The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7207 p117-118
20 July 2002

Le Quesne On 4 July, Graeme Herbert Le Quesne, FRPharmS, of 25 Don Street, St Helier, Jersey JE2 4TR. Mr Le Quesne registered in 1966 (see Tribute).

McCaffrey On 7 May, Dara Francis McCaffrey, MRPharmS, of Flat 21, Gladstone Court, 130 Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool. Mr McCaffrey registered in 1999.

Salt On 30 May, David Albert Salt, MRPharmS, of Calle C'an Cosi 2, Capdella, Calvia, Mallorca, Spain. Mr Salt registered in 1957.

Scott On 30 May, Thomas William Scott, MRPharmS, of Langley House Residential Home, Sunderland Road, Horden, Peterlee, County Durham. Mr Scott registered in 1944.

Williams On 23 June, John Reginald Williams, MRPharmS, of 5 North Park, Eltham, London SE9 5AW. Mr Williams registered in 1933.

Tribute

Le Quesne In a tribute to the late Graeme Herbert Le Quesne, JEREMY TURPIN writes:

The death of Graeme Le Quesne in a flying accident in Portugal was a tragedy. It robbed the Jersey pharmacy profession of its most prominent member. He was branch secretary from 1970 to 1975 and I took over when he became chairman. He was chairman for 10 years and was awarded the distinction of fellowship of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1986 for his services to pharmacy and to the community.

For 17 years he was chairman of the Jersey Contractors Committee, which is the equivalent of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee in England. He was a skilful negotiator and did an enormous amount of work during those years for the benefit of all of us. He was branch spokesman until the day he died and regularly contributed on the local radio.

For all of those years he was treasurer of the Family Nursing and Home Care Services. This organisation was started by his father, another pharmacist, just after the war. Without Graeme's efforts this organisation might have foundered, but he made it a large and active charitable and quasi-governmental system for helping the elderly and disabled in their own homes.

He was a Rotarian, and was flying between Rotary functions when his plane crashed. In 1999 he was awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship, the highest award given to a Rotarian, for services to Rotary and the community. During his time with Flying Rotarians he visited Australia, New Zealand and America and sometimes flew hired aircraft in those countries.

He and I were at school together from infant school (then Victoria College). He went on to study pharmacy at Bristol while I went to Portsmouth. Back in Jersey our careers in pharmacy were parrallel and we were close friends and colleagues. His loss leaves a gaping hole in many lives. We will miss his slightly sardonic sense of humour and it will probably need three people to fill the gaps he leaves in Jersey society.

Myers In a tribute to the late John Annesley Myers (PJ, 1 June, p787), PETER JONES (former acting chief administrative pharmaceutical officer, Lothian Health Board) writes:

It is always disconcerting to speak to a colleague one day and find that he has quietly passed away the next, especially when he had sounded is such good form. Such was the case with John Myers with whom I had been discussing the photograph for the cover of his book on the history of pharmaceutical services at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, a subject on which he had been working for some time.

It was a great pleasure for me to work for John when I came up to Edinburgh in 1976 to be district pharmaceutical officer for the South Lothian district, based at the Royal Infirmary. He was a person who seemed to live every minute of his life for pharmacy and indeed the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh — the profession was his lifeblood, and even after his retirement from Lothian Health Board, I was never aware of his enthusiasm diminishing.

I shall always remember him, however, as being a straightforward and open person to work with, someone who was genuine and sincere in all he did. At the same time he was also very human, kind and considerate. I will also remember his great devotion to duty. He never missed a professional meeting, and nearly always succeeded in being the first person to ask the speaker a question.

Sadly he did not see the publication of his book on the Royal Infirmary, but hopefully his unique record will soon appear in print and be a fitting tribute to someone who gave so much to pharmacy.

He will be a great loss not only to his family but also to pharmacy.

