The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries is pleased to announce that Sharon Messenger is on loan from the Royal College of General Practitioners for one day a week. Maria Ferran, Webmaster has been able to find out a little more about her.

What is your current position?

Having spent over 12 years as a senior research assistant at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine (the former Wellcome Insitute) I decided to retrain as an archivist at UCL and then made the huge journey across the Euston Road to become the archivist at the RCGP in 2011.

How did you become involved with the Apothecaries?

Following a dinner at the Hall and a conversation on how best the RCGP could acknowledge their huge debt to the Apothecaries in supporting the establishment of the RCGP in the early 1950s, it was decided by Dr Colin Hunter that rather than present another silver silver salver or a glass rose bowl that the RCGP could loan their professional archivist for one day a week to assist the Curator and the existing team of volunteers to develop the archive.

What are your plans for the Archives?

Possibly the most pressing project is to ensure that the archives have a comprehensive Disaster Recovery plan to ensure the long term preservation of their unique collections. I have also made a start on identifying 10 items that define the Hall’s history for the 400th anniversary. Who knew that Agatha Christie studied at the Hall…

What has been your favourite project to date?

Having completed my PhD on middle class women’s lives between the wars it was an absolute joy to actually see Elizabeth Garrett Anderson’s original LSA certificate.

 

Other past times, spending time with Leo.