Our Affiliation with IFFSH
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Now that the IFFSH Conference in London has taken place successfully, it is timely to share one of the many items within the BSSH Archive. That is a programme from the second IFFSH Conference in Boston USA in 1983. As you will from the signature on the front page, this was donated to BSSH by Graham Stack, one of the founder members of BSSH.
IFFSH was founded in 1966 and now has 61 Member Societies. Its purpose is to co-ordinate the activities of the various societies of Surgery of the Hand throughout the world and in this way to increase and spread knowledge of surgery of the hand. Underlying that purpose are 11 objectives that can be found on the IFFSH website, https://iffsh.info/history-php. The first International Conference was in Rotterdam in 1980 and they have been held every 3 years since, London being the 15th in the series. The Boston Meeting has an excellent programme, it being notable how many greats of hand surgery were present. Below are a few pages from the programme to give a taster. BSSH was well represented. In addition to Graham Stack, session Chairman included Harold Bolton, Douglas Lamb, Guy Pulvertaft and John Varian with further contributions from Nicholas Barton and Gus McGrouther
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Graham Stack 1915-1992
It is worth reflecting upon the contribution of Graham Stack to BSSH and hand surgery in general. He was a founder member of the second hand club from which BSSH evolved, served the society as Secretary and Treasurer and was president in 1973. He was always internationally looking and was President of IFFSH in 1978 and elected as an IFFSH Pioneer in Hand Surgery in 1986. It is worth sharing some quotes from the address by Robert Robins at the service for thanksgiving for the work and life of Graham Stack on the 4th November 1992.

“He built the framework in which hand surgery in Britain could develop and he provided the means for the dissemination of knowledge through the written word which alone has kept this country in the forefront of the speciality. Without Graham there would still be a British Society for Surgery of the Hand, albeit different, but there would be no Journal and like the economy, the Society would probably be jogging along in the slow lane”.
The address ends with the following quote “Today hand surgery in Britain has many branches which flourish as never before. Do not forget that Graham Stack was one of its deepest roots”.
These sentiments are still relevant and appropriate today.