AUTUMN 2009
LoRD oWEN: MEDICINE & MADNESS ALUMNI WEEKEND MEDICAL HUMANITIES START A BUSINESS
Contents Welcome In Touch Autumn 2009
Did you make it to alumni Weekend? If so, we hope that, like many, you thoroughly enjoyed yourself. If not, there’s always next year and plenty of King’s College London reunions and events in the mean time. Don’t forget a great source of information is our website (www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk) where, among many benefits and services, you can now register for your own College email address (see page 37). For now, back to this latest issue in which medical alumnus Lord David Owen gives us an enthralling insight into his book about illness in world leaders, while current student Jonathan Gill begins his own personal adventure having found fame on television. Just two highlights in a publication which received a gold award for alumni Publication of the Year, from the Council for advancement & Support of Education, the international organisation for professionals in alumni relations.
WhAT’s InsIde 4 The Big Picture
16 Insight
27 community
a real-time 3D installation generated from the world’s financial markets
Putting the College’s new developments on the map
6 Update
all the latest news from the College, plus opinion from experts and alumni, breakthroughs and discoveries, King’s in the media, and Reggie’s grapevine
18 lord david owen
Our very own medicine man talks exclusively about his life and times, and his fascination with mental illness in world leaders
Celebrating a fabulous alumni Weekend (left), plus your guide to our benefits and services, all the recent and forthcoming events and reunions, alumni groups at home and abroad, and your everpopular classnotes 48 Prize logic puzzle
It could take forever to solve this issue’s brain teaser
22 medical humanities
Following a £2 million award to King’s, here’s everything you need to know about this new and compelling field of research
49 letters
Hall of Fame suggestions, tennis serves and returns, and the hunt for a very special scarf 50 This I’ve learned
anDY baKER
With King’s student Jonathan Gill, one quarter of The X-Factor finalists, JLS
In Touch is the magazine for the alumni and friends of Chelsea College, Guy’s Hospital Dental and medical Schools, the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, King’s College of Household and Social Science, King’s College School of medicine and Dentistry, the nightingale Institute, normanby College, Queen Elizabeth College, the Royal Dental Hospital, St John’s Institute of Dermatology, St thomas’ medical School, umDS.
Get In Touch Alumni benefits and services
editor David Cottrell editorial assistant
tel +44 (0)20 7848 3053 Email alumoff@kcl.ac.uk
contributors
editorial (alumni publications and website)
tel +44 (0)20 7848 4703 Email amanda.calberry@kcl.ac.uk In Touch, King’s College London, Room 5.14, James Clerk maxwell building, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8Wa
amanda Calberry andrea Edwards, titus Chalk, Rachael Corver, melanie Gardner, Christine Kenyon Jones (English, PhD, 1999), the King’s College London Press Office, Jamie Kurihara, nicky Power, Louise Richards, martin Rosser, matthew Shinn.
Photography Jillian Edelstein
(cover), Suki Dhanda Illustrations andy baker, Lara Harwood, Phil Wrigglesworth design Esterson associates ©King’s College London 2009 Repro DawkinsColour Print Warners
In Touch has been produced using paper from sustainable sources, and bleached using an Elemental Chlorine-free (ECF) process. the paper is produced at a mill that meets the ISO 14001 environmental management standard and the EmaS environmental management standard. the magazine is fully recyclable.
the next issue of In Touch will be published in may 2010. In Touch is published by the King’s College London alumni Office. The opinions expressed in it are those of the writers concerned and not necessarily those of the College.
For more alumni news go to www.alumni. kcl.ac.uk
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THE STATE WE’RE IN...VIRTUALLY Presenting Data Plex (Economy), a networked, real-time 3D installation that is generated from, and evolves with, the world’s financial markets. built by michael takeo magruder, an artist at King’s Visualisation Lab (KVL), it takes live data feeds to create an ever-changing virtual realm – in this case the Dow Jones. In this metaphorical cityscape of skyscrapers and urban grids, each company is represented by cubic
forms proportioned according to stock price, market capitalisation and percentage of the Dow Jones Index. Positions shift alongside ghosted structures from the previous four days of trading, and historical highs (blue), lows (red) and volumes (green) express the fortunes of the market in colour. the virtual world ebbs and flows as vast volumes of capital are shifted during the trading day, while after hours, the realm sleeps in
anticipation of the opening bell. based at the Centre for Computing in the Humanities (Strand Campus), KVL specialises in visual representation for archaeology, heritage and academic research, with projects for institutions such as the Royal botanical Gardens at Kew and metropolitan museum of art in new York. to learn more go to www.kvl.cch.kcl. ac.uk and www.takeo.org/nspace/ns031
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Update
King’s Principal Professor Rick Trainor reflects on the College over the last six months and looks at how alumni are making a real difference to King’s and its students
Welcome to the autumn 2009 issue of In Touch. as ever these are busy and exciting times for King’s, and it’s been quite a task to accommodate all of our news, reports and features – about alumni groups, reunions and events as well as the College’s current developments – into this issue. Of course this remains a challenging period for all universities in the current economic climate, with some difficult decisions to be made along the way. thanks to sound planning and a number of diverse income streams, King’s is well-placed to weather the storm and continue as a strong, prolific and consistently world-leading institution. We remain united in our commitment to delivering the College’s strategic plan, and we’ll continue to look outwards and demonstrate excellence in numerous fields at an international level. as an institution we are fortunate not to rely solely upon financial support from the government or any other single market. now, more than ever, donations can make
an extra difference. the perfect example is the Principal’s Discretionary Fund which allows me to allocate gifts to areas where the need is greatest – and to take immediate advantage of opportunities as they arise. Such flexibility is important. For example, I have been able to support the attendance of five exceptional War Studies students at a workshop organised by the International atomic Energy agency, under the umbrella of the united nations, and have enabled 17 King’s academics to participate in workshops in texas and the uK as part of collaboration within stemcell biology research. From vital upgrades for learning facilities to supporting students in hardship, your gifts can be crucial for both the College and indeed students’ lives. thank you, as always, for helping to make things happen. I hope you enjoy this issue of In Touch. Professor Rick Trainor Principal
There is sweet music here July saw the premieres of two new works by Sir Harrison birtwistle, who was the Henry Purcell Professor of Composition at King’s from 1995 to 2001. The Corridor (about Orpheus and Eurydice in the underworld) and Semper Dowland, Semper Dolens (celebrating Elizabethan songwriter John Dowland) were performed at the South bank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. also, congratulations to michael Silk, Professor of Classical & Comparative Literature, who has recently become the 17th King’s academic to be elected as a Fellow of the british academy.
HanYa CHaLa/aREna PaL
From the Principal
composer harrison Birtwistle
Jolly good Fellows the three newest Honorary Fellows of King’s are: baroness Emerton, Professor Jonathan Freeman-attwood, and martin Paisner CbE. they received their awards – the most prestigious that the College can bestow – as more than 2,700 students graduated from King’s in ceremonies held at Southwark Cathedral and the barbican Centre in the summer. Lady Emerton has been President of the Florence nightingale Foundation since 2004. Professor Freemanattwood is Principal of the Royal academy of music and a Visiting Professor at King’s. martin Paisner is a trustee of 6
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the maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation whose major donation is enabling King’s to create Europe’s leading neuroscience research institute. Fellowships were also conferred upon: Dr Daniel abse, senior clinician in chest medicine; michael billington, Honorary Professor of English at King’s; Sir David Foskett (Law, 1970), High Court Judge and former President of KCLa; Professor anne Greenough, Head of School of medicine; Professor Sir andrew Haines (medicine, 1970), Director of London School of Hygiene & tropical medicine; Professor Peter McGuffin (Psychiatry, 1984), Dean of Institute of Psychiatry; Dr David Ricks (modern Greek & byzantine Studies, 1986), Professor of Greek
Legacy gift for dentists
southwark cathedral: splendid surroundings for the class of 2009 to receive their awards from King’s college london
& Comparative Literature; Professor Fiona Wood (medicine, 1981), member of the Order of australia; Dieter Lai-tak Yih (Law, 1985), whose scholarship enables Hong Kong students to study Law at King’s.
a fourth-year dental student has become the first recipient of an elective scholarship made possible by a legacy gift. the late miss Ida Cole, a dental patient at Guy’s and King’s for many years during her lifetime, highly regarded her treatment there and made the decision to remember King’s with a gift in her will. this is now being used to fund the annual prize of £500 to a dental student who has shown exceptional consideration to his or her patients to undertake an elective abroad. The first placement is being undertaken at the Royal melbourne Hospital in australia this year.
Way back when
1859
Through written and visual accounts the exhibition documents five centuries of engagement
Africa through European eyes alumni are welcome at the Foyle Special Collections Library’s autumn exhibition, I Speak of Africa: Europeans & Africa 1500-1950 which draws on the riches of the library collection of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office that was transferred to King’s in 2007. It tells the story of sub-Saharan africa’s changing relations with Europe – from the coastal trading posts of the Portuguese to the atlantic slave
trade and the post-emancipation settlements at Sierra Leone and Liberia, to the journeys of the great 19th century explorers and the subsequent ‘scramble for africa’ by the imperial powers. a wealth of rare contemporary material testifies to the continuing European fascination with the african continent. at the Weston Room, maughan Library, Chancery Lane, London from 8 September to 19 December 2009.
Darwin grabbed the headlines, but Professors Lyell and Bell also did their bit for evolutionary theory
For information about admission and opening times, please go to www.kcl.ac.uk/specialcollections.
Reggie’s round-up War studies windfall
Water, water, everywhere
Two of the first Fellowships awarded under the Research Council’s Global uncertainties Programme have been won by academics from the Department of War Studies. Worth £1 million, they will examine global security issues…
Dr mark Ian Christie from the Centre for Integrative biomedicine has been awarded an Industrial Impact Fellowship by the biotechnology & biological Sciences Research Council. He’ll use it to increase the economic value of the Centre’s research and training…
middle east meeting
next summer, the Defence Studies Department in Swindon will host a second Gulf Security Conference between the Corbett Centre for maritime Studies and the uS naval academy’s Centre for middle East Studies…
Green is good
King’s College London has outstanding credentials as a sustainable organisation: to date it has reduced its carbon emissions by over 8,000 tonnes from the 2004 baseline, and now recycles more than 60 per cent of its controlled waste...
For more, please visit www.kcl.ac.uk/about/ history/people
King’s and Guy’s professors were connected with the publication of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species in 1859. Charles Lyell (1797-1875) had been Professor of Geology in 1831-32 when part of his Principles of Geology was published. The first volume of this work accompanied Darwin in 1831-36 on his beagle voyage to the Galapagos. It was Lyell’s demonstration that the earth must be billions of years old that allowed Darwin to develop theories about natural selection based on evolutionary change over generations. at King’s, Lyell battled against orthodox churchmen endorsing archbishop ussher’s 17th century cosmogony, which placed the Creation at nine o’clock on the morning of 23 October 4004 bC. after giving two lectures at the College, Lyell resigned in 1833 and used his material to write Elements of Geology (1838). He and Darwin became close friends. It wasn’t until the 1860s that Lyell came to accept Darwin’s evolutionary theories. In the mean time, another King’s professor had made an important, though indirect, contribution by cataloguing the preserved reptile specimens from Darwin’s travels and publishing it as part of the Zoology of the Beagle Voyage in 1843. thomas bell (1792-1880, pictured above) was Surgeon Dentist charles lyell: to Guy’s and Lecturer on the certainly not in the shadows anatomy & Diseases of the teeth in the medical School from 1817. a pioneer of dentistry, he treated teeth as living structures. bell was appointed Professor of Zoology at King’s in 1836 while holding his dentistry lectureship at Guy’s, and published A History of British Quadrupeds in 1837. His Monograph of the Testudinata, which aimed to summarise all of the world’s turtles, was illustrated by Edward Lear (better known for his nonsense verse but also a lithographer). autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Say cheese Meet the QEC alumnus on a mission to put more artisan dairy produce into our mouths
Randolph Hodgson (centre) with staff at the neal’s yard dairy in london’s Borough market
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this is a special year for Randolph Hodgson ObE. It marks three decades since he graduated from Queen Elizabeth College in Food Science & Chemistry and embarked upon the odyssey known as neal’s Yard Dairy, the farmhouse cheese company he helped to start up and now owns. ‘back then, I took the job as a summer ‘fill-in’ while I waited to find a career,’ says Randolph, who turns 53 in September. ‘and I’m still waiting! ‘Studying at QEC, part of King’s now, feels like a very long time ago. there was an inspiring lecturer in microbiology called Stuart thorne who helped us with our first Greek yoghurt recipe. I spent most of my final year researching recipes for the opening of the dairy, which goes some way to explaining how bad my final exam was!’ the Dairy’s main premises are in borough market in south London. next door is the equally rustic Monmouth Coffee
Company, run by his wife anita Leroy. It’s a charismatic location – Hodgson was key in rejuvenating the market’s fortunes – and it shows in the faces of the staff who work there and those who come to sample and enjoy. ‘We’ve got a good group of people,’ he says. ‘and it’s a lovely industry. You go to the most scenic parts of the country, visit nice people on farms, taste their cheese and chat to them, and come back and sell it.’ thanks to champions like Hodgson, the specialist food industry has found room to flourish after years of mass industrialised production. ‘You shouldn’t go into our shop one cheese To TAsTe BeFoRe yoU dIe ‘A proper farmhouse cheddar,’ says Randolph. ‘more cheddar is made than any other cheese. But if you look at the number of people who have eaten cheddar and look at the proportion who have ever had a ‘real’ cheddar, it’s probably a per cent of a per cent. Actually tasting real cheddar is a phenomenal thing to do.’
and feel intimidated. It should be: this one tastes nice, that one tastes nicer. the main thing is making it accessible, putting the cheese in the customer’s mouth.’ Hugely successful and abundantly admired, he’s passionate about the business and resolute in his convictions. but he’s also shy – almost bashful – about his achievements. the writer Emile Zola once famously said: ‘the artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work’. Randolph shrugs. ‘For me, it’s difficult to work out what’s ‘work’ and what’s not. I’ve never had a conventional job. I don’t know what to compare it with. there’s not a lot about what I do that makes me feel like I’d rather be doing something else.’ To reads Randolph’s forthright views on the food industry and the media, and why we must rediscover our lost artisan skills, go to www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk.
It started here
Vice-Principal joins Iraq committee
REx FEatuRES
King’s Vice-Principal Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman is one of five members of the independent committee of inquiry into the Iraq war, which will consider an eight-year period from summer 2001 until the end of July 2009. also on the non-partisan committee are Sir John Chilcot (senior civil servant), baroness usha Prashar (cross-bencher in
eight years in Iraq: now under scrutiny
the House of Lords), Sir Roderic Lyne (former british ambassador to Russia) and Sir martin Gilbert (Winston Churchill biographer). Sir Lawrence will continue in his role as Professor of War Studies and Vice-Principal (Strategy & Development) at King’s while he is a member of the committee. Earlier in 2009 he was awarded the prestigious 2009 Lionel Gelber Prize for his book A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East. the inquiry is expected to take one year from July 2009, with the committee publishing its findings in as full a form as possible. these will then be debated in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. ‘no inquiry has looked at such a long period, no inquiry has the powers to look in so much breadth,’ declared the uK Prime minister Gordon brown. ‘by learning lessons, we will strengthen the health of our democracy, our diplomacy and our military.’
Sucralose The essential ingredient in sweeteners has amusing origins. Now then, are you listening carefully?
Reggie’s round-up The kids are alright
school days and cosmic rays
the King’s Students in Free Enterprise team has won the uK championship, beating more than 30 other university teams. they presented three of their 30 student-led volunteering projects: tackling knife crime; working with young adults with special needs in an orchard; and training unemployed wastepickers to create jewellery…
the Physics Department at King’s is coordinating the uK’s first project to place cosmic ray detectors in schools, an exciting area of modern physics with a bearing on the curricula for GCSE and a levels…
software success
Scientists from the Software Engineering Group in the Department of Computer Science have won more than £1 million from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council for their blueprint for ‘integration architectures’ that exchange products and services…
CBE for Professor Rafferty
Congratulations to Professor Anne Marie Rafferty, the Head of the Florence nightingale School of nursing & midwifery, who received a CbE in the 2009 new Year’s Honours List for her services to healthcare… seeing double
King’s scientists are planning to create the world’s largest database of twins to investigate the origins of disease and behaviour. King’s already has a Department of twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology…
For more see www.kcl.ac.uk/ schools/medicine
It was a nutritionist’s dream: a substance so many times sweeter than sugar that small quantities – with minimal calories – could be used to aid healthier eating. Sucralose, now a household name, owes its discovery to a research collaboration and a fortuitous misunderstanding at Queen Elizabeth College, since 1985 a part of King’s. In 1976 a team led by Professor Leslie Hough and supported by tate & Lyle was examining the chemistry of sucrose. Student Shashikant Phadnis misheard an instruction to ‘test’ the substances upon which they were working, instead thinking he’d been asked to ‘taste’ them. the result was the discovery that certain chlorinated sucrose derivatives were up to 600 times sweeter than sucrose itself. Sucralose is also twice as sweet as saccharin and over three times as sweet as aspartame, comparing favourably with other low-calorie sweeteners in terms of taste and safety. because it’s stable under heat and over a broad range of conditions, it can be used in baking or in products that require a longer shelf life. the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, mcneil nutritional, brought it to the market, both for table-top use and as an ingredient for manufacturers, under the brand name SPLEnDa® which was later acquired by tate & Lyle. by 2006 it had been approved for use in over 80 countries. now over 4,000 products globally are using it, including Diet Coke, Diet 7uP and Pepsi One. a recent study revealed that an estimated 82 million uS households purchase products with the ‘Sweetened with SPLEnDa®’ logo annually. the discovery has led to an enduring relationship between King’s and the sugar manufacturers tate & Lyle, whose Health Research Centre was established at King’s in 2006, drawing upon the clinical expertise at Guy’s and St thomas’ nHS Foundation trust. King’s nutritional sciences continue to play a high-profile role in all aspects of food intake and health issues. In the 2008 Research assessment Exercise, the King’s Division came top of the table in the allied Health Professions and Studies panel. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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VInCEnt StaRR
Update Bad Science and good books
Work. What’s the point? Nine to five, the daily grind, earning a crust. Writer and King’s alumnus Alain de Botton stops to wonder what it’s all about
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these days having a job can’t be taken for granted. but how many of us stop to think about the activity that takes up most of our adult lives? It’s something that King’s alumnus alain de botton (Philosophy, ma, 1991) explores in his latest book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. ‘the most sincere pleasure available through work is that which arises from the knowledge that one is making a difference,’ he says. ‘but a peculiarity of the modern world is that many jobs are lucrative yet rather low on meaning. the reason for this is that the Industrial Revolution radically transformed how and where money can be made.
Is there really such a thing as a dream job? King’s alumnus Alain de Botton isn’t so sure
Today the big profits are made trading commodities or setting up call centres, whereas occupations like nursing, poetry or landscape gardening remain at pre-industrial levels of profitability. ‘So the best-educated, most successful members of our society do jobs which earn a lot of money but leave them wondering what difference they are making, while those transforming lives are scraping by. It’s unsurprising that the story of the career crisis, when a banker leaves the city for an inner-city school or organic farm – has a hallowed place in the minds of feature editors.’
King’s alumnus ben Goldacre (Philosophy, ma, 1997) was one of six authors whose books were shortlisted for the bbC Samuel Johnson Prize for non-Fiction 2009 at the end of June. In Bad Science (Fourth Estate) the 35-year-old junior doctor and freelance journalist, who writes a weekly column for The Guardian, seeks to expose ‘the tragedy of science reporting’ in the mainstream media… Why does schizophrenia affect humans and not animals? What might this tell us about our mind and body, language and creativity, music and religion? Is there a relationship between mental disorder and genius? these are some of the difficult questions that Dr neel burton aKC (medicine, 2002) confronts in The Meaning of Madness (acheron Press). ‘a riveting read for anyone looking for a window into the world of mental disorder,’ says Professor Robert Howard of the Royal College of Psychiatrists… October brings Howard’s End is on the Landing (Profile) by Susan Hill (English, 1963), charting her year-long voyage through the bookshelves of the past… Other new titles from King’s alumni include Life and Letters in the Ancient Greek World (Routledge) by John muir (Education, 1958), a former Head of External Relations and Lecturer in Education and Classics, and Survivors of a Kind: Memoirs of the Western Front (Continuum) by brian bond FKC (History, 1962), Emeritus Professor of military History.
Just a few of the latest findings, breakthroughs, stories and comment, from the College to the world’s press
REx FEatuRES
King’s in the media maritime might: essential or redundant?
AIRcRAFT cARRIeRs: FoR And AGAInsT
In July, major General Julian thompson, former Commander of the Royal marines and Visiting Professor of War Studies, wrote in The Independent that a Strategic Defence Review is essential in the current situation of military commitments abroad at a time of economic downturn. ‘the bottom line is that we cannot continue with the kind of commitment we have without increasing the defence budget,’ he argued. ‘We need to make economies and choices. the argument of the army – that we are fighting a landlocked war in afghanistan, so why are we spending on aircraft carriers and fast jets – is a view I have some
Fighting for sight Pioneering work in ophthalmology has produced a potential breakthrough for treating visual loss
a ground-breaking laser treatment developed at King’s College London could help reverse the effects of age-Related macular Degeneration (amD), a condition which is the leading cause of blindness in over-60s in the western world. amD develops when a membrane at the back of the eye becomes clogged with natural waste produced by the lightsensitive cells, which clouds vision. In youthful eyes, enzymes tend to clear away the debris, but as the ageing process sets in, this system can sometimes fail.
sympathy with. but the afghan war will not last forever, just as the Northern Ireland conflict and the Cold War did not. ‘We are an island and a trading nation so we need to maintain our lines of supply, and for that we need a navy. I don’t think we need these very expensive aircraft carriers; cheaper alternatives can be found. We can also ditch the Eurofighter which has become an unnecessary luxury.’ a few days earlier The Guardian carried a letter from Professor Geoffrey Till, Director of the Corbett Centre for maritime Policy Studies (also from the Department of War Studies in Shrivenham), in which he defended aircraft carriers as a cost-effective way of deterring conflicts, adding that ‘they also provide the conditions in which smaller ships can maintain order at and from the sea, engage where necessary in less ambitious, more realistic Sierra Leone/tsunami relief operations and have a role in deterring the recurrence of inter-state conflict. It is because carriers are such cost-effective vessels that the americans, Russians, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italians, Japanese and others have them, too.’
Vision on: older people can benefit from laser pulses that literally clear up their eyesight
In oTheR neWs… ocd’s pregnancy link
Paul Salkovskis, Professor of Clinical Psychology & applied Science, told The Times that Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ‘is a result of a trauma to which we all have a vulnerability, but some people are more prone. We want to target at-risk subgroups such as pregnant women. It doesn’t look like it is related to hormones; it’s to do with (anxiety linked to) responsibility’… calm and composed
John Deathridge, King Edward Professor of music, discussed mendelssohn on bbC2’s The Birth of British Music, while ben Quash, Professor of Christianity & the arts, and his team appeared on bbC1’s Songs of Praise at trafalgar Square… Adhd barks up the right tree
In a tale about a boy with Atention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder whose volunteer work with a dog-training charity changed his life, The Times spoke to Professor Philip asherson, Institute of Psychiatry, who said: ‘I can see how a structured task that is enjoyable and helps with personal responsibility, will help a young person like this to gain self-control’. the painless ‘short pulse’ laser, developed by Professor John marshall at the Rayne Institute, works by boosting the release of the enzymes to clean away the waste without damaging the cells that enable us to see. Early tests have proved promising in around 50 people with diabetic eye disease – chosen as a model because the problems tend to develop faster than in amD. ‘If you can delay the onset by three, four, six, seven or 10 years, it’s proof of the principle,’ says Professor marshall. ‘this laser is trying to re-set the clock.’ autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Update CORbIS
Virginia Woolf was here To the Lighthouse and a Room of One’s Own. By way of King’s
Virginia thrived at the nascent King’s ladies’ department, especially in classical languages
new evidence has been found about the studies undertaken by Virginia Woolf (then adeline Virginia Stephen) at King’s between 1897 and 1902. the impression given by her biographers and Woolf herself is that she was almost entirely self-educated. the Oxford Dictionary of national biography states that ‘at 15 she attended a few Greek classes at King’s College in London’.
Recent research in the College archives has shown that between 15 and 20 she was registered for a variety of courses in the King’s Ladies’ Department which, at 13 Kensington Square, grew out of the ‘Lectures for Ladies’ given by King’s staff in 1871. Virginia was registered for classes in Continental & English History, Elementary and advanced Greek, Intermediate Latin, and German. Her tutors
included some of the foremost scholars of the time: John Knox Laughton, naval historian and Professor of modern History; George Charles Winter Warr, Professor of Classical Literature; and Clara Pater, a founder of Somerville College Oxford. During her studies she lived at 22 Hyde Park Gate (less than half-a-mile’s walk from the Ladies’ Department). In 1895, she had suffered a breakdown
Alzheimer’s research latest
The winning formula
Research into neurodegenerative disease at the Institute of Psychiatry has resulted in the development of a series of ‘biomarkers’ or tests for alzheimer’s disease. these tests are being further progressed as part of a licence agreement and may result in improved clinical tests for the disease…
King’s is the most successful higher-education institution in winning grants from the Department of Health. between 2005 and 2008 almost £18 million was awarded for innovative projects like the Comprehensive biomedical Research
Centre and the Global Child Dental Health taskforce…
following the death of her mother, and her illness was exacerbated by the death of her half-sister Stella two years later. In november 1897 her father Leslie Stephen (who had himself been a student at King’s from 1848 to 1850), wrote to George Warr: ‘She has been in a very nervous state, wh[ich], though explicable, has given me some anxiety… I should be grateful if you would just remember this and let her off with light work’. a 1900 article in the Ladies’ Department’s newsletter by the Vice-Principal Lilian Faithfull expresses ideas about women’s education similar to those later associated with Woolf herself: ‘there is for a true student the difficulty of satisfying the demands of home and college, of her domestic and intellectual life… For any girl who has the instinct of a scholar, I would plead that she should be given, if possible, freedom from home ties for a time, with the certainty that she will chafe less, and return to them more willingly, when her ambitions have been satisfied’. Describing the benefits of a residential college for women, Faithfull reveals how ‘the greater part of each day is spent by the student in her own room’ and, using a phrase which foreshadows Virginia’s own celebrated argument, concludes that ‘the possession of a castle of one’s own is, perhaps, the first keen joy of College life’.
Reggie’s round-up
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new legal launch
the Centre for transnational Legal Studies is a new and unique collaborative project that will allow some of King’s students to study global issues with other students from a truly wide range of different cultures and jurisdictions…
simon’s World cup mission
a King’s alumnus is part of the team aiming to bring the 2018 FIFa World Cup to England. Simon Johnson (King’s, Law, 1987), is the Football association’s Director of Corporate Affairs and the Bid’s Chief Operating Officer aiming to bring the tournament back home after 52 years…
Foresight
The UK’s new Supreme Court PHOtOGRaPH bY SuKI DHanDa
Professor Piet Eeckhout, Director of the Centre of European Law at King’s, on the impact of the new Supreme Court of the UK on history, tradition and the modern world
Professor Piet eeckhout, pictured outside the Royal courts of Justice near the King’s strand campus, wonders if the new supreme court will take the American route
Get more at www.kcl.ac.uk/ schools/law
‘On 1 October 2009 the highest court in the united Kingdom moves out of the House of Lords and into the middlesex Guildhall, on the other side of Parliament Square in Westminster. there, it will become the new Supreme Court of the united Kingdom, focusing upon cases which raise points of law of general public importance. accordingly the country’s top 12 judges will become Justices of this Court, rather than Law Lords (in the House of Lords). ‘Everyone knows these Law Lords are independent from any political interference, but the Government decided that there should be greater clarity and a separation of judicial and legislative roles. So the uK is adopting a model known throughout the world, which many countries have, rather than this strange institution called the House of Lords.
‘the School of Law at King’s is renowned for leading public debate on issues that affect the modern world, and for developing ideas with partners across the globe. So at the Centre of European Law we organised a three-day conference in July which coincided with the final sittings of the appellate committee – that is, the judgments delivered by the Law Lords in the House of Lords – and the establishment of the new Supreme Court. ‘Entitled Legal Boundaries, Common Problems & the Role of the Supreme Court, the conference had a wider remit concerned with the role of Supreme Courts in general, and it attracted a fantastic array of Supreme Court judges from around the world, including Chief Justice Roberts of the united States (who administered the oath of office at Barack Obama’s
inauguration in January). ‘Virtually all of the Law Lords came to our sessions. They definitely weren’t pressing for the change to the Supreme Court, and I do think that this country is, in a way, giving up on an institution that has been there for centuries and known around the world. I come from belgium and I consider the rule of law here to be extremely strong. It doesn’t need any further strengthening. ‘the change in name and location may be just cosmetic, but people in law wonder whether it will affect the function of the Court, and if we might see a development towards something more powerful, like in the uSa or South africa. Some would say it’s a cause for concern, others that it’s a good thing. It depends on your view of the role of a judge in a society. Only time will tell.’ autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Update
King’s-led research with new drug ‘olaparib’ is a cause for optimism
Reggie’s round-up Were those the days?
Thatcher’s Britain: The Politics and Social Upheaval of the 1980s, by King’s Professor of History Richard Vinen, was published in may to mark the 30th anniversary of margaret thatcher’s coming to power… choir scale new heights
Gramophone magazine has lavished praise upon the Chapel Choir’s recording of Rodion Shchedrin’s The Sealed Angel (made jointly with the Choir of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge) calling it ‘a splendid disc of a multifaceted, many-layered modern masterpiece.’ You can buy it from the Chaplaincy, Strand Campus for £12… IoP’s mane attraction
the Institute of Psychiatry has collaborated with the Opera Group to explore dementia
through the medium of opera and poetry. The Lion’s Face, the first part of this collaboration, was performed in march 2009… All for Juan
Dr Juan burrone from the King’s mRC Centre for Developmental neurobiology has won the 2009 Lister Institute Research Prize for his work in synaptic physiology leading to brain disorders such as epilepsy… We are the champions!
Finally just a note to say that at the 2009 Heist awards, our Development & Alumni Office and Corporate Design unit won Gold in the alumni Publication of the Year category for In Recognition, the annual publication exclusively for donors to the College. at the same ceremony, presented by the bbC’s Jeremy Vine, we were named as marketing Department of the Year. We aim to please…
the drug is so targeted, it kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone in a way that chemotherapy does not. andrew tutt, Director of the unit, describes the results as
olaparib’s strength is its ability to target
A font of all knowledge King’s has played a pivotal role in the religious history of London since its foundation in 1829 as a university college in the tradition of the Church of England. So it’s little wonder that arthur burns, a distinguished Professor in the Department of History, is taking part in a pioneering new project in the field. Building on History: The Church in London will inform both policy-making and self-
lambeth Palace library: working with King’s
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‘very promising. We are hopeful that olaparib could provide a targeted treatment for women with bRCa-related breast cancer. but we must remember we’re at a very early stage.’
SCIEnCE PHOtO LIbRaRY
New drug in battle to halt breast cancer
a new drug for breast cancer could help thousands of women with hereditary forms of the disease. trials led by the breakthrough breast Cancer Research unit at King’s have found that the drug olaparib could stop the growth of tumours and shrink them in more than 40 per cent of cases. About five per cent of the 46,000 cases of breast cancer in britain each year are caused by defects on the bRCa-1 and bRCa-2 genes, which put women at much higher risk of developing aggressive cancers of the breast or ovaries. Olaparib is the first of a new class of drugs designed to treat bRCa-related cancers. It works by blocking a protein that makes cancer cells which have a bRCa fault unable to repair their own Dna. this causes the cell to die and means that the tumour should either stop growing or get smaller. because
understanding. Over the next three years, Professor burns and Professor John Wolffe of the Open university will be working with the leading national depository for English religious history, Lambeth Palace Library, and the anglican Diocese of London. Funded by a £234,000 arts and Humanities Research Council Knowledge transfer grant, the project is among the first ventures of its kind involving academic historians collaborating, not with a gallery or museum, but with a major public institution, as the Church of England seeks to unlock its own history to bring insights to its clergy, congregations and the broader multicultural community of contemporary London. Building on History creates a new space in which those active in the contemporary religious life of the capital can reflect on and learn from the remarkable stories now emerging about the experience of the churches in one of the world’s great cities.
King’s recommends
Start a business A good idea can still be a sound commercial venture if you take a number of critical steps, says George Murlewski, Company Incubation Manager at King’s Business
Summer 2009 saw King’s and the university of birmingham organise a unique partgovernment funded programme for students. the Study India Programme (SIP) sponsored 200 british students to spend three weeks in mumbai and new Delhi studying society, culture and language. Students from King’s also had the opportunity to spend one week on a work-placement with Indian alumni. tayyeb Shah, Head of the Short Course unit at King’s business, said: ‘India is one of the fastestgrowing economies with increasing importance. this programme will equip students with the skills necessary for a future in the global economy.’
Add And sUBTRAcT
Where will you get your money from? a well-written business plan is not only a road map to market but also a selling tool. ‘Friends, family and fools’ may be easy to persuade, but professional investors will need a lot more detail. and remember that managing cash flow is one of the most important things for the owner of a start-up. all too often, expenditure is higher and income comes in later than planned. do yoUR homeWoRK
ThAT’s The WAy To do IT
What problem are you solving? Understand this and you can define and refine your product or service. Embark on some serious market research, both ‘desk’ (libraries, internet etc) and ‘field’ (getting out there and talking to people). It’ll help you to find out how popular your idea would be, and who else is (or could be) fulfilling this need. be honest – how unique (or better) is your idea, really? Protect it from competitors who will seek to steal a piece of your action.
among its many and varied activities King’s business supports spin-out companies in their early years. two recent examples of more mature successes are LiDCO Ltd, which focuses on cardiovascular monitoring and has raised no less than £3.2 million from existing shareholders and new investors, and Proximagen neuroscience plc, which addresses neurodegenerative diseases and brought a £1 million windfall for the College when it was floated on the aIm (alternative Investment market). more recently it’s raised £50 million additional funding. We’ll end with some of the impressive facts: 23 spin-outs from King’s since 1991; £315 million raised from investment rounds subsequent to formation; £2.39 million realised from exit proceeds; £4.5 million valuation of the College’s equity portfolio; 344 FtE employed by the companies.
ThInK IT ThRoUGh CORbIS
What resources will you need to develop the product and take it to market? think through your people, skills, equipment and money. Consider forging alliances with parties who are well-placed to serve your target customers and help you arrive at a pricing policy, allowing for a distributor’s margin.
delhi played host to some lucky King’s students
Wanted: great business mentors King’s College London business and King’s Graduate School are seeking alumni volunteers to act as mentors for the 2009-10 Lion’s Den, otherwise known as the King’s Graduate business Plan. They’re especially keen to find potential mentors from the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors or any with financial or law backgrounds. Contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 3053 for more details. and for a report on the 2008-09 Lion’s Den event, please turn to page 30.
BUIld A sTRonG TeAm & Be oPen To chAnGe
don’t forget there’s lots more at www.kcl.ac.uk/ business
a good idea is nothing without good people. the quality of your team is paramount. So, too, are your customers. Put in place qualitycontrol procedures, feedback loops and plans for progress for your company’s products and conduct. Resting on your laurels is a recipe for decline and failure. now turn to page 30 to see how alumni are mentoring current students for the Graduate business Plan Competition.
ILLuStRatIOnS bY anDY baKER
King’s students spend time with Indian alumni
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WWW.SamuELKIRbY.COm
oN THE
MAP King’s is constantly evolving. Here are the latest faculties, facilities and developments across the College campuses
St Thomas’ clInIcAl ReseARch FAcIlITy
a more comfortable environment for patients, which encourages them to participate in clinical studies on nutrition, obesity and heart disease, has been opened at St thomas’ by HRH the Princess Royal. the new Clinical Research Facility centre includes a five-bed ward, laboratories and a kitchen and eating area where staff can conduct nutritional studies. all made possible by support from tate & Lyle, the british Heart Foundation and the Guy’s and St thomas’ Charity. The ReTURn oF FloRence nIGhTInGAle
a brand new Florence nightingale museum is scheduled to open in 2010, to mark the centenary of her death. Designed by Dutch architects Kossmann de Jong, it will tell her story in three pavilions that each represents a key period in her life: the Gilded Cage and Family; the Crimea; and the Health Reformer. there will be a new entrance, shop and education and exhibition space. museum director Caroline Worthington says, 16
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‘as we move into the centenary of Flo’s death and the push to secure the remaining development funding we are tremendously excited about the future. the redesigned museum will provide a pioneering space using the latest interpretation techniques and will link her life’s work to today’s innovations in modern healthcare.’ For more information, go to www.florence-nightingale.co.uk.
Guy’s FAcUlTy FoR collABoRATIon
a new Faculty of translational medicine, a collaboration between King’s and the biomedical Research Centre (bRC) at Guy’s and St thomas’ Foundation Trust, located on the 16th floor of Guy’s tower, will increase support for researchers into new treatments and diagnostic tests for a range of diseases and conditions. around 250 members will be able to access training programmes, statistical advice and consultancy on clinical trial design, while receiving support for the use of cutting-edge technologies. Professor Graham Lord, deputy director of the bRC, declares that the new faculty ‘will provide opportunities for members to interact and collaborate and to become leaders in translational medicine, thereby accelerating advances that will benefit patient care.’
clockwise from left: the immaculate clinical environment of londec at the Waterloo campus; a computer visualisation of one of the ‘pavilions’ in the new Florence nightingale museum at st Thomas’;
how the cicely saunders Institute for Palliative care, located at the denmark hill campus, will appear from above; staff at the new clinical Research Facility, recently opened by royalty, at st Thomas' hospital
Strand
Denmark Hill
We’ll hAVe The cBAs
neW nAme FoR neURo PRoJecT
June 2009 saw the launch of the Centre for biomedicine & Society (CbaS) with a series of lectures by leading academics. Located on the sixth floor of the Strand Building, the CbaS promotes research that brings together academics in the social sciences, humanities, medicine and the biomedical sciences from within King’s and beyond. It hosts the only social science-led Wellcome trust biomedical Ethics Strategic award in the uK, on the ethics of translational research. Projects include the ways in which identities may be reconfigured through new personalised genome testing.
the maurice Wohl Clinical neuroscience Institute is the official name for the planned King’s Clinical neuroscience Institute. to be located on the West Campus, it will co-ordinate the most advanced work in this field at the College. It is named in recognition of the late maurice Wohl’s legacy of medical innovation, and the multi-million pound project has been made possible thanks to major supporters like the maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation, King’s medical Research trust, and most recently the Garfield Weston Foundation and the South London and maudsley trust.
school oF nATURAl & mAThemATIcAl scIences
WoRld FIRsT FoR PAllIATIVe cARe
King’s is to transform its School of Physical Sciences & Engineering to create a new School of natural & mathematical Sciences. It will deliver world-class research, education and innovation in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and informatics, as well as undertaking a broad range of science, some of which will underpin the performance of King’s Health Partners. It will follow in the tradition of collaboration across the natural sciences, exemplified by King’s pioneering contribution to the elucidation of the structure of Dna.
Located next to King’s College Hospital, the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care will be the first purpose built institute in the world to focus specifically on palliative care research, dissemination and teaching, linked to clinical care. Professor Irene Higginson, Head of the Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, notes: ‘as the population lives longer due to reductions in acute disease, many more people will need palliative care and support to help them live as well as possible until they
die. to improve this situation, research is urgently needed.’ the Institute will officially launched in 2010 and will enable close collaboration between scholars and clinicians. the £9.35 million required was raised in partnership with Cicely Saunders International. Key donors include atlantic Philanthropies, the Wolfson Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, macmillan Cancer Support and Kirby Laing Charitable Foundation. Visit www.cicelysaundersfoundation.org.
Waterloo londec oPens ITs dooRs
the London Dental Education Centre (LonDEC) is up and running. based in the Franklin-Wilkins building at Waterloo, it is a joint enterprise between King’s and the London Deanery (acting on behalf of nHS London) to improve clinical training in modern approaches to the delivery of oral health care. It boasts a ‘full immersion simulation suite’ for training in infection control and the management of medical emergencies. LonDEC will be available as an education facility for lecture and hands-on training, as well the centre for some of the master’s programmes run by the King’s College Dental Institute. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Lord David Owen is an alumnus of St Thomas’ and an elder statesman of British politics. He recalls his medical training under legendary lecturers and notorious neurologists, and his research into the mental health of world leaders. Photographs by Jillian Edelstein
on medIcIne, PolITIcs And Ts elIoT
I wasn’t involved in politics when I was at Cambridge (Sidney Sussex College, 1956-59). I never joined a party. but mervyn Stockwood, the Vicar of Great St mary’s, was a Labour supporter who brought politicians like aneurin bevan to come and speak. I was a member of the Humanist Society whose president was Em Forster, a remarkable man. also FR Leavis was giving open lectures which I’d attend religiously. that was the time of ‘the two Cultures’ (a thesis articulated by the physicist CP Snow that lamented a schism in society between the sciences and humanities). Leavis knew how to hate, and one of his pet hates was Snow! So those lectures were great fun and left me with an abiding interest in language and particularly tS Eliot’s poetry. I remember discovering a selection of Rudyard Kipling’s poems by Eliot. up until then, I was very down on Kipling as a patriotic poet, but when my hero was writing about him, I had to re-examine things. throughout my life there have been these two poets whom I love, tS Eliot and Rudyard Kipling. eyes, BRAIns And BloWInG one’s ToP
three of us, all friends, applied to St thomas’, but I was the one only who was accepted (in 1959). You know the famous remark: you can tell a St thomas’ man anywhere, 18
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but you can’t tell him anything. It isn’t true. It’s a home of eccentrics, or it was in my day, consultants who were extremely interesting people in their own right. I joined the Labour Party that first year, too. I was a candidate in 1964 (contesting the Torrington seat) a few weeks after I qualified, but I kept quiet about it because I didn’t want people at St thomas’ to think that I wasn’t taking medicine seriously. I did eye surgery – I still say I’m a doctor from the neck up – and the head of the department was Harold Ridley, who performed the first replacement lens operation and was finally knighted in 2000. One day I asked if he’d give me a reference for a position in neurology, probably the best job in the hospital. He was a tory, so I admitted that I was also a prospective Labour candidate. He roared with laughter – he’d known for weeks! and he was wonderful. He said not only would he give me a reference but he’d demand I got the job. by the time I stood as a candidate again in 1965-66, I was working with Dr William Sargant as a neurological and psychiatric registrar. He was an extraordinary, largerthan-life figure and highly controversial (particularly his experiments with ECT and mind-control). One day at the hospital he got into a frightful tizzy about the little bars that had been put over gas fires on the small wards. He thought it was because the nurses didn’t trust the
patients, when the real reason was to protect the staff’s starched aprons from setting on fire! Anyhow that same day I’d received a letter from a friend of my mother on Plymouth City Council, my home constituency, asking if I’d be prepared to stand as a Labour candidate. I looked at Sargant and thought, ‘If I don’t, this could be me in 25 years, blowing my top over some trivial nonsense’. Little did I realise that politicians are just as bad if not worse! medIcIne And The Body PolITIc
When I became an mP in the spring of 1966, I was a Research Fellow on the medical unit working with David marsden, a brilliant man. being a doctor meant I always had something to fall back on. my wife used to joke that, since I had a very marginal seat when an election was called, I would always start looking through the bmJ for jobs! Of course meetings between politicians and their constituents are called ‘surgeries’. Like a medical surgery, it’s a one-on-one relationship. and it’s one of the really good things about british democracy, that mPs are confronted with impacts of the legislation they’ve passed. It brings you down to earth, which is good at a time when politicians have never been denigrated quite so much. The ReAl sToRy BehInd sUeZ
the background to my book In Sickness and in Power (a study of illness of world leaders during the last 100 years) was a lecture I gave to the association of neurologists in October 2002. the journal QJm carried it and the editor told me they had more hits on this article than any other, so I realised there was interest. The first figure I came across was theodore Roosevelt whom the americans have now diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. they’re generous in their interpretation of manic behaviour, we tend to be more astringent. then I came to anthony Eden (Prime Minister of Great Britain during the Suez Crisis of the mid-50s) whom I’d assumed was on drugs because it’d been talked about. but I then discovered that his wife hotly denied this. I felt rather embarrassed, a former Foreign Secretary who’d possibly got that wrong. So I asked his biographer to lunch and the upshot was that he persuaded Lady Eden to let me look at her late husband’s medical papers which were under very restrictive access. and I discovered in a doctor’s letter that he was on Drinamyl, a mixture of barbiturates and amphetamines or uppers and downers, as a result of his cholangitis (a complication of the surgeon cutting the bile duct). Here was Eden, a great diplomat who spoke arabic, making a clandestine plot with Israel and France over Suez which was so unwise diplomatically. What we’re looking for is out-of-character decisions. Why did he make it? One reason is that he had a temperature of 106 degrees and a full-blown rigor (shivering and chills) eight days before he met the French. Plus he was on uppers and downers and under tremendous strain. and I think that suddenly he couldn’t see a way out. mITTeRAnd And chURchIll
to speak to Francois mitterand’s physician, Claude Gubler, I first went to Michel Rocard, the former French Prime minister (1988-91). He and mitterand had a famous hatred. mitterand once listed the people who ought to succeed him as president, and after naming about six eminent French politicians from left and right, he said
‘my dog’ and then ‘michel Rocard’! anyhow michel told me to invite Gubler for a meal to his favourite restaurant. He came along and was very open. He’s had a rough ride for publishing his book (Le Grand Secret), but I think it was a good thing because it was such an unbelievable situation – that a man should have serious cancer for 11 of his 14 years of presidency and nobody knew about it. but it’s hard to see, during those 11 years, any case in which Mitterand’s decision-making was adversely affected. Sometimes the answer is: illness makes the man. I also made a detailed analysis of whether Churchill had bipolar disorder. there’s a description of him by Russell brain (the late neurologist knighted in 1952) which only came out in 2000 when his son obtained permission from the Churchill family. He saw Churchill in 1949 after he’d had a stroke, and he describes him as a cyclothymic personality (having a pervasive pattern of pronounced periodic changes in mood). and then there was an extraordinary letter written by Clementine, his wife, in June 1940, in which she says he is behaving impossibly and she uses the word ‘contemptuous’. that’s important because contempt is what the Greeks objected to about hubris. Was this a man developing a manic episode under stress? I got the feeling it wasn’t. I don’t think that the House of Commons, for all its weaknesses, would have chosen Churchill to lead a coalition at a time of great peril. they wanted his exuberance and indomitable nature, but they wouldn’t want someone with a serious mental illness. hUBRIs, meGAlomAnIA And nARcIssIsm
Psychiatrists hardly use the word ‘megalomania’ anymore. they’ve moved towards narcissistic personality disorder, particularly in america. It’s hard enough to persuade politicians and bankers that they have hubris. try to persuade them that they’ve got narcissistic personality disorder and you can forget it! underneath, I believe there’s a neuro-scientific basis for it. There is the marvellous phrase about blair, that after Kosovo he’d sprinkled too much adrenaline on his cornflakes. What happens with a leader is that, after a while living at this high rate during which they sleep less and run on what the public thinks is adrenaline, they can’t kick it out. many heads of government lie about their health. There is a their doctors lie on their behalf. marvellous In the book I raise the concept of phrase about independent medical assessments for heads of state, and in america Blair, that there’s a greater readiness to after Kosovo accept this, but in this country he’d sprinkled we have nothing. blair was able to lie about his health, his cardiac too much arrhythmia, all the time he was adrenaline on Prime minister. Why? because his cornflakes he was frightened about his virility and couldn’t be seen to be weak. there probably is something there feeding the brain, creating what I call Hubris Syndrome, and I believe that somebody will come to a very important conclusion about it some day.
The condensed dAVId oWen l Born on 2 July 1939, David Owen took his pre-clinical years at Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and his training at St Thomas’ Hospital. He qualified as a doctor in 1962 and practised as a clinical neurologist and psychiatric registrar for two years, followed by Research Fellow on the Medical Unit. l An MP for 26 years, he was first elected as Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton in 1966, served as Navy Minister, Health Minister and Foreign Secretary in Labour governments, and co-founded the Social Democratic Party in 1981 and was its Leader from 1983 to 1990. He was created a Life Baron in 1992 and sits as an independent social democrat in the House of Lords. From 1992 to 1995 he served as EU peace negotiator in the former Yugoslavia and was co-author of the Vance-Owen Peace Plan. l Lord Owen has spoken at King's on a number of occasions, including the Maudsley Grand Rounds, a series of talks at the Institute of Psychiatry, and gave a lecture to medical alumni in May 2009 about his new book In Sickness and in Power. He is currently Director of the Centre for International Humanitarian Cooperation, a nonexecutive Director of Abbott Laboratories and has business interests in Russia.
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It’s an exciting new world of research – and King’s is at the cutting edge. Titus Chalk reveals how Medical Humanities is engaging the person behind the patient If you’ve ever phoned in sick to be met with disbelief from a work colleague or employer, you’ll appreciate that what seems to count as illness is not universally agreed upon. People who suffer from MUPS – medically unexplained, physical symptoms – quickly come to realise that individual experiences of distress and disorder do not always match pre-existing categories of disease. they’re shaped by variable combinations of biophysical, psychological, social, cultural and biographical factors, the effects of which are not always accessed with a stethoscope or scanner. Dissonance in the meanings of ill-health experience between individuals, across cultural groups and historical periods, is not easily accounted for by biomedical science – something articulated 100 years ago by the psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers who wrote, ‘What health and illness mean in general are matters which concern the physician least of all. He deals scientifically with life processes and with particular illnesses. What is ‘ill’ in general depends less on the judgement of the doctor than on the judgement of the patient and on the dominant views in a cultural context.’ How best to tap into subjective experiences of illness and cultural influence on the concepts and practices of medicine is tackled elliptically and only accidentally by medical research, but it will be a major focus of an emerging cross-disciplinary approach at King’s College London’s new Centre for the Humanities & Health. the Centre brings the analytical approaches associated with the study of literature, art, film studies and philosophy to bear on the distress and disorder associated with illness. Professor brian Hurwitz,
Director of the Centre, says that although certain elements of the field of Medical Humanities may be familiar, only now are potential intellectual and methodological synergies between the humanities and medicine coming into focus. ‘the uK association for medical Humanities defines the field as ‘a sustained interdisciplinary enquiry into aspects of medical practice, education and research expressly concerned with the human side of medicine’,’ he says. ‘the american Society for Bioethics & Humanities defines it as promoting the exchange of ideas and fostering ‘multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and interprofessional scholarship, research, teaching, policy development, professional development, and collegiality among people engaged in clinical and academic bioethics and the health-related humanities’.’ ‘Attempts to define the field beg many questions, but probably the two most developed examples are the History of medicine and medical Ethics. However, the interface between humanities and medicine is now seen to extend far beyond the engagement of health care with history and medicine with applied ethics. today there is greater recognition that the relationship between the humanities and medicine is pervasive, and the Wellcome trust and the arts & Humanities Research Council wish to promote enquiries into many more dimensions of this relationship than hitherto. ‘there is also interest from practitioners of health care themselves who are attending conferences in greater numbers.’ ‘along a wide interface between medicine and the humanities, clusters of academic activity are emerging. One involves study
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of representations of illness and health care experiences found in life writings, fiction and film, and reflected in King’s Literature & medicine ma. another interchange between medicine and philosophy is the epistemology of clinical thought and method.’ An excITInG eRA oF ReseARch
In acknowledgement of the field’s growing significance the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s largest charity, has realigned its humanitiesrelated funding to support not only research into the history of medicine and bioethics but broadly-based work in the medical Humanities, and this has enabled the establishment of the new King’s College Centre. A sum of £2 million over five years from the trust has been awarded which will provide not only excellent research opportunities at postdoctoral and PhD level, including a link-up with new York’s Columbia university and its narrative medicine programme, but also the establishment of an mSc in medical Humanities at King’s. Six research strands grouped under the title The Boundaries of Illness will be pursued at the Centre. Each will focus on ‘interiority’, both of patients and health care practitioners. Texts, portraits, films and conceptual constructions will all fall under the scrutiny of the researchers working in crossdisciplinary areas of enquiry, as they take up an opportunity to shape this new area. Says Centre manager abigail matthewman: ‘there’s a lot of cutting-edge thinking and exploration going on and it’s exciting to be part of what’s likely to become quite an influential grouping. My academic background is in philosophy, so I have a
LaRa HaRWOOD
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particular interest in that side of the Centre’s activities, and there’s something enormously stimulating in bringing academics of different backgrounds together. We’ve had seminars in which each has been presenting areas of interest, and because of their diverse backgrounds this has exposed them to thoughts and traditions they don’t customarily engage with. that creates a very interesting dialogue and stimulating environment.’ It is engagement between humanities scholarship and traditional medical concerns that will characterise the research of the Centre. Hurwitz explains: ‘the point is that when you undertake this sort of exploration, you realise that medicine is not a selfcontained array of practices. It shares elements with other academic fields. For example, modern concepts of psychological distress draw on the way 19th century novelists and playwrights depicted psychological distress. the manner in which patienthood is conceived today can be investigated by studying case writings – reports, letters, hospital notes – as well as memoirs and biographies written by patients and health care personnel.’ The Illness oF oTheRs
The Centre for the Humanities & Health fits neatly into the tapestry of existing King’s institutions. Last year the Centre for Life Writing Research offered a programme of talks and seminars on medical writing, and it’s hoped links will develop with the King’s Centre of medical Law & Ethics, and the Centre for Health & Society. the Centre will convene seminars and symposia that will be open to health care staff to attend, especially from King’s Health Partners whose institutions are providing some of the primary sources for research. ‘Professor Edgar Jones is working on the records of the maudsley Hospital between 1923 and 1938,’ says matthewman. ‘that’s part of King’s
‘Teaching Medical Humanities is aligned with teaching communication skills. It offers a way of deepening relationships with patients’
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The sIx ReseARch sTRAnds Illness narrative as life-writing Increasing numbers of texts recounting experiences of suffering since 1950. concepts of health and disease Using philosophical analysis of issues in medicine. distress and disorder A fine line with concerns that the latter is being over-diagnosed.
nursing and identity Experiences of 8,000 nurses sent overseas between 1896 and 1966. cultural and historical forces in psychiatric diagnosis Case notes from the Maudsley Hospital 1923-38 and York Clinic 1944-48. medical portraiture Analogies between the relationship of doctor to patient, and that of portrait-painter to sitter.
academic Health Sciences Centre we will engage with.’ Hurwitz adds: ‘the new Centre sits naturally alongside other bodies at King’s. We hope it will become a useful academic expression of the relationship and intellectual exchanges between them.’ there are many revelatory moments in Iris, John bayley’s tender account of his authorwife Iris Murdoch’s affliction with alzheimer’s disease. but one line that quietly demands attention reads: ‘One needs very much to feel that the unique individuality of one’s spouse has not been lost in the common symptoms of a clinical condition’. In some ways bayley’s assertion goes right to the heart of what medical Humanities is about – revealing the human self that has to bear illness, and bear witness to the illness of others, which may stir complex emotions which challenge senses of individuality and identity. Something that isn’t much talked about in medicine is that health practitioners are not just dealing with human bodies. Psychologist Paul broks writes: ‘Recognising the intrinsically personal nature of pain and suffering, the doctors’ remit equally embraces the self’. michelle Cussens, who lectures to undergraduates in the King’s College medical
School, puts it another way: ‘What my teaching is about is enabling young medical students who go on to be doctors to take an interest in the person and not just the medicine. Hopefully the patient on the other side of that equation will sense that interest and will feel some concern and understanding from future health care practitioners.’ although research at the Centre for the Humanities & Health is not directly linked to attempts to alter the tone or texture of health care relationships, a cultural shift within and without medicine has helped to make the Centre possible. Cussens’ work complements that of Hurwitz and co, in encouraging medical students to engage in new ways of learning and thinking about health care. ‘Our teaching of the medical Humanities to undergraduates is aligned with teaching them communication skills,’ says Cussens. ‘that covers things like breaking bad news, dealing with crisis or talking with a child or an elderly person. We’re quite convinced that medical Humanities offers a way of broadening and deepening their relationship with patients.’ through activities such as life and death drawing, studying the interactions between anatomy and art, and reading the works of authors who originally studied as doctors or nurses, students can sharpen other skills, too. ‘It allows them to access the subjectivity of others, and demands of them skills in responsiveness to various modes of expression. It may require appreciation of ambiguity and uncertainty on the part of the listener or reader. this can be quite challenging for medical students who see themselves as intensely practical and action-oriented.’ A BUsy FIVe yeARs AheAd
the link with the Centre for the Humanities & Health is with its research programme, which will tackle areas of uncertainty and ambiguity that do not always sit easily with the neatness of some medical
conceptualisations. Elucidating this tension may prove to be the crux of the Centre’s research, says Hurwitz. ‘medicine looks strongly towards the sciences as the model of investigation it aspires to and the kind of certainty it hopes to emulate, rather than to the humanities with their capacity not just to tolerate ambiguity but to see in its expression multiple meanings of interest, varying with perspective or analytical approach adopted. Many health care staff find their day-to-day activities are not amenable to a single interpretation – a position often presupposed by modern medicine and health care policy.’ A busy five years lies ahead, then. During that period, Hurwitz predicts ‘the evolution
of the field towards greater engagement with mainstream humanities research and some impact, also, on health service, through discussion of its foundational concepts and values, and possibly through the advent of medical Humanities master’s graduates, some of whom will gain institutional positions in health care. these people will be sensitised to the growing proliferation of voices concerning ill health experiences and their potential significance for the way medical and nursing care is practised and organised.’ Debates about the nature of medicine, its practice and the culture it creates have generally been conducted by historians, sociologists and political economists.
the Centre for the Humanities & Health brings to this forum a multidisciplinary research team which will not only feel the pulse of a longstanding debate but read its chart in a new and refreshing way. The Centre will be launched at 18.00 on 21 October in the Great Hall, Strand Campus, with a lecture by Professor Howard Brody, Director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas, and a specially-commissioned piece of music. For more, please visit www.kcl.ac.uk/research/groups/ chh. Brian Hurwitz is a D’Oyly Carte Professor of Medicine & the Arts funded by a gift from the Charitable Trust set up by WS Gilbert, King’s alumnus and musical partner of Arthur Sullivan.
health, illness and art: a complex relationship
marc crank Portrait by Alastair Adams (2008) Marc Crank suffers from a facial disfigurement and regularly gives talks about his experience. His portrait is currently on display at London’s National Portrait Gallery.
self-consciousness John Updike (1989) Updike’s disarmingly frank memoirs include accounts of his struggles with psoriasis, stuttering and dental problems.
Farrah’s story Broadcast on Channel 4 (2009) Actress Farrah Fawcett documented her battle with cancer in this television documentary that reveals the sometimes scared, sometimes hopeful patient behind the celebrity.
The doctor Luke Fildes (1887) A Victorian GP, solemn and dedicated, watches over a labourer’s sick child. Though of debatable historical accuracy, the painting shaped public perceptions of the medical profession in the 19th century.
autumn 2009 In tOuCH
natIOnaL PORtRaIt GaLLERY, REx FEatuRES, tatE
Pharmacy Damien Hirst (1992) Hirst says: ‘People believe in medicine in exactly the same way that I want them to believe in art.’
Iris John Bayley (1998) Adapted as a film of the same name, Bayley’s description of life with an Iris Murdoch suffering from Alzheimer’s is a candid love letter to his wife. An immensely moving read.
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Jas chahal on +44 (0)20 7848 4700 or email legacy-info@kcl.ac.uk
Community
Exclusive offers Discounts and services for you 28
King’s international Alumni groups all over the world 34
Your class notes Where you tell us about then and now 38
aLumnI WEEKEnD: OLD FRIEnDS & FamOuS FaCES 34
Professor Max Saunders, Professor Clare Lees, Dr Clare Brant, literary panel chairs, with speakers Anne Sebba (History, 1972) and Maureen Duffy (English, 1956) autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Events All alumni KCLA Games
Sat 10 October 2009, Berrylands sportsground, New Malden a day of alumni vs students matches, including hockey, rugby, football, netball and tug-of-war. You can enter a whole team in advance or join others to make a team on the day. the games will be followed by festivities, awards and an onsite BBQ. Entry is only £3 per person, and food and drink will be cheap all evening. Book online from 1 September at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk/ events or email tom at kclasports@ gmail.com. Autumn Former Staff Lunch
Thurs 15 October 2009, Strand Campus All former staff of King’s and the Colleges with which it has merged are invited back for an informal lunch and talk given by a King’s academic. School of Arts & Humanities Week
Mon 19 to Sat 24 October 2009, Various venues the School begins its 2009-10 programme by throwing open the doors for a week of free public conversation and performance. Speakers include Richard Drayton, Brian Hurwitz, Ginette Vincendeau and andrew motion (right). Please visit www.kcl. ac.uk/ hums/ week.
To book for events contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 3053 KCLA AGM Dinner
Choir Reunion
Fri 6 November 2009, Strand Campus The King’s College London association will hold its annual General meeting followed by annual Dinner. Michael Billington FKC, theatre critic for The Guardian and author, will give a talk entitled Who’d Be A Critic? Book early as tickets are expected to sell out.
Tues 26 January 2010, Strand Chapel and Chapters this special Evensong and drinks reception is open to all past and present members and supporters of the Chapel Choir. Contact us for an invitation.
Pub Quiz in the Waterfront
Tues 17 November 2009, The Waterfront Alumni are invited to KCLSU’s Waterfront Bar to compete against student teams in a traditional pub quiz. We’re looking for at least five teams of up to six alumni in any range of subjects. If you’d like to get a team together or would like to join a team, get in touch. Law Alumni Event: Lisbon Treaty
Thurs 19 November 20009, Strand The Law Alumni Group is organising another event to offer professional development and networking opportunities for Law alumni or those who work in law. Advent Carol Service
Fri 4 December, Strand Chapel the candlelit service includes readings and a performance by the Chapel Choir, then a reception with mince pies and mulled wine. Due to popularity, seating for the event is by ticket only, available in advance on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets can be reserved from 1 October to 3 november, with a maximum of two per person.
Academic lectures
Professional development City Alumni Networking
Thurs 1 October 2009, Innholders Hall, College Street, London a chance for alumni in professions such as law, finance and consultancy to network with their fellow graduates in the City. the structured session will be preceded by a speaker and followed by a drinks reception.
Classics Lecture & Reception
Fri 23 October 2009 Light refreshments at 16.45 before the Lecture at 17.30. Speakers include Harold Short (Director of the Centre for Computing in the Humanities), Richard Beacham (from the King’s Visualisation Lab) and Charlotte Roueché (Professor of Late Antique & Byzantine Studies). a reception follows at 19.00.
New Horizons Day
Fri 23 October 2009, St Thomas’ all medical alumni are invited to a day of career development. alumni can earn Continuing Professional Development points by attending specialist lectures while meeting up with old friends. the day will focus on new research, led by King’s academic staff. Schizophrenia: the Final Frontier
Michael Dockrill Lecture War Studies
Tues 10 November 2009, Great Hall, Strand Campus Prime Minister Thatcher and German Unification. Professor Patrick Salmon, School of Historical Studies, newcastle University. Refreshments 17.00, lecture 17.30. Wine reception after. War Studies Annual Lecture
Tues 26 January 2010, Great Hall, Strand Campus War and Genocide. Professor martin Shaw, Department of International Relations & Politics, university of Sussex. Refreshments 17.00, lecture 17.30. Wine reception after.
Thurs 5 and Fri 6 November 2009, Institute of Psychiatry Please email alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 4724. Dental Alumni Weekend
Fri 5 to Sat 6 March 2010 to include specialist meetings on Friday afternoon, a Dinner in the evening, and Clinical Day on Saturday. Brochures available in the next edition of InDent (the newsletter for dental alumni of Guy’s, King’s College and Royal Dental Hospital) early in 2010. If your company is interested in sponsoring the event, please get in touch at alumoff@kcl.ac.uk.
Take a look at these fantastic benefits and services for King’s alumni... If you studied at King’s or one of the Colleges with which it has merged, the following services are available to you. there are more details at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk, or you can call +44 (0)20 7848 3053. In Touch magazine
mailed twice a year to all alumni. If you or somebody you know would like to receive it, please contact us. E-newsletter
matt BuRGESS
Register to receive all the latest news, benefits and info about events.
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you can update your personal details and network professionally. New King’s Connections
Look out for the new careers section on our alumni Online website. It will include King’s Connections, a career advice directory which lists alumni willing to give advice to other alumni looking to work in their sector. It will also include information on further study, professional development and alumni careers profiles. Visit us at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk/careers.
Alumni Online
New Get a College email address
another way of staying in touch with your old College friends. It’s free and
alumni Online has details on getting your own College email address.
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autumn 2009
Use the Library
Get fit at King’s
The College’s Information Service Centre and libraries are available to all alumni (with the exception of the Institute of Psychiatry library). Reading in the libraries is free, and you can borrow books for £50 annually. Download a membership form from www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk.
Special discounted rates are available if you would like to join KCLSU Kinetic gym in Stamford Street, Waterloo. Call +44 (0)20 7633 2188.
Learn a language
The Modern Language Centre Evening Programme offers a wide range of courses at all levels. alumni are eligible for a 30 per cent discount. Courses start in October, January and april. Email: modern.language@kcl.ac.uk.
Stay at King’s
Our stop over service can help you find accommodation at one of our halls of residence during the summer vacation. King’s College Credit Card
Our only official credit card is designed to provide great value as well as supporting King’s. To apply, call 0800 0282440 quoting King’s College London Credit Card.
Want to get involved? Contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 3053
A buffet tea, old photos, memorabilia and some rousing toasts at the RDH 50th get-together
Royal Dental’s 50th reunion The Royal Dental Hospital 50th Reunion took place over a weekend in may at the Wroxton House Hotel near Banbury, in Oxfordshire, with a get-together for RDH alumni who registered as freshers in 1959. Reunions have been held every five years, with the previous events of 2004 and 1999 held at the same venue. Roger Anderson (Dentistry, 1964) reports: ‘At the buffet tea Derek Foxton (Dentistry, 1964), who is now a professional photographer, displayed a marvellous selection of photos from our days at the Royal Dental Hospital, and michael Furness (Dentistry, 1964) produced a large selection of memorabilia. after dinner I welcomed the guests and the
toast to ‘The Royal’ was proposed by Michael, the toast to ‘Absent Friends’ by Linda Goldman (Dentistry, 1964) and the toast to ‘The Next 50 Years’ by Mike Bush (Dentistry, 1964). the thunderous applause after each toast signified the wholehearted approval and enjoyment of all present, and the evening continued in the lounge bar until the early hours.’ today the Royal Dental Hospital has been incorporated into the Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Dental Institute (the merger was completed in 1998). Collectively these constitute one of the most prestigious dental research establishments in the country, working on cutting-edge investigation of odontogenesis (the formation and development of teeth), gene therapy, stem cell biology, epidemiology, and the development of new vaccines and dental materials.
Meet the team: Karen, Anna, Mary, Megan, Cally, Chris and Nicky are here to help
Lecture; Anatomy Museum Event; KCLSU Centenary BBC Any Questions?; San Diego Duel Day Party; Chaplaincy’s Passiontide Service; War Studies Inaugural Lecture; Principal’s Concerts; Duel Day Celebrations. April KCLA/GKT Med Soc Revision Day; Overseas trip South East Asia; Law Panel Discussion Banking Regulation Reforms; Safra Memorial Lecture; Classics Inaugural Lecture; Former Staff Lunch. May Badcock Memorial Lecture and Dental Circle Dinner; Development Committee Meeting; Lord Owen Lecture In Sickness and in Power ; Geography Cities Lecture; Greece Alumni Group Launch. June Alumni Weekend & Literary Festival; Principal’s Circle Dinner; Fellows’ Dinner. September uSa Choir tour.
Alumni Office Our Alumni Relations Office organises events throughout the year and liaises directly with alumni. From left to right in the picture: Karen Bearman (King’s, English, 2005), Anna Redmond, mary Hayman, megan Bruns (Head of alumni Relations), Cally Brown, Chris Brown and nicky Power. Did you manage to make it to any of the following alumni events in 2009? February Greek Play; Education Inaugural Lecture; Special Collections Exhibition & Reception; KCLSU Centenary Dinner. March Physiotherapy Inaugural Lecture; City Networking Breakfast; Dental Alumni Weekend; Law Inaugural Lecture; History Alumni Lecture; Management Inaugural
Here’s a run-through of just some of the exclusive discounts and offers available to our alumni:
www.seafrance.com (code KINGS) Thorntons – 10 per cent* off
Visit www.thorntons.co.uk or call 08451211911 (code KCL1)
Sea-life Centre – up to 60 per cent off
Call 0870 2204000 and quote REWaRDS
Blackwell – Five per cent off
Visit www.blackwell.co.uk/ kingscollege
London Aquarium – up to 30 per cent off
Call 0870 2204000 and quote REWaRDS
Interflora – Free delivery in UK*
Lonely Planet – 20 per cent off
Visit www.lonelyplanet.com (code KCL20) Virgin Experiences – 15 per cent off
Call 0845 3305115 and quote Alumni SeaFrance – up to 10 per cent off
Call 0871 2222500 or visit
REx FEatuRES
And do it for less with our extra-special offers
Oar inspired: the time of your life at a discount
www.interflora.co.uk code kingsdel (*on orders over £25) this is just a sample of the many discounts available for our alumni. For a comprehensive guide, just head to www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk, log in (a simple process) and explore our alumni benefits in greater detail.
Enjoy the wonders of the ocean at Sea-life
autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Events Class reunions Boat Club Reunion
The current Committee of King’s College London Boat Club including Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals would like to get in contact with all previous members of the Boat Club (including UMDS and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital Boat Clubs). We wish to organise a reunion for all members to catch up with old friends and find out how the Boat Club is getting on now. the Committee would also love to compile a history of the club so we are looking for information regarding previous wins, club members and photographs. all would be welcome. Email edward.griffiths@kcl.ac.uk or call Edward on 07966 070523. Guy’s John Fry Reunion Lunch
Wed 7 October 2009, Gordon Museum, Guy’s Campus a special reunion lunch followed by talks from Professor John Rees and Professor Maurice Lessof on Life at Guy’s, and a tour of the Gordon museum with curator Bill Edwards. In celebration of the Life at Guy’s academic, John Fry. King’s King’s Engineers’ Day 2009
Thurs 8 October 2009 A day for King’s engineers across the UK and the world to celebrate and reunite by organising their own special event. If you’d like to organise an event to mark the day, email info@kclea.org.
Details of forthcoming events are regularly updated at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk reunion for former residents who passed through its portals in the 1950s, at the 2010 alumni Weekend. Please contact Keith Newton (Civil Engineering, 1958), Mike Williams or Philip mitchell (mechanical Engineering, 1959) through the Alumni Office if you would be interested in attending. King’s Engineers’ Lunch
11-13 June 2010 an annual reunion lunch for all engineering alumni as part of alumni Weekend 2010. Please email kcleamail@gmail.com if you would like to attend.
Halliday Hall Reunion
Halliday Hall, alas no longer in existence, was the term-time home for many King’s students. It is intended to hold a 30
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autumn 2009
april 2009 brought a Revision Day for final-year medical students, taught by medical School alumni. Run jointly by KCLA and the Guy’s, King’s & St Thomas’ Medical Society, the event was supported by the alumni Office with a grant from the Medical Protection Society. Over 100 students attended lectures and break-out sessions in New Hunt’s House Lecture theatre One and four tutorial rooms. The proceedings finished with a reception and prize-draw in the Spit,
the ground-floor common room area named after a tuberculosis ward. Planning was done by Dr andrew Papanikitas (Medical Ethics & Law, 2002) and Sam Gillett, a fourth-year medical student and Vice-President of GKT MedSoc. The alumni included: Dr arpan Banerjee (Medicine, 1983); Joseph Papanikitas (Medicine, 2005); Dr Lauren-Grace Kirtley (Psychology & Basic medical Sciences, 2001); and Joel newman (medicine, 2001). Dr nawal Bahal (molecular medicine & Basic medical Sciences, 1999), who lectured on emergency medicine and critical care, admitted: ‘I’d happily do this again in a heartbeat.’
QEC The Queen Elizabeth (Kensington) Branch Annual Reunion
Sat 3 October 2009, River Room, Strand Campus Please contact John Brockhouse (Food Science, 1978) at john.brockhouse@btinternet.com or call +44 (0)1252 333977. RDH Royal Dental Hospital Alumni Association Lunch
Sat 17 October 2009, Hampshire Hotel, Leicester Square WC2H 7LH Bookings by 25 September to pfdrymouth@aol.com or call +44 (0)20 8693 4001 for more. Royal Dental Hospital 1979 Graduates
Sat 5 December 2009, venue tbc Bruce Skinner (Dentistry, 1979) is organising a 30-year reunion. Email brskinner@hotmail.co.uk or call +44 (0)1534 853665.
10 Year Pharmacy Reunion
It will be a decade this June since we all left King’s Pharmacy Department at manresa Road in Chelsea, and it would be great if we could arrange a reunion for 14 November 2009. We are aiming to organise a party to catch up and meet each other’s significant others. Please contact anil mangla (Pharmacy, 1999) at amangla.mba 2007@london. edu, or Myrto Lee, née Xyloyiannis (Pharmacy, 1999), at myrtox@ ntlworld.com for more information.
Spit and polish, medical style
Royal Dental Hospital Class of 1984 Reunion
Sat 17 April 2010, Goodwood Hotel, Chichester, West Sussex For alumni who started in October 1980 and graduated in December 1984. Further details from Bill Barrett at andrewbarrett761@btinternet.com or bill.barrett@qvh.nhs.uk. KCHDS Dental, 1984 Graduates
October 2009 Dr Whalley is organising a reunion to commemorate 25 years since graduation. Email DraJWalley@ aol.com for further information.
Happy to be here: our top-notch team of alumni take a break from teaching medical revision
A family affair Here’s Dr Surendra C Paul (King’s College Hospital medical School, 1972-74) with his daughter Miss anushka Paul (a current student) and the autobiography of his late father, Dr Arthur Terence S Paul (King’s College Hospital Medical School, 1948-50). Surendra presented it to King’s to mark his family’s association with the College for nearly 100 years. Dr atS Paul was one of Sri Lanka’s top cardiothoracic surgeons. His book My Trek to the Heart was published in 2004. Dr Paul with his daughter and his late father’s book
King’s at the business end The second annual King’s College London Graduate Business Plan Competition saw alumni act as Business mentors for current students as part of a new Lion’s Den scheme – and you could say it was a roaring success. Teams of staff and students pitched their ideas, for a total of £10,000 in prizes, to a panel of entrepreneurs. mentors included: Obi abuchi (mEng manufacturing Systems Engineering with management, anagement, 2002); Christopher Pike (ma War Studies, 2003); David Prager (Chemistry, 1974); and Sanjay Singhvi (Medicine & Surgery, 1994). now this initiative is seeking more alumni volunteers to act as mentors for 2009-10 – especially those from the pharmaceutical, financial or law sectors. Please contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk for more details about the event.
Alumni groups
For the latest information about all of our alumni groups go to www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk
The KCLA chairman
Alumni groups in the UK
Andy Parrish (Chemistry, 1966) In my first six months we’ve constructed an ambitious development programme with our hard-working Alumni Office. This year KCLA has been a major sponsor of the Union’s Centenary Dinner, the Alumni Weekend, the Dental alumni Dinner and the Engineers’ Association newsletter. I have been greatly struck by the diversity and talent of King’s alumni. there are exciting times ahead! news has broken that as part of a wholesale restructuring of the School of Physical Sciences & Engineering, the teaching of Engineering as an undergraduate subject will cease from 2012. the closure of what is believed to be the world’s oldest Engineering Department is, as the Principal has said, saddening. the decision stems from its relatively poor research performance over a number of years whose origins lie in decisions taken, or not taken, many years ago. Similar arguments surrounded the closure of Chemistry. In the current difficult context, KCLA cannot sensibly oppose this reorganisation. Having consulted at length with KCLEA, the Engineering alumni association, we believe our priorities must be firstly to ensure that the needs of the many stakeholders (students, staff, alumni) are attended to and protected, and secondly to agree a programme of action with the College to underpin the future growth of the remaining science departments, especially Physics, where King’s has a truly world-class heritage.
Subject Groups Bar Society
Bahar Ala-Eddini (Law, 2007) alumni@kclbarsociety.co.uk www.kclbarsociety.co.uk King’s College Construction Law Association (KCCLA)
Joe Bellhouse (Construction Law, 1996) jbellhouse@wedlakebell.com www.kccla.org.uk And you should see them when they get into costume… The KATS team are looking for new members
The KATS whiskers Were you in the Greek Play? the German Society Play? a member of King’s Players? Want to continue treading the boards when you’ve put your textbooks away? Regardless of your past involvements or present occupation, King’s Alumni Theatre Society (KATS) is for alumni with a love of theatre who want to meet socially and continue their thespian ambitions as well as retaining their association with King’s. Earlier in 2009, KATS celebrated the alumni Weekend with a unique performance of Leonce &Woyzeck at the Greenwood theatre. although the group includes former King’s Players, any former student of King’s (or merged colleges) is welcomed whether or not they were part of the
theatre Society at college. Formed in 2003, KATS aims to stage at least one production each year with other smaller-scale readings supplementing this. It has produced a number of very successful plays over the last six years including The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Princess Ivona. As King’s graduates are busy people, KATS rehearsals are scheduled to avoid clashing with work or other commitments that its members may have. ‘We aim to cater for artisticallyminded alumni who live in and around London, regardless of the subject of their studies or the date of their graduation,’ says KATS President Konstantinos Mantzakos (German & Modern Greek, 2001). KATS is actively seeking new members, alumni who enjoy acting and literature and are interested in production. To find out more about the society, please email kosmantzakos@hotmail.com or go to www.kats.swiit.net.
King’s College London Association Leadership and Elections King’s College London Association (KCLA) is the alumni association for all former students, staff and friends of King’s and the Colleges with which it has merged. all alumni are welcome to participate in KCLA’s work by attending meetings and voting in elections. KCLA will hold its Annual General meeting and elections on Friday 6 November 2009. Please contact the Alumni Office to register to vote online before 16 October 2009 if you are unable to attend the aGm to cast your vote.
The following positions are open for election at this AGM:
Chairman
Secretary Five elected members
Treasurer
andrew Parrish (Chemistry, 1966) Deepesh upadhyay (Law, 2003) Social Secretary
The following elected members will continue to serve on the Council:
Joanna Williams (Geography Arts, 2006)
Patron
Elected members
Archbishop Desmond Tutu FKC (Theology, 1965)
John Woodley (Chemistry, 1981) tom abounader (War Studies, 2007) nick Goulding (Physics, 1968) If you would like to stand for a position on the KCLA council or would like to nominate someone you know, please contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk for a nomination form.
