History and Council

History

Founded in 1856

A question of payments, or rather the lack of them, prompted a meeting of Birkenhead medical practitioners at the Craven Rooms in Chester Street, Birkenhead on 8 May 1856. (See map below).  After much discussion it was decided that the way forward was the formation of a professional society. They called themselves the  Birkenhead Medical Association. The first meeting of 26 interested practitioners took place a few weeks later and a rudimentary set of aims and rules were set out and the first president elected.

The Association appeared to flourish for five years. Detailed records, preserved in a minute book, abruptly cease after 4th July 1861. What happened next is a matter of conjecture.

25 years later, on 12 November 1886, one of the Association founders invited seventeen medical men to his home in Hamilton Square in order to consider the formation of a Medical Reading Room. To facilitate this, it was decided to form the Birkenhead Medical Society. It would consist of registered medical practitioners from Birkenhead and its neighbour but would exclude homeopaths. Its aims were “to advance Medical and Surgical Science and to prompt social union amongst its Members”. In fact, the rules of the 1886 BMS have changed little in 135 years. For their reading room they rented premises in 34a Hamilton Square, employed a cleaner, procured chairs and bookcases and installed a gas fire. Social events, including musical evenings were held at members’ homes. Women members were discouraged until the early part of the twentieth century. A possibly rigged ballot excluded non-medical lady guests in the 1930’s, a decision that was not fully rescinded for decades.

Monetary and other factors necessitated a change of location in 1897. The books and bookcases went to the Birkenhead Borough Hospital, other furniture sold. The Society relocated firstly to the Constitutional Club in Beresford Road, then to a room at the Claughton Music Hall. They obtained notable speakers such as Sir Ronald Ross and Sir James Barr. The emphasis at this time was more on medical advancement and education than social union.

Homeless again when the Music Hall was converted to a cinema the Society relocated to the Masonic Hall, Oliver Street in 1913. Over the next twenty-five years the Society met at a variety of locations in the town. Meetings continue even after war was declared but sadly two Presidents were killed on active service, after which it was decide to “curtail the work of the Society due to war”.

The Society was revived in the autumn of 1919 and continued to hold regular meetings through to May 1939. Then there was a hiatus until October 1945 when a meeting of the Council was held, after which Society meetings regularly took place throughout the ensuing decades right up until the Covid 19 virus pandemic of 2020.

However during those years the Society changed, reflecting the changes of post-war Britain, the sixties, and so on into the new millennium. Gone are the meagre refreshments, the intense postgraduate lecture, the erudite and austere aurora. In the 21st century the emphasis is on friendship, stimulating talks in convivial surroundings with a decent meal.

To learn more about the Society and the men that shaped its future obtain a copy of  “The Presidents of Birkenhead Medical Society 1856-2000” from the secretary (email birkeheadmedicalsociety@gmail.com price £9 plus p&p ). Given free to new members on joining.

 Minutes exist from its inception as the Birkenhead Medical Association (see below). These are held by Wirral Archives.

We welcome new members . If you are a registered Medical or Dental Practitioner living or working in the Wirral or its immediate environs, we would love to hear from you. For further details email - birkenheadmedicalsociety@gmail.com