Tribute
Williams In a tribute
to the late Thomas
Burton Williams (PJ, 23 September,
p378) ROBERT WEBB, former area pharmaceutical officer for Shropshire,
writes:
When I took up the position of area pharmacist for Shropshire
in 1973 Burton was in post as principal pharmacist based at the Royal
Salop Infirmary (RSI) in the centre of Shrewsbury. Burton’s first
post at the RSI, in February 1947, was that of assistant pharmacist.
Later that year he became pharmacist-in-charge. With the inception of
the NHS and responsibility for additional hospitals in Shrewsbury and
Shropshire, Burton moved up the grades of chief pharmacist to become
group chief pharmacist in April 1960.
In 1973 Burton accepted my arrival with courtesy and friendliness, so
typical of the man. I shall always be grateful for his loyalty and the
help and support
he gave to me in establishing an area organisation. In this his greatest contribution
came years earlier when, through foresight and persistence, he secured generous
floor space for the pharmacy in the planned new hospital in Shrewsbury. This
meant that when the pharmacy in the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) opened in
1977, it had the space and facilities for the practice of all aspects of hospital
pharmacy at that time. Sadly the opening of the new hospital also meant the closure
of Burton’s beloved RSI.
Burton brought to his hospital service not only great integrity but also a genuine
and abiding concern for patients. This commitment is best illustrated by his
attitude to on-call services. Way back in 1947 he introduced a formal, though
unpaid, on-call service. He participated in this scheme until his retirement.
In 1973 I found that Burton and his deputy, the late Harry Wilkinson, had kept
the system going for a number of years by means of a one-in-two rota, there being
no other full-time pharmacists to join the rota. This arrangement also demonstrated
Burton’s tenacious qualities, not always on the surface but definitely
there.
Burton was a gentle man who never sought the limelight. His quiet sense of humour
could often come as a surprise.
I remember that early in 1981, after much hard work, a formulary for the RSH
was about to be introduced. A day or two before the launch, Burton gave me his
own treasured and heavily annotated copy of the Pharmacopoeia of the RSI dated
1936, a generous gesture from a man who loved his books.
It was fitting that in early June 1981, shortly before his retirement, Burton’s
contribution to the practice of pharmacy was recognised with the award of the
fellowship of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, of which he was justly proud.
Later that month Burton retired after 34 years of service in Shrewsbury, during
which time he had never taken a day off through illness. Did all those peppermints
contribute to this possibly unique record? The retirement started off on a high
note when Burton and his wife Ann attended a Buckingham Palace garden party in
July. Burton and Ann had 14 happy years together in retirement before her death
in April 1995.
Following my retirement in 1996 there was time to visit Burton more frequently.
Initially my wife and I would take him to his favourite country inn for lunch.
As he became more infirm our visits were to his book-lined home in Shrewsbury.
Latterly we had visited Burton in the nursing home in Shrewsbury where he had
recently celebrated and greatly enjoyed his 90th birthday.
Whatever the location, it was always a pleasure to visit Burton. News of his
family always featured in our conversation and, when on good form, he would talk
of earlier times. From these reminiscences we learnt about his childhood and
schooling in and around Wrexham, his student days in Liverpool, his wartime service
as a pharmacist in the Royal Navy, which finished in 1946, and the introduction
of the NHS. Some of his funniest anecdotes related to his efforts to bring a
structured pharmaceutical service to the many cottage hospitals in Shropshire
in the 1950s.
During the many years in which we have known Burton so many people, from all
walks of life, have described him as “a lovely man” and this is how
we will always remember him.
Our thoughts must now be with David and Philip, his two sons, and their families.
MICHAEL
SHEMILT, pharmacist at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford, writes:
I
first met Burton when I moved from the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic
Hospital in Oswestry to take up the post of staff pharmacist, production,
at the then brand new Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in 1979. I worked with
him from
then until he retired in 1981.
An experience I shall never forget happened not long after I started. On
this particular day Burton said to me “Have you ever tried Worthington White
Label?” I replied that I had not, and at this point I was accompanied by
Burton to the Loggerheads pub in Shrewsbury. Burton ordered two bottles of the
said ale. “An ale as fine as this only comes in bottles,” I was informed.
After pointing out the “by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen” label
on the neck of the bottle Burton, in true pharmaceutical fashion, started to
decant the beer into the glasses. This, as he pointed out to me, was because
there was a residue of yeast in the bottom of the bottle, hence the reason for
careful pouring. We proceeded to enjoy this most excellent of beers and one another’s
company. (For the connoisseurs among you, if you would like to try this for yourselves
it is still available but is actually called Worthington White Shield.)
My memories of Burton are of a kind and gentle man with a glint in his eye
and a tremendous sense of fun.
ROGER SKEWS, head of pharmacy, Shrewsbury and Telford
Hospitals NHS Trust, writes:
When I was trying to choose a career, I managed
to get
a holiday job down in
the basement, beside the steam pipes, in the pharmacy at the Royal Salop Infirmary,
Shrewsbury. The chief pharmacist was one Burton Williams.
I was immediately influenced by Burton’s enthusiasm and his deep-rooted
belief in service and care for patients, and despite the stereotype pharmacy
in the basement, I quickly became hooked on hospital pharmacy.
I later also worked with him as an undergraduate, and finally was quietly taken
to the local hostelry opposite the hospital, and made to promise I would not
return but immerse myself in the large teaching hospitals to gain as much experience
and knowledge as possible at this stage of my career. Only then could I return
and buy him a beer.
I took his advice and 12 years later, on his retirement, had the privilege
to become his successor as chief pharmacist at the newly opened Royal Shrewsbury
Hospital.
Burton’s vision for the future of pharmacy was exquisite and his new pharmacy
was a revelation — large, with almost every modern facility you could ask
for, well staffed, well organised, and not a steam pipe or basement in sight!
I owe much to Burton, his guidance, professionalism and concern for his fellow
man, but above all, his friendship and inspiration. And yes, we finally met
again and I bought him that beer!
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal