Origins of the Bristol Orthopaedic Trust

Bristol Orthopaedic Trust's origins are inextricably linked to Bristol's efforts to establish a Chair in Orthopaedics and to a lesser extent to the British Orthopaedic Associations’ use of 'Hip Walks' as a fund raising mechanism.

Establishing a Chair in Orthopaedics.

As far back as 1970 there was talk of creating an academic Chair in orthopaedics but serious efforts to do so did not start until the end of the decade when Michael McCormack established links with Bristol University and put together a fund raising committee with John Pool as chairman and Prince Charles as Patron. The University demanded £350,000 and the Appeal was officially launched by Prince Charles on 6.11.1980

Money started to come in, greatly helped when Chris Ackroyd, persuaded Peter Gibson of Deloro Stellite, and subsequently Zimmer, to donate half the required funds in return for naming rights and a regular research and development meeting.  Despite this generous donation funds were hard to come by. A Gala performance at the Theatre Royal in the presence of Prince Charles was run and John Newman's social committee put on a number of fund raising events which included The Harlequin Ball in the University Great Hall, lecture suppers, ladies progressive lunches and a Barn Dance at Winford; but still progress was slow. 

In November 1981 the University raised the sum needed to £450,000 which was depressing. Soon afterwards Arthur Eyre Brook, a retired Bristol orthopaedic surgeon, persuaded Geoffrey Lilley, a retired Plymouth orthopaedic surgeon to amend his will and  as a result a large legacy was left to the appeal, which enabled a Professorial appointment to be made, supported by a Geoffrey Lilley Fellow.

In 1983 David Fuller from Oxford was appointed to the Chair, but tragically he and his family were killed in a helicopter crash whilst taking their last holiday in the Scilly Isles before coming to start work in Bristol. The search for a suitable professor therefore had to start all over again. Eventually Louis Solomon from Johannesburg was appointed and gave his inaugural lecture on 30.1.1986, at which time a cheque for £450,000 was handed over to the University.  However his Chair was within the Department of Surgery and he had absolutely no facilities, clearly more funds were needed to enable effective work. John Newman therefore suggested that a Bristol Orthopaedic Trust should be established to help support teaching and research within the department. This was set up by persuading the Charity Commission to change the name of the original charity but to maintain the same charity number, since the objective was remaining broadly the same.

BOA fund raising hip walks.

At the same time as fund raising was being undertaken in Bristol the British Orthopaedic Association was fund raising to support orthopaedic research and teaching nationally. Bristol supported the BOA’s initiative enthusiastically and in 1989 under John Newman’s leadership, had the most successful of the national hip walks raising £72,000. Two years later Chris Ackroyd ran another very successful hip walk in Bristol raising £54000 despite appalling weather. Unfortunately all the money raised from these events went nationally not to support academic orthopaedics in Bristol. Over the next few years other local hip walks were run at Frenchay, Weston and Winford  when at least part of the proceeds were allocated for local use and amongst other benefits a nurses and paramedics bursary was established enabling physiotherapists, nurses and other non-medical staff to visit other centres and to attend conferences. 

The Great Bristol Walk.

Between 1986 and 1995 the Bristol Orthopaedic Trust had been accumulating small amounts of money but it was very difficult to do so once the main objective of establishing a Chair had been achieved; as a result the department remained chronically underfunded though the need for further funds clearly remained. Chris Ackroyd and John Newman therefore decided to combine forces and since organising a ‘Hip Walk’, for those who had undergone a hip or knee replacement, would not only produced an enjoyable day for the walkers but was likely to raise considerable money, that was what they decided to do. This time though the money would be for Bristol! On 9th July 1995 the Great Bristol Walk took place, based at Clifton High School. It was a most enjoyable day with many other members of the orthopaedic staff contributing and the walkers appreciating a number of entertainments. The net result was that £120,000 was raised for the Bristol Orthopaedic Trust. This was vastly more that their previous funds and enabled a variety of research projects to be supported.

Since that slow start further financial support has been received, though in small amounts, but by this time the Academic Department was becoming better established. The Trust was able to provide seed funding for various initiatives but soon the whole the department started to raise worthwhile, and subsequently, very substantial funds to support its work. This trend has continued apace so that the Orthopaedic Professorial Department now obtains significant grants and has become highly successful.

Every oak has been an acorn.

                                                                                                                              John Newman 2019