones, and those that profited by it will be the more eager to take the oppportunity of getting to know their fellow members."

And an account in "Jottings of an old chiro" reported that many delegates had stayed on at the Majestic Hotel after the close of the Convention for the Saturday night dance which was "exceptionally fine". Others attended Harewood Church together on the following morning. 

The venue
The venue and the location was of key importance in providing opportunites for delegates to mingle and get to know each other away from the formal proceedings of the gathering. Indeed in 1931 many delegates stayed on in Harrogate after the close of the Convention to visit other places of local interest.

External speakers from other profession
The contribution of outside speakers, many from other medical professions. was a vital part of the event. The Chairman of the Yorkshire Branch, who had been instrumental in the organisation of the event, later reflected on the "increasing sympathy and understanding of the members of the medical profession" that had been in evidence at the Convention. In 1931 speakers included ... (add list)

The role of chiropody in the nation's health
The reports of the Convention show a clear belief in the public health role of chiropodists in attending to all foot troubles and being of assistance to the public. "Good work and ethical conduct" were key to this.

The future of the profession
While pleased with the membership of the Society, in order to fulfil its role in improving nation's foot health, the Convention was firm in its desire to grow its membership, and raise the status of chiropody to the level of a recognised and protected profession. But there was also a determination that their members must have the correct training so that they were trusted by the public.

A final word: every member should attend!

The final word about the Convention must surely go to the Chairman of the Yorkshire Branch, J S Fisher, who reflected on its success in a letter to the Editor of The Chiropodist the following month:

"I am sure that we who attended ... feel increasingly the benefit, fellowship, mutual help and uplift derived from these gatherings."

"We discover that those people from so and so are really not so bad as we thought them; and Mr Thingummy whom we thought such a big pot is really quite approachable. We get the benefit of contact with the President and Officers of the Society, the mutual interchange of ideas and notions with each other, the 'spreading of the gospel' ... the increasing sympathy and understanding of the members of the medical profession - in fact every encouragement for a continuance of these functions, a justification for the request that every member should attend the Autumn Conference, even if it means sacrificing the ordinary holiday."