Past President
Sir Ian Gainsford (KCSMD, Dentistry, 1950) President
Dame Jinty nelson (former staff, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History)
Dental Alumni Association
Warren Birnbaum (Dentistry, 1971) warren.birnbaum@kcl.ac.uk King’s College London Engineering Association (KCLEA)
Graham Raven (Civil Engineering, 1963) g.raven@sky.com Geography: The Joint School Society
Jo Crocker (Geography, 1956) alumoff@kcl.ac.uk Law Alumni Group
Robin Healey (Law, 1968) robin.healey@blueyonder.co.uk Theology & Religious Studies
Revd Giles Legood (Theology, 1988) giles.legood@hotmail.co.uk War Studies
Charlotte Bickerstaff (War Studies, 2007) c.a.bickerstaff@gmail.com Other Groups Student & Alumni Boat Club
Rachel Fellows enquiries@theboatclub.org.uk Former Staff
Dr Barrie Morgan (Geography Dept) alumoff@kcl.ac.uk Queen Elizabeth College Association
John Brockhouse (Food Science, 1978) john.brockhouse@btinternet.com www.qeca.org.uk autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Alumni groups 11
15
18 28 27
36
26 30
13
10
21
12 29
32
35 33
31
14
17
16
23 22
20
40
7
19
34
37 24
9 1
41 8
2 4
38
5
25
3
39
6 42
Over 20 per cent of King’s alumni live outside of the UK. The following is a list of our overseas alumni branches. To get involved please contact the branch leader.
Alumni groups International
8. Pakistan
15. Germany: Berlin
23. Lebanon and Syria
Arshad Tayebaly changi@cyber.net.pk
Marc Jarzebowski jarzebowski@taxodium.eu
Raif N Shwayri raif@al-kafaat.org
Africa
Caribbean
16. Greece
24. Qatar
1. Egypt
9. Grand Cayman
Paris Vallides, President kclagr@gmail.com
Raghavan Gopakumar rngopakumar@rasgas.com.qa
Professor Ibrahim El-Hakim imelhakim@hotmail.com
Christina Rowlandson christina.rowlandson@gov.ky
17. Italy
25. Saudi Arabia
2. Ghana
Europe
Maria Chiara Russo kingscollege.milan@gmail.com
Haytham Tayeb drhtayeb@gmail.com
The Hon David Larbie davidlarbie@yahoo.co.uk
10. Belgium 18. Netherlands
North America
Louise Rowntree or David Haex lrowntree@yahoo.com, david.haex@linklaters.com
3. Kenya
Professor David M Ndetei dmndetei@uonbi.ac.ke
Professor Simeon Ajose mide.ajose@lasunigeria.org
5. Bangladesh
Malik Bari malik.bari@gmail.com
Sonal K Singh sonal.kr.singh@gmail.com
Dr Abdolreza Norouzy norouzy@gmail.com IN TOUCH
14. Germany: Munich
Henry Selby-Lowndes
7. Iran
AUTUMN 2009
Charles R Maier, President charles@ maier.ca
Ana Sofia Batista anasofia.batista@abreuadvogados.com
27. USA: Boston
Alumni Office alumoff@kcl.ac.uk
20. Spain
Bruno Gonzalez Vellon brunogonzalezvellon@hotmail.com
28. USA: Chicago
Mark Atkinson m.atkinson1@gmail.com
21. Switzerland 13. Germany: Bonn
Juergen Waldhaus juergen.waldhaus@zivit.de
6. India
26. Canada
19. Portugal
12. France
Charlotte Butruille and Jean-Luc Larribau butruille-cardew@hohl-avocats.com jean-luc.larribau@freshfields.com
Asia
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11. Denmark (Law alumni)
Christina Type Jardorf christina.type.jardorf@accura.dk
4. Nigeria
Huib Berendschot or Tony Hall hberendschot@akd.nl, tony.hall@psr-group.com
Patrick Bade info@patrickbade.com Middle East
29. USA: New York
Renee Hoehn or Neal Profitt renee_hoehn@yahoo.com, snprofitt@earthlink.net
22. Kuwait
30. USA: Pacific Northwest
Michael Dalton mdalton10@gmail.com
Shabbir Bashar shabbir_bashar@yahoo.com
For event queries please call +44 (0)20 7848 3053 or email alumoff@kcl.ac.uk
Lauren Remick Martone lrm196@gmail.com 32. USA: San Francisco
Peter Otridge peter@otridge.com 33. USA: Southern California
Deborah Garvin (Law, 1990) dkgarvin@cox.net, www.kclsocal.com 34. USA: Southern Tri-state
King’s around the world A memorable occasion in Athens and a capital event in the United States, plus a Hong Kong visit and lots of Duel Day celebrations
Liz Manugian or Jamey Howdeshell emanugian@mac.com, jamey2@mac.com
What a relief: Principal Rick Trainor accepts a sculptural gift from the Greek alumni branch
GREEK BRANCH LAUNCH Over 200 people gathered at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Athens for the official launch of the King’s Alumni Branch in may 2009. a beautiful spring evening meant that the reception could be held in the courtyard garden and guests viewed a photography exhibition of King’s College and London. Professor Richard Trainor, King’s Principal, gave guests an update, and Paris Vallides introduced the new alumni branch committee. a speech from Spyros taliadouros, Deputy minister of national Education and an alumnus of King’s (European Law, MA, 1961), highlighted his great pleasure in seeing King’s alumni in Greece ‘finally finding their own voice and declaring their sense of community.’ Alumni of King’s in Greece now totals almost 1,500.
35. USA: Washington DC
Angela Crowdy ACrowdy@oas.org 36. USA: Friends of KCLA USA
Brigid Brown brigidb@rci.rutgers.edu Far East 37. China
Scott Willis scottzbj@gmail.com 38. Hong Kong
Chin Yu Liu, Chairman cy93273272@yahoo.com.hk
SPECIAL DAY IN THE USA In april, the Washington DC alumni branch was proud to host an event in partnership with the Institute of Strategic Studies at the aspen Institute. Guest speaker adam Boulton, Sky news Political Editor and a member of the College Council, talked about President Barack Obama’s first 100 days in office. There was a Q&A session with lots of subjects covered from foreign policy to the economy, that was only interrupted as adam had to attend Obama’s press conference to coincide with the 100th day, followed by drinks and a chance for alumni to mingle.
39. Indonesia
Gerald Ariff gwariff@gmail.com 40. Japan
Eiichi Kawata ekawata1@yahoo.co.jp 41. Malaysia
Philip Koh kclamb.2007@gmail.com 42. Singapore
PRINCIPAL VISITS HONG KONG
Francis Kwong kclass@pinghealthcare.com
King’s Principal, Professor Rick Trainor, visited Hong Kong in February, meeting local alumni and appearing as guest of honour at a drinks reception at the american Club hosted by the King’s College London Alumni
Rugby players mark Duel Day in the snow
Association Hong Kong Branch. There are over 1,000 King’s alumni based in Hong Kong. Planned for late 2009: Golf Day, mission Hills (november); annual Dinner, Hong Kong Football Club (December).
INDIA ALUMNI EVENT alumni in India are arranging an informal get-together at the home of branch coordinator Sonal Kumar Singh (Law, 2007) in New Delhi on Saturday 28 November 2009 (from 18.00). Please confirm your presence with mr Singh by emailing sonal.kr.singh@gmail.com.
DUEL DAY GOES GLOBAL Duel Day marks the anniversary of a famous duel which took place on 26 March 1829 between the then Prime minister, the Duke of Wellington, and the Earl of Winchilsea over the founding of the College. and in 2009 we celebrated our 180th anniversary. In Berlin, Marc Jarzebowski (King’s, Theology, 1995) organised a dinner, and there was another gathering for members of our Southern California branch at the home of Deborah Garvin (King’s, Law, 1990). The Friends of King’s College London association in Canada celebrated with a luncheon at the Army Officers mess in Ottawa. meanwhile malaysia and Singapore held a joint event, and Ben Philip, matt Hope and neil Gill (all former members of the King’s Rugby Club) dressed in King’s colours and raised a toast to the College in a glorious alpine setting.
CHINA ALUMNI GATHERING In China there is an informal alumni Social Gathering on Wednesday 14 October at the Beijing All Star Bar & Grill. Email scottzbj@gmail.com
autumn 2009 In tOuCH
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
31. USA: Philadelphia
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Alumni Weekend 2009
Time of our lives The Sixth Annual Alumni Weekend came, saw and most definitely conquered…
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‘Looking at the people sitting either side of me in the literary lecture,’ said Toby Boon (King’s, English, 2003), ‘I realised that 10 years after our first day at King’s we still remain a strong friendship group. It was lovely to be back together…’ It was a sentiment which summed up the occasion. June 2009 was the time, King’s College London was the place (along with several great venues across the capital) and alumni Weekend was most definitely the event. Over 500 alumni and guests attended, and the highlight was the Alumni Literary Festival, a showcase for King’s alumni authors, screenwriters and critics which opened with a discussion on how biographies have developed over the years. there were panel discussions on
authors’ influences and inspirations, and a lecture by ann thompson on Shakespeare’s London. among the alumni authors who took part were Maureen Duffy (King’s, English, 1956), a poet, playwright and novelist, and michael morpurgo OBE (King’s, French & English 1967), an award-winning children’s author who has written over 100 books. Joining them were Marina Lewycka, who began her PhD at King’s and wrote the best-selling A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, and Janice Hadlow (King’s, History, 1978), Controller of BBC2 and currently writing a book about George III and his family. Alumni Weekend offered a wide variety of other events including an alumni lunch hosted by the Principal
with special mention of the class of 1959 who celebrated their 50th year since graduation, plus lectures on women’s roles in combat zones, traditional Chinese medicine and cosmic ray detectors. the weekend was supported by the KCLA and featured several projects which benefitted from the Annual Fund. One such funded project was the exhibition Student Days which displayed a range of memorabilia from Queen Elizabeth and Chelsea Colleges and drew particular praise from alumni. michael Harvey (Chelsea College, Pharmacy, 1959) commented: ‘Absolutely brilliant… The archives team have done a wonderful job of preservation, otherwise Chelsea College wouldn’t be recognised.’ David
Got some feedback or suggestions for Alumni Weekend? We’re ready and waiting to hear…
Alumni Weekend is a chance for old friends and colleagues to meet up, roll back the years and share memories
Slight (Chelsea College, microbiology, 1983) added: ‘The archives exhibition was a fantastic idea and something that has been missing for a long time. It’s really good that alumni helped to restore the archives. Well done.’ there was also a wonderful concert performed by the King’s College London Symphony Orchestra and a tour of historical London landmarks including Dr Johnson’s House just off Fleet Street, where the celebrated writer compiled A Dictionary of the English Language. megan Bruns, Head of alumni Relations, said: ‘Alumni travelled from all over the world to be here and represented over 30 subjects from the classes of 1946 to 2009, and everything in between. We were absolutely thrilled
to welcome so many former students and staff for this hallmark event.’ alumni Weekend 2009 was a resounding success, with lots of former students attending for the first time to revisit old haunts, catch up with old friends and explore new developments. It was perhaps best summed up by a comment from Christine Chadwick (King’s, French, 1962): ‘Most enjoyable – hope to be back next year.’ For more feedback about the weekend, visit www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk. Make a date for next year
Alumni Weekend 11-13 June 2010. Calling all ‘class of 1960s’. Interested in organising a 50th reunion for your subject group? Contact the Alumni Office at alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 3053 for more information.
Where your gifts go King’s alumni can make donations to a number of specific funds at the College. You can use the reply form accompanying In Touch magazine to do this, or you can give online at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk. Here’s a breakdown of some of the beneficiaries: The Principal’s Discretionary Fund
Providing support where the need is greatest. The King’s Annual Fund
Supporting academic facilities, student welfare and activities, and student scholarships.
The GKT Annual Fund
Supporting clinical facilities, student welfare and activities, and student scholarships in our School of medicine and Dental Institute. The Special Collections Conservation Fund
Supporting the conservation and acquisition of rare books. The Buy-a-Book Fund
Ensuring that students have access to the best academic texts. African Leadership Centre
to help train the african leaders of tomorrow, today.
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Alumni Online: www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk Come and join us Friends and colleagues. Memories and reunions. It’s your community and your website
‘I’m a founding member of the alumni drama group KATS’ Grant Hibberd (War Studies, 2000; Performance Studies, 2003)
For the alumni of King’s and the Colleges with which it has merged, In Touch magazine is just part of the service that we provide. There’s more action online. alumni Online, to be exact, at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk. Launched in March 2008, it’s here that you can really feel part of – and take part in – the King’s alumni community. Easy to use, informative and entertaining, it’s full of special offers and deals.
visitors) can use. There’s the latest alumni news and some extended features that we couldn’t quite squeeze into In Touch magazine. Like, for example, King’s College London alumnus and artisan cheese entrepreneur Randolph Hodgson (QEC, Food Science & Chemistry, 1979) talking frankly about the dairy business and what drives him to succeed. It’s fascinating stuff and well worth a visit.
The basics for beginners
Who, what, where, when
First up, let’s run through the features that anyone (that is, unregistered
Then there’s our comprehensive round-up of recent events, gatherings
‘Alumni Online is so useful now I’m on another continent’
Dianna Melrose (Spanish & French, 1973)
and reunions, profiles of the many and varied alumni groups in the UK and overseas that can be joined, and a growing archive of old class photographs going back to the 1940s. Videos and podcasts
Our online videos and podcasts mean that you can download the latest lectures and watch all sorts of College-related events, as well as compelling excerpts from recently published books from King’s alumni and staff. Not forgetting the links to our very own King’s College London groups on Facebook and Linked In.
‘We have an Old Students’ Day every year which I always attend’ Joginder Dhillon (Medicine, 1971)
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For more information about events just go to www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk/events Update your personal profile
Lots of special benefits and services
Once you’ve registered with the website (a simple process) you can enjoy the real benefits of Alumni Online. Among the many highlights, you can update your own personal profile, so you can tell friends and colleagues about your career and further education, and reconnect with class mates through the alumni directory.
There’s a great range of exclusive discounts and offers. As alumni, you can continue to enjoy a wide range of benefits and services on the King’s campuses, ranging from events and library facilities (including the Maughan Library on Chancery Lane), to gym membership and discounted language courses (from mandarin to Hebrew) and College-based accommodation.
Your own King’s email address
Feel like you are back at College with your own College email address. all mail gets forwarded onto your private email account. Visit www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk/ emailforwarding.
‘If I lose track of someone I can use Alumni Online to find them again’ Sheila Gordon (Environment & Development, 2008)
Track down familiar faces
Find your old friends on our alumni Directory to network, catch up and
share memories and photographs. If you’ve already registered and want to find former colleagues, you just need to un-tick your privacy settings – no strings – so people can view your key details (like your subject or year of graduation, for instance) to be able to contact you. So, remember to un-tick. Important, that bit. Book online for events Daunted by arranging a get-together? addled by the thought of choosing venues, menus, activities, prices, dates etc? Find out how to organise a reunion with our complete step-by-step guide.
‘Our 69 Club of dental alumni has met up every year since graduation’
Clive Debenham (Guy’s, Dentistry, 1969)
Receive careers advice
a timely new service for alumni looking for new or different vocations and employment. networking with old colleagues won’t hurt, either. Choose your mailing preferences
In other words, tell us exactly which publications (printed and e-newsletters) you want to receive, again bringing you bang up-to-date with the latest alumni and College news. Sounds good? We think so. alumni Online. Simple to use and packed with great stuff. Just go to www.alumni.kcl. ac.uk to see for yourself.
‘I love having my College email address back; it makes me feel more connected to King’s’ Aysha Awan (English, 1999)
Class notes While we make every effort to verify the information here, which is selected and edited for space, we cannot guarantee its accuracy. If you have concerns over any content, please contact the Alumni Office. And remember, you can also update your personal records at Alumni Online. Visit www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk.
Philip Tucker
Brian Valentine
Roderick Bowering
Dentistry, 1950. During my 40-year stretch as a ‘fang-farrier’ I was sometimes asked what made me become a dentist? I’m still wondering!
Medicine, 1966. Retired, but still never enough time to deal with everything!
Medicine, 1974. From 1 July 1976 to the present day, full-time GP.
Warwick Onyeama
Patricia Ashton (née White)
Medicine, 1967. now training as a mediator at the academy of Experts.
Medicine, 1976. married to solicitor andrew, two children: Richard, about to complete theology degree, Dublin; Catherine, natural sciences at Durham.
Nina Shotts
Chelsea College
Dentistry, 1952. It’s now 14 years since I retired, and I’m still rowing.
David Plummer
Andrew Stringer
Chemistry, 1957. Still enjoying retirement and busy as a Reader in the anglican Church. also helping at Crofton Roman Villa in Orpington.
Medicine, 1952. Specialist in selfhypnosis, nutrition and homeopathy. author of The Diet Delusion. Victor Barker
Ivor Deitsch
Pharmacy, 1964. no longer working in retail pharmacy but still wholesale and export of pharmaceutical products. Gary O’Farrell
Physics & Mathematics, 1978. Fourteen years at Plessey/GEC, infrared sensor/ imager development, towcester. Eimear Muir-Cochrane
Nursing Studies, 1983. now a professor of nursing (mental Health) at Flinders university, adelaide. One daughter and three dogs. In touch with Elise Davies. Andrew Cooper
Human Biology, 1985. Deputy director in Human Resources at the Department of Health. Living in Battersea with three lovely children.
Guy’s
Medicine, 1954. author of Posture Makes Perfect (The Missing Link in Health & Fitness). Founder member of world’s first jogging club in Auckland, New Zealand, 1962. Weight-lifting from 1938 till today. Robin Moffat
Medicine, 1954. President, medicoLegal Society, 2008-10. Senior forensic medical examiner, South London. John Mathews
Medicine, 1957. Handed over the musicians Clinic, Rheumatology (St Thomas’) to a successor in June 2006. I currently play in the European Doctors’ Orchestra.
Elizabeth Tippett-Pope
Dentistry, 1969. Same office for 32 years, now winding down to retirement. Robin Carmichael & Deborah Carmichael (née Stephenson)
Medicine, 1970. We returned from Tanzania in 2005 and are happily ‘employed’ in writing (Robin), painting (Debbie), and churchwork. Being grandparents adds to the fun.
Medicine, 1971. Retired in 2007, now work for local Primary Care trust. John Cowling
Dentistry, 1971. Gained certificate in Endodontics in 2008 and teach on the Simply Endo course, Liverpool. Getting younger every day! Jane Goodman
Dentistry, 1971. Retired after 34 years at the Eastman Dental Hospital. John Rawlinson
Medicine, 1959. Working in Oxfam Bookshop in St Giles Oxford, throwing pots at a communal pottery in our village, and starting a new allotment.
Medicine, 1971. Retired as full-time GP, still a priest in Kimbolton and chaplain of Churchill College Cambridge. Lesley Hinson (née Stokes)
Kenneth Robertson
Medicine, 1947. Senior Registrar, Guy’s. Obstetrician, Queen Charlotte’s. Consultant, university College Hospital. Retired. Hobby, sailing.
Dentistry, 1960. moved into farming in 1981, now passed on to a son so I can devote my time to bronze sculpture (see www.kennethrobertson.co.uk).
Anthony Worssam
Richard Sudworth
Medicine, 1948. after retirement, moved to Exmoor where I enjoy wild country, gardening, hunting and fishing!
Dentistry, 1964. Since retiring, work as a magistrate and on local projects.
Nursing Studies, 1972. As an ex-Guy’s nurse I understand the merger, but Guy’s must have its own stories. Like to contact others in the South Pacific. Anton ‘Mike’ Light
Frederick Chate Michael Mason
Medicine, 1950. Vice-President, Rowcroft Hospice. Live now with views of beautiful Torbay. Knocking on 83 but still enjoy 10-plus miles twice a week on lovely Dartmoor. 38
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Dentistry, 1965. Refurbishing cottage still ongoing. Rabbits being kept out, bracken just about under control, moles rampant, squirrels a nuisance, now it’s muntjak deer getting in! any spare time silversmithing and antique restoration.
Medicine, 1978. Recently appointed Commanding Officer of the Battlefield Advanced Trauma Life Support training team in the rank of Colonel. Martin Crawley
Dentistry, 1980. Working in Cornwall after 15 years in Newfoundland, South australia Outback and new Zealand.
David Bellamy
Anthony Abrahams
Joseph Holmes
Winston De Mello
Medicine, 1972. Mike and Loretta Light (née Salter) are both happily retired from the NHS. Living in Staffordshire and learning new languages. always delighted to hear from old friends. Kenneth J Cottingham
Dentistry, 1973. Have three grandsons aged one to six. Still a GP in Grimsby. active retirement looms.
