30 April 2026 by Steve Hodgson
In 2026 we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first meeting of the Second Hand Club from which BSSH is a direct successor. The inaugural meeting of the Second Hand Club was held at the Midland Hotel, Derby on the 11th May 1956. Attendees were Douglas Campbell-Reid, Graham Stack, Stuart Harrison, Robert Robins, Adrian Flatt and Guy Pulvertaft. Much is known about the subsequent history of these six founding members who were all future presidents of BSSH or in Adrian Flatt’s case, ASSH. As the name suggests the Second Hand Club had a predecessor. Known as the Hand Club it first met on the 7th November 1952 at the Athenaeum Club, London. The history of this club has become somewhat maligned as being more social than educational, closed minded “it tended to become a closed and inward looking group” (Fisk 1990) and that it did not drive forward the emerging speciality of hand surgery. Indeed its unwillingness to expand led to the formation of the Second Hand Club. This article aims to provide a history of the Hand Club, presents biographies of the seven founding individuals and argues for a more nuanced understanding of their place in the history of British hand surgery.
Hand surgery began to emerge from its parent specialities of Plastic Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery in the USA towards the end of the Second World War. Its development was led by Sterling Bunnell who was charged with the task of optimising the outcome of hand injuries in the 10 major Reconstructive Centres scattered across the USA. He produced his text book Surgery of the Hand in 1944 and organised clinical meetings which were formalised by the creation of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand in 1946. These developments of hand surgery in the US stimulated the interest of many young UK surgeons. In the early post war years several young UK surgeons, including Guy Pulvertaft, with an interest in hand surgery visited the USA
The formation of a British Hand Society began to be discussed in the early 1950’s. This was somewhat resisted by the British Orthopaedic Association as evidenced by correspondence between Guy Pulvertaft and Sir Reginald Watson Jones (FD Burke, Journal Hand Surgery, Europe 2012). Further discussions led to a dinner at the Athenaeum Club, London on 7th November 1952. The following people were present:
- Patrick Clarkson (1911-1969), Plastic Surgeon, Guy’s Hospital
- Ronald Furlong (1909-2002), Orthopaedic Surgeon, Rowley Bristow Hospital, Chertsey, Surrey
- J.I.P James (1913-2001), Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Edinburgh
- Archibald McIndoe, (1900-1960), Plastic Surgeon, East Grinstead
- Gerry Moore (1913-1983) Plastic Surgeon, East Grinstead
- Rainsford Mowlem, (1902-1986) Plastic Surgeon, St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London
- Guy Pulvertaft (1907-1986), Orthopaedic Surgeon, Grimsby and Derby
- James Whillis, Anatomist
Archibald McIndoe JIP James Patrick Clarkson
At this first meeting basic principles were established which were adopted by the Second Hand Club and have persisted to the present day. The objective of the club was agreed “to stimulate interest in hand surgery”. Meetings should be both social and scientific in nature and with equal Orthopaedics and Plastic Surgery membership.
Looking at the Biographies/Obituaries of the seven original members of the Hand Club reveals them to be an impressive set of individuals. Their surgical careers were undoubtedly influenced by service in the second world war and the majority were general Orthopaedic or Plastic Surgeons rather than having a major subspecialty interest in hand surgery.
Military service must have played a significant part in their development as surgeons with many of them making a major contribution. Archibald McIndoe was Consultant Plastic Surgeon to the R.A.F., receiving a CBE in 1944 and Knighthood in 1947 in recognition of his services. J.I.P James was a member of the Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC), parachuting into Yugoslavia in 1943 and providing surgical care in primitive conditions for which he received the Golden Star of Yugoslavia Medal. Patrick Clarkson provided Maxillo-Facial reconstructive surgical services for the Navy in North Africa for which he received an MBE. Ronald Furlong served as a Brigadier in the RAMC, seeing service in North Africa and Italy. Gerry Moore provided services to the RAF, particularly the victims of hand burns, receiving an OBE for his services. Rainsford Mowlem continued working at the Middlesex Hospital, providing care for air raid victims.
The majority were from a generation of general Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgeons with many making a major contribution to their host speciality. Archibald McIndoe is regarded as one of the fathers of UK Plastic Surgery, becoming President of BAPRAS. J.I.P James became a Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, working at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Edinburgh with an interest in spinal surgery. He was President of the British Orthopaedic Association. Rainsford Mowlem’s main interests were in Reconstructive Surgery post cancer surgery. He was President of BAPRAS on two occasions. Ronald Furling built an interest in hip surgery and became a pioneer of hip replacement, developing his own successful implant. Guy Pulvertaft and Patrick Clarkson were the two members who did pursue their interest in hand surgery, Patrick Clarkson writing a book and Guy Pulvertaft becoming the father of UK Hand Surgery.
Other personal factors that may have made the rest of the group rather less likely to lead the development of UK hand surgery. Three of them, Patrick Clarkson, Archibald McIndoe and Rainsford Mowlem were all New Zealand Born and that several by the late 1950’s had health problems. Patrick Clarkson took early retirement due to ill health. Archibald McIndoe died in 1960 aged 59. Rainsford Mowlem retired in 1962.
The formation of the Second Hand Club in 1956 has been recorded as being due to the reluctance of the initial hand club to accept new members. Over the next few years, the Second Hand Club continued to develop, the initial meeting in Derby in May 1956 had 19 attendees. The initial limit of 20 members was soon relaxed with the Second Hand Club gradually settling into a pattern of two meetings a year, developing an early version of the journal and beginning to pioneer meetings with other European Hand Societies. These included joint meetings in Copenhagen in 1961 and Paris in 1962 at which Pulvertaft records the first idea of an International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand was first discussed.
The initial Hand Club met regularly during this time period, the meetings taking the format of an evening dinner and a clinical meeting the following day. The membership did gradually increase to 12. It was reported to be rare for members to fail to attend these meetings with residents at the host hospital being invited to the clinical part of the meeting.
During this period there is evidence of close collaboration between the two societies with members of the initial Hand Club not just attending but presenting at the Second Hand Club Meetings. In November 1958 there was a joint meeting at the Royal College of Surgeons, London. Pulvertaft recorded that a close friendship and respect developed with annual meetings between the two clubs taking place until 1954. During this period it is recorded that there was the development of a clear vision and that it became clear that union of the two clubs would be beneficial. In 1964 the Second Hand Club changed its name to the British Club for Surgery of the Hand (BCSH), at which point the initial Hand Club “gracefully retired”. The BCSH continued to develop becoming BSSH in 1968.
In conclusion, whilst it is true that the majority of members of the initial Hand Club did not drive forward the emerging speciality of hand surgery, its members do deserve their place in the history of hand surgery in the United Kingdom. They were all impressive individuals, with the exception of Guy Pulvertaft and Patrick Clarkson, more generalist in nature than the members of the Second Hand Club. Certainly, they gave the Second Hand Club the space to develop the speciality of hand surgery including regular attendance at their meetings. It is hoped this article goes someway to balancing the previous rather negative view of the First Hand Club and enables recognition of its place in the history of our society. Although we quite rightly celebrate the anniversary of the formation of the Second Hand Club in 2026, there is a case for anniversary celebrations in 2028 (BSSH formation 1968) and 2032 (Hand Club formation 1952).
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