Barker, Sir Herbert Atkinson (1869-1950)
TitleBarker, Sir Herbert Atkinson (1869-1950)
ReferenceMS0179
Level of descriptionfonds
Date1903-1967
Admin./ biographical historySir Herbert Atkinson Barker was a Manipulative Surgeon. He specialised in treating knee and other joint injuries both in sportspeople and the wider public. His methods were not formally approved by the medical establishment. In 1911, Dr. F. W. Axham was struck off the medical register for acting as anaesthetist for Barker. Barker gained popular support in 1917 when the refusal of his offer to treat soldiers was discussed in Parliament. It was eventually conceded that men might consult an unqualified person on their own responsibility.
By this time many eminent people, including leading medical men, were seeking some sort of recognition of Barker’s skill. The archbishop of Canterbury in 1920 was asked to exercise his special powers and bestow on Barker the degree of doctor of medicine. Finally, Barker was knighted in 1922. He retired from regular practice soon after-wards and thereafter spent much of his time on the continent and in the Channel Islands.
In 1936 Barker gave a demonstration of his skill before the British Orthopaedic Association at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London. In 1941 he was elected as a manipulative surgeon to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man.
For more information on Barker's life and career, please visit his profile on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30589;jsessionid=0FEC39B13AB3471F2D9C584698985345
By this time many eminent people, including leading medical men, were seeking some sort of recognition of Barker’s skill. The archbishop of Canterbury in 1920 was asked to exercise his special powers and bestow on Barker the degree of doctor of medicine. Finally, Barker was knighted in 1922. He retired from regular practice soon after-wards and thereafter spent much of his time on the continent and in the Channel Islands.
In 1936 Barker gave a demonstration of his skill before the British Orthopaedic Association at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London. In 1941 he was elected as a manipulative surgeon to Noble’s Hospital on the Isle of Man.
For more information on Barker's life and career, please visit his profile on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30589;jsessionid=0FEC39B13AB3471F2D9C584698985345
Scope and ContentThe papers contain the correspondence of Sir Herbert Barker with both patients and professionals; press cuttings relating to his activites and the controversies surrounding his work; publications by Sir Herbert and others about him and his work; notes, papers and correspondence regarding the legal case Thomas vs Barker (1911), and the subsequent disciplinary hearing of Dr FW Axham, the anaethestist who assisted Barker, whose name was removed from the General Medical Register in 1912; and some miscellaneous material including poetry by Barker and photographs.
Extent4 boxes
LanguageEnglish
System of arrangementThe papers are arranged into five sub-fonds: 1) Sir Herbert Barker's Correspondence 2) Press Cuttings 3) Publications concerning Sir Herbert Barker and his work 4) Notes, papers and correspondence regarding the case of Thomas vs Barker and the disciplinary hearing of Dr FW Axham, Anaesthetist 5) Miscellaneous Documents.
It is not clear whether this arrangement reflects the original arrangement of the papers, the arrangement imposed by Reginald Pound who used the papers extensively before donating them to the college, or that imposed by the Library staff in 1967.
Conditions governing accessThis collection is available to everyone for research. It can be consulted in our Research Room at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 38-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE. It is essential to book in advance so we can ensure material is available. Please email archives@rcseng.ac.uk to book a Research Room appointment. Access to some records may be restricted due to Data Protection legislation. We will advise where this is the case.
Conditions governing reproductionCopies of material in the archives can be supplied for private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents. Some items within this collection may remain within copyright under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; it is the responsibility of users to obtain the copyright holder's permission for reproduction of copyright material for purposes other than research or private study. Permission to publish material, in print or online, must be sought in advance from the Royal College of Surgeons of England and, where appropriate, the copyright holder. Please email archives@rcseng.ac.uk in the first instance.