Elizabeth Walter
Medicine, 1982. Live in St Albans with husband Neil and five-year-old daughter millie. Part-time GP, trying to achieve the elusive work/life balance! Patricia Hancock (née North)
Dentistry, 1982. married a doctor from Hong Kong and have been a practising dentist in the Far East ever since. now working in expat practice in Singapore. Raj Kumar
Dentistry, 1989. Own private practices in London and Birmingham, pioneering the use of removable orthodontics. Suzanne Matthews (née Ward)
Medicine, 1989. Consultant Chest Radiologist in Sheffield. Married to a geologist, Steve. two great kids, Jade (7) and Joe (5). My squash-playing days are over, gardening instead.
Institute of Psychiatry Michael Fitzgerald
Psychiatry, 1976. Recently lectured at the Royal Society and British academy. Books include: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Creativity, Novelty Seeking a Risk; Genius Genes ; Genesis Artistic Creativity; and Asperger’s Syndrome: Gift or Curse?
You can view lots of fabulous old class photographs at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk
KCHSS
On assignment in a troubled land
Elizabeth Hirst Brown (née Hirst)
Greg Funnell
Household & Social Sciences, 1949. Growing old graciously and impecuniously! Happy memories.
Greg (King’s, History & War Studies, 2006) is a photographer whose work has appeared in Time Out London and newspapers like The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Guardian. after graduating, he spent time in Israel and the West Bank on a photojournalism project, just as war had broken out in the area. ‘As a modern historian, I was interested in experiencing an ongoing conflict,’ says the 24-year-old. ‘I wanted to speak to the people and get a different perspective on what you normally hear.’ Greg documented his experiences, including coming under fire during a demonstration. ‘You can find yourself questioning the morality of photojournalism. But it’s like being a professional witness, so that people who can’t or don’t want to go there can’t ignore what’s happening.’ the journey has led to further projects: Greg’s experiences in a war zone led him to contribute to a television documentary on the life and
KCSMD Emrys ‘Maelor’ Thomas
Medicine, 1957. Orthopaedic surgeon, King’s College Hospital, retired 1997. Living as a refugee in Tenterden to escape Ken Livingstone’s regime. Michael Clark
Medicine, 1958. Best-selling medical textbook Clinical Medicine edited by Parveen Kumar and Michael Clark, 7th Edition published May 2009. Christopher ‘Guy’ Leach
Medicine, 1966. After 42 years I visited Dr Piliszek (King’s and King’s College Hospital 1958-63), am now in practice in Houston. I retired from obstetrics and gynaecology in 2001. Stella Gilpin
Dentistry, 1967. a husband and four children kept me busy for 13 years then I re-trained but decided on a career in counselling in a school and supporting adults with learning difficulties. Lucy Ward (née Dawson)
Medicine, 1967. Married 1968 to Dr michael Ward. migrated to australia 1977. First art exhibition 2008. Michael Ward
Medicine,1967. Married 1968 to Dr Lucy Dawson. Two children and one granddaughter. Director of medicine, Royal Brisbane Hospital. and Head of Central medical School. Roy Burrows
Dentistry, 1968. Semi-retired, working at Portsmouth university. next year the school will have an outreach facility for King’s undergraduate dentists. Nicholas Pairaudeau
Medicine, 1970. Still in practice in toronto in obstetrics and gynaecology. my website is www.drpairaudeau.com.
Medicine, 1952. General Practice, then Post-Occupational Health medical advisory Service, Whitehall.
Greg’s work has taken him to the West Bank
work of Vietnam War photographer Cathy Leroy. He views photography as ‘a passport into other areas’. ‘It gives you a sense of shared humanity, an appreciation of the differences between nationalities but more importantly, the similarities. We all experience the same emotions. Conflicts come out of perceived difference, but so much of that is not real. If we realised that we all have the same fears and dreams, the world would be a friendlier place.’
Margaret Goldsmith (née Pruden)
Dentistry, 1972. First non-anaesthetist fellow of the Faculty of Pain medicine of the Royal College of anaesthetists.
English, 1942. now widowed and no longer able to travel or drive, I’d like to hear from former college friends. two books and several papers on medieval English literature have been published.
Dentistry, 1993. married, have a daughter, ananya, truly scrumptious! Developing my own practice.
King’s College London Basil Thompson
Geography, 1939. So far as I know of my contemporaries: mrs margaret Stringer née Smith, died 2008; Mrs margaret Sanderson née Jameson and Mrs Margaret Kingston née Ellis, speak to them weekly; mrs Phyllis Dale née Ward, speak to her occasionally. to sum up my career to date: 1940-46 Royal Air Force; 1946-50 Royal Observatory, Hong Kong; 1950-66 Colonial Insecticide Research and Meteorologist, East Africa; 1966-83 Professor at Brock university, Ontario, Canada; 1983-85 Climatic Research for US government; 1985-90 retired in Canada; 1990-present retired in UK.
Medicine, 1950. Having mentioned my war memoirs (Last Boat from Bordeaux) in previous issue, a King’s classmate got in touch after 60 years! I’m now finishing writing my second book, McLeans Hospital: A Personal Memoir, a record of my 55 years at that hospital. Iris Krass
Joanna Zakrzewska (née Ledochowska)
Sanjay Gautam
Francis de Marneffe
Maurice Kenn
Mechanical Engineering, 1947. Enjoying Brisbane and its environs, including views of extinct volcanoes. Jean Smith (née Clayton)
English, 1948. Octogenarian mother and grandmother. member of the third Order of the Society of St Francis. Frank Hulford
Geography, 1949. Second granddaughter born January 2008. Basil Walby
Mathematics & Chemistry, 1949. King’s has broadened its image and become more elegant since my undergraduate days when we took our pleasures simply in the hope of post-war salvation. We survived and can now be proud of the current status of King’s and its staff and student body.
Julian Smith
Latin, 1952. mary Smith (née Rice) and Julian Smith (Latin and Greek, 1952-53) celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in august. We are still talking to each other! John Tibbs
Theology, 1953. Swaziland Schools Project was launched last august. Stephen Davies
Theology, 1954. King’s has opened many a door for me and even the occasional ‘magic casement’. I continue to support the historical and dramatic societies and particularly those for young people. Why does the mailbag King’s scarf have only one red stripe?! Jeremy Joel
Civil Engineering, 1954. Still involved in the training in civil engineering. Margaret Symonds (née Tribe)
Geography, 1954. Some of the geographers from 1951-54 met in Soho for lunch on 26 March and discussed future reunions. John Wilcox
Theology, 1955. the Deanery of Guisborough, bordering on the huge industry around the estuary of the river Tees, has 15 clergy. For many years at least three of these were students at King’s. Now it has three King’s students living in the Deanery in retirement and helping out where needed. this is a very high proportion of students from one theological college in one Deanery, and I guess it has some connection with the time when Eric abbott was Dean because he often said, ‘Go north, young man’ to students wondering where to serve their curacy. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Class notes Harry ‘Tony’ Loffill
French, 1957. Would be delighted to meet up with old friends at Scarborough or Headingley on cricketing days. James Garraway
Chemistry, 1958. nothing of interest, but very busy! Robert Hawken
Electrical Engineering, 1958. Retired in September 2001 after over 38 years on the staff at King’s. Sincere thanks to Keith Newton for organising the 50th reunion in June 2008. Peter Hunt
Theology, 1958. Would love to hear from any King’s theologians. Great days with Eric abbott and Sidney Evans! John Muir
Education, 1958. Published Life and Letters in the Ancient Greek World (Routledge, London, 2008).
Proud dad Rob’s special gift to King’s Robert Hall
After flirting with student politics, Robert (King’s, Law, 1995) is now a self-employed Barrister at 1 King’s Bench Walk, Temple, London. He prosecutes and defends, mostly in the Crown Court and mostly in his wig and gown. ‘Despite the long days, I love my job. When choosing an area of law, I was struck by the human interest in the criminal law, where you meet all sorts of people and no two days are ever the same. there is always excitement, most notably ‘the jury’s verdict’, especially in my murder cases. I was on ITN’s News at Ten. mum was very proud! My degree from King’s and all the experiences that came with it were great preparation for the job.’ He has fond memories of his time at King’s, ‘the many great nights working in the Waterfront and Tutu’s and my election as Student union President, culminating in meeting archbishop Desmond Tutu himself.’ Outside work, he has just become a father for the first time. ‘Joanne and
Michael Williams
Physics, 1958. Emeritus Professor of nuclear Engineering, university of London, elected as a foreign member of the Royal Society of arts & Sciences in Goteborg, Sweden.
History 1961. Just moved at 70, back to join old friends, colleagues and pupils of Bedford High School, from which I retired as Headmistress in 1994. Colin Bennett
Engineering, 1962. I’m eager to hear from my fellow students. Jane Willems (née Dalton)
Robert and Joanne with baby James
I had a little boy, James, on 8 March 2009. that, along with marrying Joanne, ranks as my proudest moment. We had James at King’s College Hospital especially so that we could donate the blood from James’s umbilical cord to the King’s Cord Bank. Joanne’s father died of leukaemia and so we are keen to help in the research for a cure or treatment.’ For more on how you can donate to the King’s Cord Bank, go to the news archive at www.kch.nhs.uk.
Cheuk Shum
Law, 1958. Retired from the Hong Kong Judiciary in 1982, reverted to my private practice until 2007.
Diana Willis (née Otter)
French, 1963. With husband michel Willems (Civil Engineering, 1962), have been living in France for 30 years and have retired from our translation business in Loire Valley. Four children (two of whom are King’s graduates, Jeremy and melanie) and since Michel’s parents were also King’s graduates in the 20s, three generations of the family have been students at King’s – is this a record? Maybe one of our nine grandchildren will continue the tradition… Anthony Button
Classics, 1964. Church warden since April 2006, retired from teaching Classics after 40 years.
John Feather
Anthony Skottowe
Chemistry, 1960. technical translator and stage carpenter. Recently obtained certificate of Higher Education in Classical Studies (Cambridge).
Engineering, 1960. Concentrating on the Welwyn Garden Heritage trust which I founded. also group leader of the local Liberal Democrat group.
Ronald Norman
Ian Taylor
Engineering, 1960. my book Odd Man Out in the Alps, has been published by Stacey International.
Physics, 1960. Retired but after 30 years in a boys’ school, I am now teaching A-Level Physics in a girls’ school!
Philosophy, 1965. taught in a number of ‘new universities’ around London for 30 years, now retired. I have retained an interest in trade union Education.
June Overton (née Southcott)
Jane Bradshaw (née Matthews)
Fidelia Clark (née Kirkland-Laman)
Mathematics & Physics, 1960. At King’s I met a Laws freshman, alan Overton, in the College production of Pirates of Penzance. We got engaged at the Laws Faculty Ball in 1957 and were married at Collaton St mary Church, Paignton in 1959. I taught then ran a travel business, while alan joined ICI after national Service with the Royal marines. We have two children: Elizabeth who read Law at King’s before becoming a solicitor; and timothy who went up to university College to read medicine and is now a Consultant at Bristol. We are now enjoying retirement in the village of Slapton in South Devon but did manage to travel up to King’s for the 40th anniversary of our graduation and met several old friends.
Theology, 1961. taught Religious Education before working for national charities. Wrote textbook for secondary schools, Eight Major Religions in Britain. married with three daughters. Retired in 2000.
Theology, 1965. I am a member of the Sherborne u3a (university of the 3rd age) and enjoy learning about geology, physiotherapy, creative writing, local history, word processing.
John Cleaver
Theology, 1964. Retired, now a priest in St mary Willingdon, Eastbourne. Brendan Caffrey
Philip Mitchell
Mechanical Engineering, 1959. now retired from the media world, but still golfing, fishing and gardening. Wayne Thomas
Law, 1959. Retired as a senior partner of a practice in South Wales 10 years ago. Chairman of Department of Health & Social Security. John Cloudsley-Thompson
Zoology, 1960. Latest book Sharpshooter: Memories of Armoured Warfare 1939-45. married to anna. Gordon Donaldson
Mathematics & Physics, 1960. any 2010 event planned for 1960 graduates? 40
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Robert Clough Jennifer Given (née Jones)
French, 1961. Finally married Philip Given in 1990. I first married David Beames and we had two sons, andrew and William. now widowed (Philip died in 2002 after a very happy marriage) but very contented in Barnoldswick, Lancs. What became of John King, Brian Rogers, Robert Drew, Valerie Howard, Jill norman, Rosemary meredith, and John Stephenson?
Chemistry, 1965. Took a Master’s in Engineering and moved into general management. took early retirement in 1993 and then I worked as a consultant until 1997. Married in 1969, we have a son and daughter in their mid-30s and six grandchildren between them in south Wales and Yorkshire. They keep us fit and young at heart. I’m in touch with eight other alumni, we meet several times a year and visit a European city annually.
And remember you can register at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk to update your personal details A Willis
Mechanical Engineering, 1966. Emeritus Professor. Emigrated to australia, new South Wales university of technology. Michael Woods
Theology, 1966. Retired in april 2009 and hoping to live in Sarawak where I served with Voluntary Service Overseas prior to King’s. Simon Allen
Civil Engineering, 1967. David Downes (also Engineering 1967) passed through Cooma recently. We spent one evening trying to catch up on 40-plus years. David Snow
Chemistry, 1967. after a career with BP and Petroleos de Venezuela now retired. Support Watercress Line Steam Railway as a volunteer. John Caney
Spanish, 1968. Recently retired as a senior government linguist working principally with african languages. now live near Cheltenham and married with two daughters. David Hayes
Theology, 1968. After 37 years in anglican Parish ministry I retired in 2007. I now live in Warminster where I assist at the Parish Church. Roger Mason
Theology, 1968. Retired after 37 years in the parochial ministry of the Church of England. During 2007 I was seriously ill with cancer but was fully recovered by 2008 when I took up my post as House for Duty assistant Priest in rural Rutland. Married to Jean after 40 happy years and our four children are now settled in life, giving us three grandsons and two step-granddaughters.
Memoirs of a Nightingale Nurse Elizabeth Guest (née Browne)
Elizabeth (St Thomas’, 1941) was one of the last nightingale nurses to graduate from the nursing & midwifery School at St Thomas’ Hospital, which was founded in 1860 by Florence Nightingale as the first professional institute of its kind in the world. ‘Wearing our Nightingale caps was a great honour,’ recalls Elizabeth. ‘When we were training you had to take your cuffs off and roll up your sleeves to do any work, but you had to put them back on again if you wanted to talk to a senior nurse. We were never allowed to go out in our uniform. ‘We had teapots with our names on them. ightingale said Florence nightingale that trainee nurses should be able to make tea at any time. Cookery was part of our
Gordon MacLellan
Medicine, 1969. Brentwood Borough Councillor, President Brentwood and Ongar Conservative association.
English, 1969. after 11 years in South Africa and 24 years in Australia (Sydney being the best place to live in the world), am now retiring. Have purchased a yacht in Ibiza and will spend the European summers cruising the med (with my wife Janice and any friends who come to join us). Peter Matthews
Spanish, 1969. new book London’s Bridges (Shire Publications) tells the stories of all 33 thames bridges. John Goldhawk
Mathematics & Physics, 1969. Retired as a Clinical Director and Professor of medical Physics at the Newcastle hospitals in 2007. Now living in south-west France.
Geology, 1970. Returned to australia for exploration geology but now concentrating on dowsing and creative writing in Devon. John O’Donnell
History, 1969. Retired from the House of Commons in October 2008.
training, in case our patients wanted anything. The staff nurse on a ward had to produce a cake every week.’ In training during the Blitz, Elizabeth saw the first German planes arriving. ‘Part of the hospital was bombed so we had to move patients down into the basement. We were evacuated to various hospitals away from London. In the Blitz it was entirely down to luck whether you were bombed while you were on duty.’ Elizabeth qualified in 1941 and joined the R RaF as a nurse. ‘I remember the first Sunday, I went to chapel and saw a doctor there, but we were told that if you were seen out with a doctor you’d be posted at once. We were married in 1942.’ Elizabeth, proud Nightingale Nurse
Professor Emeritus) and now full-time as director of North America’s only coal miners choir, the men of the Deeps (www.menofthedeeps.com). Andrew Waterhouse
Alan Mason
Brian Diffey
Helen Irwin (née Taylor)
John ‘Jack’ Dodds
Music, 1970. Retired since 2000 (after teaching at St Francis xavier university for 38 years, after which I was made
Education, 1971. after a full career teaching English as an additional language, I took early retirement and became a Bark Buster home dog trainer. Featured on Fat Pets on Channel 4. Richard ‘Dick’ Martin
Geography, 1974, Engineering Geology, 1978. after completing a research studentship at King’s funded by consulting engineers Rendel Palmer & tritton, I spent three years working for them on mountain roads in nepal. In 1981 I moved to Hong Kong as a geotechnical engineer in the local government for 27 years. Retired in 2008 and currently enjoying some ‘gardening leave’ before (hopefully) taking up other part-time work.
Geography & Geology, 1975. Back in north-east England after several years working overseas. Ian Jarvis
Geology, 1975. Made Professor in 2008. William Kerr
Theology, 1975. after 20 years as an advertising executive, I work at a local general hospital, cleaning wards and feeding patients. Living happily with wife Linda, two terriers and octogenarian father at Seaford, Sussex. Eric Emms
Biochemistry, 1977. Been working with precious stones in Hatton Garden for 30 years and run my own company, a gem advisory service. married to ana Isabel, live in marylebone. Susan Robertson
Biochemistry, 1977. attended united nations association aGm at Exeter University in 2008. My book My Life, Travels and Poetry published in 2007. Chico Thomas (née Kidd)
Law, 1977. Write fiction as Chico Kidd. my novel Demon Weather will be published in Portugal as O Livro Das Almas (www.chico.nildram.co.uk). Keith Haddow
Civil Engineering, 1979. Keith and Sarah Haddow (née Barraclough, French & German, 1981) recently celebrated 25 years of marriage. Ceri Sherlock
Theology & Religious Studies, 1979. Gained a PhD in myth & Performance at the Cardiff Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of arts. Gary Staight
War Studies, 1980. Still avid reader of military history with a crossover to my hobby of war games.
Geoffrey Catchpole
Theology & Religious Studies, 1975. Chaplain, long-term unemployed; founder, Rural Discovery Church; chaplain, nuclear power station; vicar, rector, CME officer. Now freelance.
Michael Gill
Classics, 1981. after 12 years as parish priest in the Rhondda Valley, I am now Rector of the parish of St Dunstan with Holy Angels, West London. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Class notes John Oddy
Theology & Religious Studies, 1982. my book The Writings of the Radical Welsh Baptist Minister William Richards (1749-1818) published in 2008. Phillippa Britton (née Ribbans)
Geography, 1983. Represented Great Britain in the Paralympic Games in Beijing. now working towards London in 2012. Alan Smith
Music, 1984. Composer whose work has won various awards. Director of music, Hazelwork School, Crawley since 1990, and from January 2009 composer in residence, Burgess Hill Choral Society. Mark Goldrich
War Studies, 1985. Running Euromarque Personalised Wines, the leading wine-labelling company. Iain Standen
Geography, 1985. Returned from a six-month operational tour in Baghdad where I worked on the staff of Generals Petraeus and Odierno. now working in the Ministry of Defence in London. Julia Sharpe (née Mansell)
Microbiology, 1986. married Ian Sharpe in 2000 and son Jack born in 2001. Now in 16th year as Product Manager at Kalamazoo, who write software for the motor trade. Jonathan Wastie
Physiology, 1986. Working as a GP Partner in Brighton for last seven years. Sarah Dellow
Law, 1987. Featured in Not A Muse, an anthology of women poets launched to mark International Women’s Day 2009. I live and work in Hong Kong. Paul Ferrie
Education, 1987. Deputy head at East Barnet School, starting as head of the Ravenscroft from September 2009.