Wright In a tribute to the late Joseph Wright (PJ, 13 July, p84), JOHN FERGUSON writes:

I was sorry to learn of the death of one of the giants of pharmacy, Joseph Wright, whom I could only address as "Mr" Wright as long as I knew him. As his obituary clearly demonstrates, many pharmacists, especially in the community sector, have much for which they should be grateful to him. He was devoted to their cause during his many years at three different Mallinson Houses. I suspect, however, that on a personal basis, I have more than most to thank him for. In 1962, when I was secretary of the Doncaster Local Pharmaceutical Committee and of the local branch of the National Pharmaceutical Union (as it then was), I received a telephone call out of the blue, asking if I would consider joining the NPU headquarters staff. I accepted and there began a career in pharmacy administration on both sides of the world and an enduring friendship during which I learned many things.

He was just taking over from Harry Noble and needed some new members of staff, not least because of pending retirements. Almost the first thing he gave to me when I arrived at Queen Square was a copy of Gower's 'Plain words', a book about writing business letters in simple language, however complicated the topic might be. It was a discipline he always followed personally. He was a "hands-on" manager, scanning the incoming mail once it had been sorted each morning. A "see me" note was usually an indication that he wanted to help with a particularly tricky point but could be a signal that something could have been handled better. He was fiercely supportive of his staff both in public and before the then Executive Committee. That engendered great loyalty on the part of the staff and the NPU team was one of the most united I have ever experienced.

In a career of many achievements, I think his greatest was probably securing the cost-plus contract for pharmacy contractors in the National Health Service, which sadly the government abandoned for the global sum alternative that many consider to be iniquitous. As well as being secretary of the NPU, Mr Wright was also, at that time, secretary of the precursor of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee. Perhaps it was his brief experience of the civil service that informed him of the kind of evidence that would have to be put to ministers to secure a fact-finding inquiry. He understood statistics and commissioned Professor Alan Stuart of the London School of Economics as a consultant. He produced the famous formula that convinced the government that a properly constructed sample of as few as 210 pharmacies in England and Wales, coupled with a closely controlled activity sampling operation in each of these pharmacies and an analysis of their accounts, would provide accurate data on the actual cost of providing the NHS general pharmaceutical services.

And so it was that I was designated an observer for the first dispensing costs inquiry, spending a day in a different pharmacy for seven consecutive weeks, observing at intervals of two minutes what each member of staff with any involvement in the pharmaceutical services was doing. The eventual analysis of that data and the accounts produced a formula for remuneration that, with an added on-cost, was fair to all and was based on facts. At least when the system was abandoned, pharmacy owners had the satisfaction of knowing that the first "global sum" was based on the factual data from the most recent inquiry.

As Ann and Bill Darling wrote (PJ, 13 July, p84), Mr Wright had a warm personality. That was never more obvious than in his home environment, which I had the pleasure of visiting more than would perhaps be normal, over a year or two. The NPU found it difficult to retain the services of successive, talented marketing managers they recruited. They were head-hunted by one or other of the firms with which they came into contact on NPU business. Mr Wright's solution was that I should take on this role in addition to that of deputy secretary. The fact that I knew nothing about marketing was no problem — I would take a course on advertising, marketing and economics at a college in Enfield. The organisation had moved to Southgate by this time and the Wright family to their present home in that suburb. I lived a good deal further away, so the arrangement would be that I would have my evening meal with the Wright family on the two evenings a week I went to college. My perception of the closeness of the family and the warmth of their relationships with each other, formed on earlier, less frequent visits, was reinforced. Mr Wright was proud of being a pharmacist but he was even more proud of his family, giving each of them every support as they sought to use their many, varied talents to make their way in life.

Contact in recent years has been mainly through both being trustees of the Glyn Jones Memorial Fund. Mr Wright was conscious of all that Glyn Jones had done for community pharmacy and he was dedicated to ensuring that his name endured in the form of an award, preferably for young people. I understand from his son Richard that, a few days before he died, Mr Wright was urging John D'Arcy (chief executive of the NPA) to ensure that the Glyn Jones banner continues to be carried.

At this sad time my thoughts and those of Joyce are with Peggy, Angela, Richard, Robert and Josie. However, they, like us, will prefer to remember much happier times like the golden wedding anniversary celebrations nearly 10 years ago. The venue was the Council dining room at Lambeth. Mr and Mrs Wright could contemplate no more appropriate place since both their lives had focused on pharmacy for so long.