History

SBNS Archivists – Richard Gullan, Kings College Hospital and Jonathan Pollock, Queens Hospital, Romford
 

Richard Gullan and Jonathan Pollock have jointly been appointed to the role of SBNS Archivists and are both very enthusiastic about completing the SBNS history book and preparations for the SBNS100 Meeting in 2026.

Jonathan Pollock - I have spent most of my career as consultant at Queens Hospital in Essex and alongside my main interest in skull base, meningioma and pituitary surgery, I have always been fascinated by how it all started.  This has led to several projects looking at primary Neurosurgical sources from our early years. 
I have developed a strong sense of admiration for the founders and trailblazers of the UK and Irish units.  It will be exciting to bring details of our past to the attention of the latest generation of neurosurgeons and to look to the future as we mark the Centenary of the SBNS in 2026. 

Richard Gullan  I continue to work as consultant at King’s College Hospital, having been appointed to the Brook Unit in 1988, before the amalgamation with the Guys/Maudsley Unit to create the King’s Unit in 1995. This allows me to have firsthand experience of being a full member of the SBNS for 35years and an Associate Member beforehand whilst training, so I have worked within neurosurgery from the period reached by the late Tom King in his booklet, A History of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons, 1926 to circa 1990.

It is a huge privilege to be asked to help work on the archives and history of our Society alongside Jonathan Pollock and bring things up to date in preparation for our centenary year in 2026.  We hope to encourage members and their trainees to engage in this work and give a broader overview of all the current units, areas of expertise, both currently and historically, and perhaps highlight the role and influence Neurosurgery in the British Isles has had within the wider world of clinical neurosciences; CT and MRI being a pretty good start!

Luckily there is a strong cohort of senior members that we hope to consult to help explain the development of the current units in the UK and Ireland, with their personal knowledge of some of the founding surgeons and colleagues who have sadly passed away, but did so much to build the service, facilities, and training opportunities we enjoy today.

I sincerely hope the centenary year can be a very special event for us all, and I will be delighted to assist our President and Council in any way to make this a truly excellent venture in which we all can have pride.

We will be chasing you for the gems of knowledge you hold!
 

1926 – 1927 Sir Charles Ballance

1927 – 1928 Mr Wilfred Trotter

1928 – 1930 Sir Percy Sargent

1930 – 1932 Mr Donald Armour

1932 – 1934 Mr Bathe Rawling

1934 – 1936 Mr Geoffrey Jefferson

1936 – 1938 Prof. A A McConnell

1939 – 1945 Prof. Norman Dott

1945 – 1948 Prof. Sir Hugh Cairns

1949 – 1950 Prof. Lambert Rogers

1950 – 1952 Mr Harvey Jackson

1952 – 1954 Mr A Dickson Wright

1954 – 1956 Prof. Sir Geoffrey Jefferson

1956 – 1958 Mr W R Henderson

1958 – 1960 Mr George Clark-Maxwell

1960 – 1962 Mr Douglas Northfield

1962 – 1964 Mr George Rowbotham

1964 – 1966 Mr G L Alexander

1966 – 1968 Sir Wylie McKissock

1968 – 1970 Mr J E A O’Connell

1970 – 1972 Mr Richard Johnson

1972 – 1974 Mr W Martin Nichols

1974 – 1976 Prof. Valentine Logue

1976 – 1978 Mr Jack Small

1978 – 1980 Mr Alistair Paterson

1980 – 1982 Prof. John Hankinson

1982 – 1984 Mr Peter Schurr

1984 – 1986 Mr Patrick Clarke

1986 – 1988 Mr D Gordon

1988 – 1990 Mr J Brice

1990 – 1992 Mr J Garfield

1992 – 1994 Mr J D Miller

1994 – 1996 Mr T A Hide

1996 – 1998 Mr J R Bartlett

1998 – 2000 Mr G Neil-Dwyer

2000 – 2002 Prof. G Teasdale

2002 – 2004 Mr D Hardy

2004 – 2006 Mr J Steers

2006 – 2008 Prof. J Pickard

2008 – 2010 Mr P van Hille

2010 – 2012 Miss A Moore

2012 – 2014 Mr Richard Nelson

2014 – 2016 Mr Richard Kerr

2016 – 2018 Mr Paul May

2018 – 2020 Mr Neil Kitchen

2020 – 2022 Mr Alistair Jenkins

2022 -  2024 Prof. Peter Whitfield

2024 - 2026 Prof. Peter Hutchinson