John makes a difference with the Met John Yates
‘History is a great degree to have at Scotland Yard,’ says Assistant Commissioner of the London metropolitan Police, John Yates (King’s, Modern & Medieval History, 1981). ‘The skills I learned at King’s have given me the ability to synthesise huge volumes of information into a compelling case.’ John joined the Met after graduating and has worked his way up from beat constable to head of the Specialist Crime Directorate. In april he was appointed Head of the Specialist Operations with responsibility for Counter terrorism and Security. After the 26 December 2004 tsunami that hit the Far East, he led a team of 1,000 officers that worked for 18 months on recovering and identifying UK residents caught by the disaster. His job involves ‘walking a fine line between being apolitical and influential. Terrorism remains our number one priority, but we are well aware that we have to balance this with
Education, 1987. I still have a visiting fellowship at Leeds working on Spirituality, Religion and Public Life. 42
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Law, 1992. With tim Fright (International Peace & Security, 2008), I skied to the South Pole as part of the centenary celebrations of Shackleton’s 1909 expedition, to raise money for the Shackleton Foundation. Walter Homolka
Theology & Religious Studies, 1992. Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa Hebrew union College, Jewish Institute of Religion new York.
John has worked his way to top of the Met
our needs for borough policing and other community matters.’ For John, a career with the met means that ‘you can make a difference in big and small ways. I think civicminded people with a sense of purpose tend to be drawn to the met. It is certainly a way to give back to society in a meaningful way.’ John will be a speaker at the King’s Centre for Risk management this year. Details at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk.
Adrian Rifat
Sarah Cox
Mathematics, 1987. a senior systems engineer in the design and trials of the Integrated Combat System for the new Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer.
Biotechnology, 1991. Living in Buckinghamshire with my partner and son, awaiting the birth of our second child. Director of Pharmacovigilance Operations.
David Opolot
Education, 1992. At King’s the units of measurements amused me. One time I went to the butchery and asked for a kilogram of meat and the butcher was perplexed. ‘You mean a pound!’ Yes! Selina Sagayam
Law, 1992. Joined Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in London to help develop their UK capital markets practice. Adrian Springsguth
Education, 1992. ma, BSc(Hon), PGCE, mIBiol, hoping to complete a PhD. Paintings sell for £100,000. Andrew Lebentz
Classics, 1993. I’d like to hear from any friends from my time at King’s.
Susan Bailey (née Cook)
Education, 1988. Course Director for BSc Health Promotion & BSc Food & Consumer Studies. Completed my PhD and raised two late teenage girls. Also rowing for fun and fitness. Christopher Kurihara-Dixon
French, 1988. It’s not quite Bloc Party but… My band Edward’s Operation (www.edwardsoperation.com)is about to start recording its first album. Bimal Shah
Physics, 1989. Joined an exciting start-up, Covestor.com, in 2008. Blessed with a third child, a daughter after two sons. Busy and happy! Sara Webb (née Cumins)
Eva Pinthus
Richard Gray
Physiotherapy, 1990. Got married in 2006 and had a daughter in 2007, Daisy. Her sister Lily was born in 2008. Working in orthopedics.
Catherine Longworth
Dimitrios Zafeiropoulos
History, 1991. A year as Lord Mayor of Westminster, 2004-05. A nonexecutive director of Westminster Primary Care trust nHS; chairman of Francis Holland Schools trust; and a trustee of Dolphin Square Charitable Foundation.
Law, 1993. military judge working with the ministry of national Defence of Greece. Presiding Judge at the athens air Force military tribunal.
John Mackinlay
War Studies, 1991. teaching part-time in War Studies and busy with research and consultancy for projects related to this. In 2009-10 hoping to start a new elective at King’s on War Artists from the 15th to 20th centuries.
Zoe Birch
Zoology, 1994. at ministry of Justice in Leeds as a learning consultant. Susan Blamires
Education, 1994. Currently Head of Science & maths at a hospital school in Sutton. mostly a rewarding occupation. Ig-jin Kim
Carlos Garbisu
Biology, 1992. I am currently Head of Ecosystems of the tecnalia technological Corporation, and teaching microbial ecology at the university of the Basque Country. Looking back, I miss King’s a lot.
Education, 1994. africa mission since 2001, visit South Africa and DK Congo twice a year. Visiting Lecturer of Inmanuael International Bible College at Badplaas in South africa. Pastor and Missionary of the Korea Assemblies of God Denomination.
Call +44 (0)20 7848 3053 for more information about our alumni services and benefits Mandy Myers (née Reynolds)
Nursing Studies, 1994. Had second daughter, Emma, in 2008. Back to university to train as a health visitor. Samantha Owen (née White)
Pharmacy, 1994. married with two children, Jacob and Samuel. David Pitches
Life, Basic Medical & Health Sciences, 1994. Obtained my Certificate of training in Public Health, and been working for the humanitarian organisation medair in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Alfonso Frontera
Education, 1995. Hola! Currently in Spain, now kind of retired and enjoying a stress-free life with no mortgage. Would love to hear from Lesley. Adios! Matthieu Giraud
Chemistry, 1995. Leading the Research & Development group, Peptides for Switzerland. Jane Mayhew-Smith (née Caley)
Aquatic Resource Management, 1995. I married Alex Mayhew-Smith in 2004 and we had a daughter, Edie, in 2007. Living in Helsinki where I work for the European Chemicals agency.
Non-stop Najjia, Pakistan’s TV queen Dr Najjia Ashraf
najjia (King’s, Clinical Dermatology, 2007) is a busy individual. as well as working as a practising consultant dermatologist across several hospitals in Karachi and managing her own clinic, she also appears on Pakistani television, offering advice to people about their skin care. ‘It’s a live show where people call from all over the world and ask anything regarding my area, so one has to be alert and spontaneous. But one meets so many new people and it’s glamorous as well.’ side from appearing weekly aside V, she contributes regularly on tV, to leading newspapers and fashion magazines in Pakistan, aiming to spread awareness and eliminate myths regarding different issues concerning ccording skin care and diseases. according ajjia, achieving so much to najjia, in a short space of time (she graduated only in 2007) is largely down to King’s.
Human Biology, 1995. I retrained as a teacher. It can be hard work but also very rewarding. I get to spend the holidays with my own children. Life is good!
Tara Pichardo-Angadi
English & French Law, 1996. I lost touch with most of my year apart from the anglo-French crowd. I am now married with two daughters and live in Paris. Mark Tee
English, 1996. I am currently teaching British Literature & Culture in Japan.
Human Biology, 1997. married to Judy Fernandes (PGCE, 2006) in 2008. Presently working as wedding photographer (www.hunggiadiep.com). Rosamond Miskin
Theology, 1997. Worked as a Pa in the Academic Registrar’s Office of King’s College Hospital, then moved to Church House as Pa to the Director of ministry, in the archbishops Council. Having done an introductory course in psychodynamic counselling, I am training as a Pastoral assistant.
Manufacturing Systems Engineering, 1998. after a few years of purchasingmanager experience, I now work for a European investment bank as a private financial manager. Based in Valencia, may assist old King’s students and friends on financial matters.
Elangovan Subbiah
Gerontology, 1998. Conferred academy of medicine, malaysia for publications and public health-related works. Stephen Wollaston
Education, 1997. Married in May 2008. Head of Information technology at Wimbledon College Boys School.
Hunggia Diep
Joaquin Ros Navasquillo
Molecular Biology, 1998. married to the philologist Nino Lukaskvili. Brought out my third novel in Greek, edited by the publishing house nefeli, 2009.
Community Nursing, 1997. Worked as a health visitor before taking up a management position as Clinical Services manager in primary care. now in healthcare regulation as an assessor.
Music, 1997. acting head teacher at new abbey Primary School, Dumfries & Galloway. I perform with a semi-professional acapella choir of 18 voices called the Balliol Consort and was the soloist for the Dumfries Choral Society Christmas Concert.
Neuroscience with Basic Medical Sciences, 1998. training in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in East London. Kept busy by three very small children!
Georgios Prassas
Sharon Routledge-Brown (née Brown)
Nicholas Lamb
Parasitology, 1996. married to Rachel (née Grimmer) with son Sebastian.
Dr Ashraf takes a break from fielding calls
David Conteh
Ruth Dennison Tracy Merry
‘I must say that being at King’s was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was very enjoyable being taught at the state-of-the-art hospitals, and the standard of education is very high.’ Keen to maintain those ties to King’s, she’s also appeared in the College’s prospectuses for the last few years.
Omer Moghraby
Religious Studies, 1998. Had my fourth book published last year, under my given yoga name, Santoshan: Realms of Wonderous Gifts – Psychic, Mediomistic and Miraculous Powers in the Great Wisdom Traditions (Gordon Higginson Fellowship).
Tito Spaldi
German, 1997. married to Gail and living in merano in the beautiful Dolomites of northern Italy. Ghouse Fazaluddin
European Community Competition Law, 1998. I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in European Competition Law. Helped immensely in my role while at Bt as Senior Regulatory Specialist.
Claire Francis
Medicine, 1999. Have become a partner in a GP practice in East Sussex. Juggling work with being a mum to a beautiful but energetic toddler! Martin Bauer
Legal Studies, 2000. Completed my PhD at the university of munich, and working as a public prosecutor. John Dekker
Iveta Geidane
War Studies, 1998. Working for Chevron Global upstream and living in aberdeen with my two-year-old twins, annabelle and Robert.
War Studies, 2000. Have just completed a scurrilous book, which may find a publisher, about preparations for war in the decade to 1914. Reputations of famous personages are suitably besmirched – most enjoyable!
Patrick Kempshall
Classics, 1998. I have been working in pre-school magazines at the BBC for the last 10 years. I’m currently the editor of CBeebies Weekly. married with two children.
Lucinda Fenton
French & Management, 2000. Still teaching for Common Entrance English. married to Richard Edwards in april. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Class notes Erik von Kroiher
Imperial & Commonwealth History, 2000. Foreign Policy Secretary to the austrian Prime minister, Dr Wolfgang Schuessel, and Director, International Office of the Conservative Austrian Peoples Party. married to Daniela with sons maximillian-Erik and SebastianLeopold. Live in Vienna. Patrick Muthoka
Biology, 2000. technical manager for Kenya Seeds For Life, a collaborative project involving four Kenya government departments and the UK Millennium Seed Bank project. Huda Zughaid
Pharmaceutical Technology, 2000. I started doing a PhD in 2006, drug delivery to the intestine. Enjoying it! Sally-Jane Coles
Health Education, 2001. Working one-on-one with a hearing-impaired pupil and training for sensory support.
Lawrence’s halcyon days at ‘Tommies’ Lawrence Boothroyd
Lawrence, aka ‘Boots’ (St Thomas’, Medicine, 1944), is a retired GP in British Colombia and has fond memories of St Thomas’. ‘Looking back I’m aware that my life was saved by my interest in biology as a schoolboy. at the suggestion of our school doctor I was enrolled at St Thomas’ Medical School in 1938. When war was declared in 1939, it was thought better to continue my studies than to join up as I might have preferred. My days at ‘Tommies’ were great considering that there was a war on most of the time. In my first term I was lucky to be selected to join the cast of the Christmas Show. then the war dispersed us all to escape the bombs.’ Lawrence joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1944, leading him to the position of Medical Officer to the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers and then to the 5th Parachute Battalion in Karachi. He was subsequently sent to the British medical Hospital in Calcutta until he was demobbed in
Patricia Mussi
Philosophy & German, 2001. after spending my Erasmus year at King’s as a student of German with Philosophy, I returned to my native Vienna. now the managing Director of European Forum alpbach.
Environmental Health, 2007. Environmental Health Officer at Brighton & Hove City Council. Sophie Baker
Comparative Literature, 2007. now news editor for two financial magazines. St Thomas’ suffered bomb damage in 1940
English Language, 2001. Performed in small concert at the uS Embassy in Seoul on 11 march 2009.
Shakespeare Studies, 2007. Working for English Heritage handling educational bookings for London properties. Based at apsley House, formerly the home of the Duke of Wellington.
Neelam Halari
Nneka Ene
Vincent Forrester
Nutrition & Dietetics, 2003. Still remember the experience. Reunion or revisit would be good.
Computer Science, 2005. Back in my home country after an interesting three-year stint in the financial services industry. Willing to share details!
History, 2008. Doing work experience at various newspapers and magazines.
Aneeta Kulasegaran
Child Studies, 2003. now work for a Christian relief charity advising partners in over 40 countries.
Chemistry with Management, 2005. I was in the last set of pupils to study Chemistry at King’s. Completed my PGCE to become a qualified teacher at Oxford university in July 2009.
Beverley Shaw
Nursing Studies, 2001. Celebrated 60th birthday in February. Still working at King’s College Hospital.
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Michael Barrett
Sports Law, 2005. married to Clare Carson in August 2008.
Philippa Stevens (née Dance)
Emmakate Buchanan
Religious Studies, 2001. married in 2008 to Matthew Stevens.
Medicine, 2005. Enjoying medicine, sailing, outdoor activities and the arts.
Paulina George
William Burnett
Health Sciences, 2002. Proud to say that I have completed my postgraduate law degree despite my busy midwifery job.
Chemistry, 2005. Serving the Dorset Police having just completed the two-year probationary period.
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Natalie Gomez
1947. ‘Then came the slogging to get the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons and join the glut of chaps trying to get consultantships. ‘“Go and have a look at Canada”, said my mother-in-law. So we did and I was surprised to be offered three jobs while there. now here we are, retired and living in one of the most attractive parts of the world, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a backdrop of 5,000ft mountains. No complaints!’
Nessa Azizi Cheongmi Park
Family Therapy, 2006. Back in Egypt I started my private clinic. Interested in travel, reading, theatre and swimming. Karen Ashdown
Saba Mirza
Biomedical Science, 2001. Working as a specialist in hospital pharmaceutical sales. thoroughly enjoy my profession.
Fatma el Shennawy
Faisal Alfadhel
Engineering & Business Studies, 2008. at university of Bath doing PhD at the Centre of Orthopaedic Biomechanics, in the Development of Force Sensors for Surgical Robotic Systems.
Claire Hocken
Conflict, Security & Development, 2005. Worked for Danish Embassy, then amnesty International, and now a Programme manager for the organisation tiri.
Portuguese & Brazilian Studies and French, 2008. Worked in Sao Paulo for a financial consultancy then moved to TradeLabs, which specialises in automated software. I work in investor relations and divide my time between Dubai, London and Singapore.
Mary Robb
Ioanna Karelia
Music, 2005. Studying for a PhD in music at the university of Edinburgh, and living in new York City while I carry out fieldwork on the American composer, miriam Gideon.
Business Management, 2008. Between 2009 and 2012 I will be at Bocconi university doing an mSc in International management.
Anna Jorgensen
Abraham Mouritz Alkis Spyrou
Electronic Engineering, 2005. Working for mouchel management Consulting at the London Development Agency.
Sports Law, 2008. now the sports agent of three-time karate world champion Luca Valdesi, hoping to attract more sponsorship to this great sport.
Panagiotis Dimitrakis
Maria Ovejero-Boglione
War Studies, 2006. Published my book Greece and the English: British Diplomacy and the Kings of Greece (Loydou: Tauris Academic) in 2009.
Age-Related Diseases, 2008. teaching pharmacology, research methods in science and ‘drugs of abuse’ at Thames Valley University and also at King’s
Email us at alumoff@.kcl.ac.uk for advice on planning reunions and looking up old friends Road in Reading. I have continued research at Charing Cross Hospital medical School, to investigate regeneration of nervous system, which formed the basis of my PhD at King’s College London.
Queen Elizabeth College Audrey Green (née Ayres)
Household & Social Sciences, 1941. Still on Church Village Hall Committee. Secretary to local hard-of-hearing club. Belong to painting class. Moira ‘Peta’ Scott
Nursing Studies, 1954. In December 2008 I married Bill Scott whom I’d known since the mid-40s! He was an engineering graduate of Glasgow university and came south to work in the same firm as my father. We met through the firm’s debating and dramatic societies, married other people but kept in touch. two years ago, as both our partners were no more, we toured the Highlands, as we had done long ago, and that was it – only this time Bill decided not to lose me again. Ingrid Coles-Rutishauser
Nutrition, 1959. Retired from nutrition profession. the new challenge is learning to play the cello, a slow but rewarding process at this time of life! Pauline Emmett (née Fletcher)
Nutrition & Dietetics, 1969. Received a PhD from Bristol University in 2004 in the field of Public Health Nutrition.
Royal Dental Hospital
Lawyer Julia is the toast of Hong Kong Julia Charlton
Julia (King’s, Law, 1981) received the award for Professional of the Year at the prestigious Women of Influence Awards Ceremony in Hong Kong in October 2008. After graduating from King’s she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 with City law firm Slaughter & may and worked in the Hong Kong offices of other City firms before establishing Charlton’s in 1998, which focuses on corporate finance law. King’s, she says, ‘helped to lay a solid foundation for my professional training and development that originally gave me the experience and confidence to start a corporate finance law firm in Hong Kong.’ Organised by the american Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, the Women of Influence Awards aim to honour the accomplishments of female leaders in the community and provide inspiration to new generations of women to excel in their profession and maintain a good work-life balance. Julia has achieved professional success
St Thomas’ Frank Cockett
Medicine, 1939. Worked at St Thomas’ during the Blitz, then the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford. Joined the RAF as a surgeon 1942-45. Took part in the Battle of Malta, late 1942. Geoffrey Carriett
Medicine, 1947. Served in Royal army medical Corps, middle East & un 1948-64. GP in Hove 1964-88. Play the organ in St Andrew Ferring’s Choir. Roger Orcutt
Soterios ‘Sid’ Hamilos
Medicine, 1952. Worked as a GP in West Hoathly. Retired in 1988.
Dentistry, 1970. Retired from orthodontics and spend time in Cyprus. Organising a 40th re-union. Email hamilos@waitrose.com.
Paul Morris
Medicine, 1971. Looking forward to 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Golf is my love, but I am still swinging the hockey stick. I’m having a very pleasant time and enjoying travel after completing German GCSE. At 74, life is too short. make the best of it, because regrets can be too long! Andrew McIrvine
Julia receives her award in Hong Kong
while raising four children herself. She is Deputy Chairman for the King’s College London Hong Kong Alumni Association. ‘Hong Kong has well over 1,000 active King’s alumni and it is always interesting to meet up,’ she says. Through her firm, Julia has set up an annual scholarship which for the last two years has provided funding for a King’s law student to work in China. all in all, a hugely inspirational alumna.
Medicine, 1974. Still working at Dartford, now at King’s and soon St Thomas’ as well. Just started first of three years as Commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. Hugh Bacon
Medicine, 1976. I’m Chairman of the Guernsey Bridge Club, won County open-pairs last year. member of Guernsey Concert Brass (tuba), trustee of Guernsey Blind association and still playing hockey – silly fool! Grahame Howard
Medicine, 1976. Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre since 1987.
Rosemary Morris (née Parrington)
Medicine, 1960. Retired 1995 and returned with husband to live on small farm where I grew up. now keep a few Dexter Cattle, Wiltshire Horn Sheep, Large Black Pigs raised for the freezer.
Andrew Sharp
Medicine, 1979. my novel The Ghosts of Eden, which is set in East africa but also features St Thomas’ Hospital, was published in may 2009.
Adrienne Winter (née Nye)
Susan Clark
Medicine, 1963. Retired 1997. Learning Hebrew. Painting (oils) with great enjoyment. Busy with family life.
Medicine, 1989. Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, St Mark’s Hospital.
Lucian ‘Frank’ Guinness
Medicine, 1965. Liz and Frank Guinness will be visiting Lusaka, maputo and manziri this autumn with PRIZE, providing medical education to the third World.
UMDS Guy Wynne-Jones
Medicine & Surgery, 1993. appointed Consultant neurosurgeon, newcastle, in 2008. Married to Rachel, with twins Henry and Katie.
Rod Thomas
Medicine, 1957. Clinical Entry in October 1954.
Andrew Hynd
Dentistry, 1970. I worked as GP Principal (medicine) until I retired two years ago. my wife (also a medic) is retired, too. We both currently enjoy our new freedom and luckily good health.
Joginder ‘Jindi’ Dhillon
Medicine, 1968. now an archaeologist, author of A Sacred Landscape: the Prehistory of Bathampton Down. Beekeeper, sailor and grandfather.
Paul Smith
Medicine, 1959. At St Thomas 1954-65 and King’s College Hospital 1966-68. Senior Registrar, the Liver Unit, Welsh National School of Medicine, Cardiff 1972-01. Consultant Physician.
Roger Moss
Medicine, 1969. I take exception to the American term ‘alumni’ which has been foisted on us (its literal meaning is ‘nurslings’). I prefer ‘former students’.
Benjamin Pocock
Medicine, 1997. Back in England for one year, a plastic surgery fellowship in Cambridge. Hope to go back to new York to combine a career in breast cancer surgery and plastic surgery. Ketan Kansagra
Clinical Medicine, 1998. GP in Crawley. two children, live in Horsham. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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Obituaries On these pages we remember former students and staff at King’s and its associated colleges and institutions. In Touch makes every effort to accommodate fitting tributes, and friends, family and former colleagues are welcome to submit obituaries to alumoff@kcl.ac.uk. However, constraints occasionally mean we may have to edit the entries . John McLean OBE FKC
Guy’s, Dentistry, 1948. John was an alumnus of international renown as a material scientist, author and lecturer. He was President of the British Dental Association in 1994-95, the recipient of two awards from the International association for Dental Research, and was recently presented with the coveted Golden medallion of the american Prosthodontic Society.
Professor whose hobby was his career Professor Philip Poole-Wilson
St Thomas’, Medicine, 1967. Professor Poole-Wilson was considered one of the leading cardiologists in Britain and arguably the world, and pioneered many aspects of research into heart failure and much besides. He worked in the uSa, France, Switzerland and India – with almost 30 of his trainees ultimately becoming professors of cardiology in their own right – and
patients travelled from all over the planet for his opinion. He produced a huge number of scientific papers and book chapters, and the most recent of his many awards was the mackenzie medal of the British Cardiovascular Society. His interests included ornithology, opera, gardening and his family, but he often insisted, ‘I am lucky my hobby is cardiology.’ He is survived by his wife, mary, two sons and a daughter.
Viscount St Davids
King’s, Musical Studies, 1989. Colwyn Jestyn John Philipps, to give him his full name, came from a truly historic Welsh family whose distinguished ancestors included a knight who fought with Richard I against the Saracens. among his many achievements, he worked in the Stock Exchange, served in the House of Lords, and built up the largest collection of Rossini manuscripts in private hands. Lord Slynn of Hadley
King’s, Visiting Lecturer in Law. universally regarded as a lawyer of uncommon intellectual ability, renowned for his vast reserves of energy and his gregarious nature. He collected six honorary fellowships from universities around the world, and some 15 honorary doctorates.
Professor John Ernsting OBE Major-General Ian Patrick Crawford
Guy’s, Physiology & Medicine, 1952. a world leader in aviation medicine. Former colleague, Professor Roger Morris, says: ‘John in his 80s showed more creative energy, attention to detail and insistence on the highest standards than many half his age. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. For King’s, a legend has passed on.’
St Thomas’, Medicine. major General Crawford dedicated his career to preventive medicine, and was appointed an Honorary Physician to the Queen from 1991 until his retirement in 1993. He was awarded the George Medal in 1964 for saving a fellow officer’s life after a helicopter crash in the jungles of Borneo. He married Juliet in 1956 and had two sons and a daughter.
Penny Wilson-Webb
Guy’s. Penny was Chief Executive of the Rarer Cancers Forum and the Hepatitis B Foundation UK. At her memorial service in the Strand Chapel, King’s Catholic priest chaplain Father Joseph Evans, said: ‘Penny understood that love is showing tender loving care to people with diseases and valuing them not in spite of their disease but with it.’ Professor George Kane FKC
King’s, Professor of English Language & Literature, 1965-75. a towering scholar among medievalists, for over half-acentury he was the acknowledged authority on the middle English poem Piers Plowman.
Professor Paul Naylor Professor Poole-Wilson worked in many countries and inspired numerous future cardiologists
Hannah Turner
Professor Derek Satchell
King’s, Law, 2007. Hannah passed away at 23 having fought a variety of conditions throughout her life, tragically resulting in heart failure, just before she was due to start a pupillage in October 2009. a prize fund has been set up in her name to award those who have overcome similar adversity. If you’d like to donate, please email alison.3.thompson@kcl.ac.uk.
King’s, Chemistry, 1955. Professor DK Davies pays tribute: ‘Derek served the College in his own individual way for many years, and his passing will be mourned by many. He was devoted to his two sons and his wife Rosemary, who was a Senior Lecturer at Queen Elizabeth College.’
Joyce Smith (née Rutherford)
King’s, Household & Social Sciences, 1944. Joyce started studying at King’s in 1941 at the age of 16. She achieved her BSc three years later, and, like many other wartime students, was finally awarded her degree by Princess anne at a ceremony in 1992. She leaves a husband, Stuart, and daughter, Carol. 46
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Hannah Turner: much missed by her peers
St Thomas’, Medicine, 1948. Professor naylor had a distinguished career at St Thomas’, from student in 1945 to retirement in 1983. Two years in the Royal army medical Corps kindled a passion for research in skin physiology. At first under the legendary GB Dowling, he helped to establish the reputation of the St Thomas’ Department of Dermatology and was ultimately appointed professor and senior physician. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, a son and daughter.
Sir John Maddox FKC
King’s, Chemistry. Sir John was the Editor of Nature for no less than 22 years. The Times reports: ‘When an insider refused to give him details of how the 1957 fire at Windscale nuclear power station had begun, he extracted the story by a series of questions to which the source agreed to answer yes or no. no other journalist would have known sufficient physics to ask the right questions.’
Professor Naylor: researcher, teacher and physician
Keep up-to-date with news and views from the King’s world at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk
A student who embodied the virtues of a soldier-scholar Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe
King’s, Defence Studies, 2002. Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the most senior army officer to be killed in action since the Falklands War, was commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards which were deployed in Helmand province, afghanistan, to improve security in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah and the surrounding area. Lt Col Thorneloe, 39, saw duty in northern Ireland, Germany and Iraq along with spells at the ministry of Defence, where he spent time as military assistant to then-defence secretary Des Browne, before leaving for afghanistan in October last year. He graduated with an ma in Defence Studies from King’s in 2002. Professor matt uttley of the
Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was held in the highest respect by all those who knew him
Department of Defence Studies described him as ‘an excellent student who embodied the virtues of a soldier-scholar. those who taught
Rupert at the Joint Services Command and Staff College were very shocked to hear of his death, and the passing away of such a
Chelsea College KCHSS
Eileen Lineham (née Thompson)
Diana Frost Education, 1983
Janet Thomas (née Fisher)
Dr Muriel Hill-Cottingham (née Tunstall)
Household & Social Sciences, 1942
Education, 1953 John Phillips General, 1953 Sheila Utley (née Pearcey) English, 1954 James Sellwood Chemistry, 1956 Peter Frewin Physics, 1958 Gordon Mason English, 1959
French & Spanish, 1950 Revd Donald Membery AKC
Chemistry & Mathematics, 1950
Guy’s Dr Ronald Healey Medicine, 1938 John Watson AKC Medicine, 1938 Henry Lunn Medicine, 1939 David Gabb Dentistry, 1940 Dr Sydney Bockner Medicine, 1942 Dr John Foote Medicine, 1942 Dr John Horley Medicine, 1943 Paul Large Medicine, 1943 Professor Robert McCallum CBE
Medicine, 1943 Professor Ian MacDonald Medicine, 1944 James Dickson Medicine, 1946 Dr Hector Loxdale Medicine, 1946 Anthony Parsonage Dentistry, 1946 Dr Edwin Besterman Medicine, 1947 John Keeling Dentistry, 1949 William Edwards Medicine, 1950 Dr John Lindsay Medicine, 1950 James Lloyd Dentistry, 1950 Dr Peter Lyne Medicine, 1952 Alan Fearn Dentistry, 1953 Dennis Hardy Dentistry, 1953 Barbara Jacobs (née Woolf)
Dentistry,1956 Charles Berwick Dentistry, 1959 Barrie Goode Dentistry, 1959 Dr Frederick Warwick Medicine, 1959 Dr Alex Hendrick (née Faulkner)
Medicine, 1968 Dr Ruth Seifert Medicine, 1968 Dr Nicholas Slater Medicine, 1977
Patricia Humpherson
Household & Social Sciences, 1948
KCSMD
Revd Desmond Sherlock AKC
gifted intellect.’ Secretary of State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth, added: ‘I knew him myself as a man of incisive thought, enormous professionalism and the greatest decency who could not wait to leave the high-profile post in the ministry of Defence where he had always performed so impressively, in order to take command of his battalion on operations. ‘He saw it as the best job he would ever do, but I know that his genuinely exceptional abilities would have ensured him a brilliant career.’ Outside of his military career, Lieutenant Colonel Thorneloe was a keen polo player before sailing and game shooting became his main interests. He is survived by his wife Sally and two small daughters.
Royal Dental Hospital M Sanjana Dentistry, 1942 Bhim Sayal Dentistry, 1946 Ann Panter Dentistry 1948 Charles Morris Dentistry, 1951 Patrick Hunt Dentistry, 1963 Gillian Mack Dentistry, 1963 Dr Paul Hooper Dentistry, 1976
Theology, 1959 Dr Douglas Chambers Medicine, 1953 Dr Hugh Gompertz OBE Medicine, 1953 Peter Belsham Dentistry, 1954 Robert Boyer Dentistry, 1955 Dr Jennifer Tisdall (née Vann)
Revd Reginald Howard AKC
Theology, 1960 The Rt Revd Bishop David Bonser AKC
Theology, 1962 His Honour Judge John Boal QC
Medicine, 1956 Keith Moss Dentistry, 1959 Dr Jeanette Barkel Medicine, 1979
Law, 1965
King’s College London
Theology & Religious Studies, 1974 Philip Lewin Engineering, 1974 Colin White Arts, 1977 Katharine Williams Theology, 1977 Alice Schafer Spanish, 1984 Jonathan Driver Divinity, 1989 Arthur Edwards Geography, 2000 Jakob Rasmussen Law, 2002 Amir Hamid Geography Science, 2006 Audrey Carey English, 2007 Gemma Battersby Physiotherapy, 2008
Professor Robert Gibson
Civil Engineering, 1966 Revd William Hopley AKC
Mary Hull (née Eastwood) History, 1936 Margaret Stringer (née Smith)
Geography, 1937 John Price Theology, 1938 Arthur Black Mathematics, 1940 Margaret Crawford AKC Geography, 1940 Dr Edgar Lightfoot Civil Engineering, 1941 Hugh Goldsmith Mathematics, 1943 John Sergeant AKC Physics, 1945 Margaret Lednor (née Carden)
History, 1946 The Hon Peter Kershaw
Civil Engineering, 1948 Gerald Burtt AKC History, 1949
St Thomas’ Dr Clifford Exell Medicine, 1938 Dr F Lougee Medicine, 1939 Dr John Rigby Medicine, 1942 Dr Norman Connell Medicine, 1945 Dr Thomas Heron Medicine, 1947 Dr Graham Carnegie Medicine, 1948 Dr John White Medicine, 1948 Dr Ian Bishop Medicine, 1950 Dr Kenneth Norton Medicine, 1951 Dr John Heard AKC Medicine, 1952 Brian Maurice Medicine, 1953 Dr John Noaks OBE Medicine, 1953 Dr Elizabeth Pemberton (née Barker)
Medicine, 1957 Dr Vicky Clement-Jones (née Yip)
Medicine, 1971 The Hon John Ormsby-Gore
Queen Elizabeth College
Medicine, 1998
Shirley Davison (née Welbourne)
Science, 1953 autumn 2009 In tOuCH
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By Martin Rosser How long have you got? Because this issue’s teaser could, quite literally, go on for ever and ever…
King’s College London has organised a fabulous trip for an infinite number of alumni around the mediterranean to the classical world’s finest sites. The tour bus with its infinite number of passengers stops outside a hotel in Greece with an infinite number of rooms.
The tour operator needs an infinite number of beds for the night — but the hotel manager says the establishment is full. the tour operator smiles and makes a suggestion to the hotel manager, who nods and smiles back. Everyone gets a bed for the night. How?
Send your solutions to: Logic Puzzle, In Touch, Room 5.13, James Clerk maxwell building, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8Wa, or e-mail intouch@kcl.ac.uk. The three best solutions received before 1 November 2009 will each win a £10 book token. If you’ve got your own favourite puzzle that you’d like to share with readers, please send it in. If we use it, you’ll get an honourable mention!
Last issue’s puzzle… two padlocks required Your solutions ranged from the fiendishly simple to the frankly worrying, and the phrase ‘hey presto’ appeared a lot… ‘You have a precious object that you want to send to a friend. You’ve got just the box for the job – it’s strong, secure, and big enough to hold the object. It’s the only lockable box that you’ve got. to fasten it, the box has a big, strong locking ring that you can attach padlocks to. and 48
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you’ve even got a padlock that fits it perfectly. The only problem is, your friend doesn’t have a key to your lock. and being naturally suspicious, you’re not prepared to send your own key (which is the only one you’ve got) in the post, for fear that it will get pinched, and you don’t like the idea of copies being made of your key. So how do you get your object to your friend securely, using your box and your padlock?’
the solution: you pack the object in the box and padlock it, keeping your key. You send it to your friend, who applies her own padlock, keeping her key, and sends the box back to you unopened. You receive it, remove your padlock and send it to your friend again. She then opens the box using her key. the winners, who each receive a £10 book token: Dr Gilman Welply (KCSmD, medicine,
1964); Professor David Parsons (King’s, Engineering); and Ken Coton (King’s, General, 1960). their entries can be found at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk. dId someone menTIon A PUB qUIZ?
Fancy yourself as a bit of a smarty-pants? then take part in our Pub Quiz on tuesday 17 november 2009 at KCLSu’s Waterfront bar. all the details are on page 28 of this issue.
PHIL WRIGGLESWORtH
Logic puzzle
Letters scARF scAndAl oF oUR JAUnTy WAlKInG leTTeR
It’s all very well for your ‘walking letter’ to sport a handsome King’s scarf in red and blue. but they don’t stock them in the King’s shop! When I asked – smitten by nostalgia upon attending the Classical Society play – they only had ties in the original livery. Can you advise where I might buy one? Tom Walsh (King’s, Classics, 1967) l We’ve contacted the shop and there are no plans as yet to produce the scarf you describe. If anyone out there can help Tom – although it may be difficult to part with such a sentimental item – email alumoff@kcl.ac.uk. TennIs oRIGIn conTRoVeRsy? oh I sAy... PRIZe leTTeR
GReeTInGs FRom BAsRA
I’m a King’s alumnus who is a chaplain in the Royal air Force. I’m just back from four months in basra and thought I’d send you a photo of me out there. note the interesting reading material I took! Giles Legood (King’s, Theology, 1988) l Excellent choice, Giles. How easily we are swayed! sTRAnd WIndoWs: neW sUGGesTIons
I suggest that Sir muhammad Zafrulla Khan be added to the Hall of Fame on the Strand windows (In Touch, Spring 2009). He was at King’s from 1911 to 1914 and was called to the bar having studied at Lincoln’s Inn. the ‘right hand’ of Jinnah, he was appointed Pakistan’s first Foreign minister in 1947, and was President of the united nations General assembly (1962-64) when Kennedy came to deliver his address. because of him I did my undergraduate degree at King’s, also joined Lincoln’s Inn and now work in international law. I have seldom met a more humble man. Karim AA Karim (King’s, Law, 1991) I nominate Thurston Dart, the first King Edward Professor of music at King’s. He set up what was then a new faculty and enticed many important figures in the musical world to give lectures. Adrienne Simpson (King’s, Music, 1966)
JaSOn FORD
ISOtCK.COm
You’ve read the magazine and now it’s time to keep In Touch yourself. So drop us a line and get it off your chest. The best letter wins a £20 book token. We reserve the right, though, to edit for space and clarity. Write to intouch@kcl.ac.uk or Letters, In Touch, Room 5.14, James Clerk Maxwell Building, 57 Waterloo Road, London SE1 8WA
may I suggest: (i) thomas addison, a Guy’s physician and contemporary of Richard bright and thomas Hodgkin, who described the disease of the adrenal glands that bears his name; (ii) Lord Russell brock, a Guy’s heart surgeon who was the first to correct the condition known as pulmonary stenosis; (iii) Sir Roy Calne, a Guy’s graduate who became the first Professor of Surgery at the university of Cambridge in 1965, and was among the earliest surgeons to transplant kidneys. David KC Cooper (Guy’s, Medicine, 1963) l Some interesting and much appreciated suggestions from Karim, Adrienne and David. We’re sure there are plenty more, so please keep them coming in.
I am reliably informed that the birth of lawn tennis (It Started Here, In Touch, Spring 2009) can be traced back to 1858 when major Henry Gem, a clerk to the magistrates in birmingham, and major Walter Clapton Wingfield, one of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-arms at the court of Queen Victoria, marked out a lawn in Edgbaston and called it a tennis court. Until the first lawn tennis club was formed in nearby Leamington in 1872, the only game generally known as ‘tennis’ was what the French called ‘jeu de paume’ because it was originally played with the hand and was known as ‘real tennis’ in britain. Jean M Plumb (King’s, Dentistry, 1959) l Interesting stuff, Jean. All we can surmise is that, given the time of his studying at King’s, Harry Gem may have started playing the game on the area behind the main building (still a courtyard ) at the Strand. Kele’s coURse FoR conceRn
I was interested to read about the young man who made a success as a musician (Kele Okereke, In Touch, Spring 2009). However, I was much taken aback that he had not completed his degree course. What kind of message does this send to current undergraduates – that it doesn’t matter if you don’t finish your studies? Name and address supplied (King’s, Geography, 1961) l Featuring Kele Okereke inside and on the cover of the last issue of In Touch allowed us to promote a well-known figure from one of our youngest alumni groups, which (we hope) helps to broaden the appeal of King’s as a place to study (to a younger audience). Many of our alumni have taken some years to achieve success in their field so Kele’s case is an unusual and inspiring one. As one of the many individuals featured on our Hall of Fame at the Strand Campus, Kele demonstrates the breadth and diversity of our alumni successes, and that it is possible to pursue multiple interests alongside academic studies. autumn 2009 In tOuCH
49
THIS I’VE LEARNED
JoNATHAN GILL
King’s student Jonathan Gill is a member of band Jls, who were finalists on ITV’s The X Factor. Their first single Beat Again recently reached the top of the UK singles chart. Known as JB, he is a second-year Theology & Religious studies student. Amanda calberry takes notes.
It’s not just about performing, King’s gave me skills to communicate with people
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‘Having a number one single is incredible – it’s just the stuff that dreams are made of. Fingers crossed that we can get many more.’ ‘my family and friends are all very proud of what we’ve achieved. they don’t get too excited and keep me level-headed. my mum prepared me to be where I am today. She always said I could be the best – ‘If someone’s got to be number one, why can’t it be you?’’ ‘The X Factor was a baptism of fire. You have to get used to the media attention and working on camera all the time. It was a really hard-working period; there was the touring and photoshoots at five in the morning that wouldn’t finish till one the next morning. there was radio, press tours and the charity single – we got a taste of what was to come.’ ‘talent shows like The X Factor are popular because they are so inclusive. You can come from any walk of life and go on to win the show. they give you opportunities that you wouldn’t expect under any other circumstances and the people watching can really identify with you.’
autumn 2009
‘I suppose if you saw me now as opposed to a year ago you might say that I have changed. but it has been necessary to change because you’re in a different environment and a different way of life. When you’re in the studio you can’t be grumpy just because you’ve woken at six in the morning. When you’re on stage in front of 70,000 people, they don’t care if you haven’t had your breakfast, they just want to see you perform to the best of your ability. I’m still the same in many ways – I haven’t become a diva – but change isn’t necessarily a bad thing.’ ‘King’s has given me skills that you can transfer to any walk of life. the music business is not just about being on stage and performing, it’s about being able to communicate with people. the friends I have made at King’s have been there for me all the time. they are 100 per cent behind me and wishing me well.’ ‘my proudest moment is reaching number one – it signalled how much we’d achieved in six months. We’ve all been working so hard and have sacrificed so much. not winning The X Factor was a setback, but we have a great team and we’ve got the result that we wanted.’ ‘my advice to anyone starting out in the music business is to work hard, be determined and forget about giving up. most of all, practise, practise, practise.’
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