Novice Guide

The origins of our organisation can be traced back, as with all medical Royal Colleges in the UK, to the guilds of craftsmen of the 12^th and 13^th Centuries, but obviously there were no immediately relevant organisations until after the definitive ‘discovery’ events of the 1840s. The Society of Anaesthetists, founded in London by Dr Frederick Silk in 1893, was the first formal organisation in the UK, but its activities were severely restricted once it joined with other specialty groups in 1907 to form the modern structure of the Royal Society of Medicine. Eventually this restriction led to frustration, and Dr Henry Featherstone took the lead in forming the Association of Anaesthetists in 1932, an organisation which was able to pursue the interests of anaesthetists, not just their subject. However, one of the Association’s founding intentions, driven very much by Dr (later Sir) Ivan Magill, was the (very academic) establishment of a postgraduate qualification, with the Diploma in Anaesthetics (DA) being established under the auspices of the Conjoint Examination Board of the London based Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Surgeons in 1935. Initially it was intended to set a standard for those who were to teach and train others, but progressively became the standard for specialist practice.

After the Second World War the election of a Socialist Government led to major changes in healthcare in the UK, and the specialty was fortunate that the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS), Sir (later Lord) Alfred Webb-Johnson, was a friend of the then President of the Association, Dr Archibald Marston. The advice from Webb-Johnson, who was very sympathetic to our role, led to much change: a Faculty was formed at the RCS in 1948 to oversee academic matters, and the DA was uprated to fellowship standard although still managed by the two Royal Colleges’s Conjoint Board. This caused some frustration and, in 1953, led to the establishment of a definitive Fellowship examination administered by the Faculty, a major academic achievement for the specialty. Subsequently, especially as anaesthetists became more involved in providing intensive care and pain management services, the benefits of being part of a surgical organisation were seen as less important, and the pressure to be independent grew. Eventually it was established legally that the specialty could not have the status of being a ‘Royal’ organisation while still being within the remit of another, the RCS. Thus negotiations continued, the College moved into its ‘own’ home (initially 48/49 Russell Square), the Royal Charter was granted on 16^th March 1992, the letters FRCA became a proud post-nominal, and the final seal was put on the process when HM Queen Elizabeth II opened the building officially on 8^th July 1993.

The above is but the briefest summary of the history behind our organisation. Definitive introductions to the development of both our subject and our College can be found in the Heritage section of this website.