- Email: [email protected]
June Lloyd (Baroness Lloyd of Highbury)
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Obituary
June Lloyd (Baroness Lloyd of Highbury) Leading paediatrician who was instrumental in the creation of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Born Jan 1, 1928, in Gilgit, Kashmir, she died on June 28, 2006, in Aylesbury, UK, aged 78 years. Few people are immortalised in a heraldic coat of arms. June Lloyd’s place in history, however, is confirmed in the shield of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health alongside Thomas Phaire, who wrote the first book on paediatrics in the English language in 1545, and a baby adapted from the coat of arms of the Foundling Hospital in Coram Fields. Baroness Lloyd, as she became in 1997, was a remarkable woman who earned this compliment not only as one of the founders of the college, but also as one of the leading paediatricians of her day and a pioneering example to women in medicine. “She is an example to us of what can be achieved and showed us that we should not accept that the higher roles are not for women, because they certainly are”, said Patricia Hamilton, the current—and first woman—president of the college, who knew Lloyd. “She was very much a role model for women. She was a doctor at a time when it was not so easy to be at the top of your profession as a woman.” These days 60% of trainee paediatricians in the UK are women. But after Lloyd qualified in medicine at Bristol University, in 1951, she was advised that she should try a specialty that 574
was less male-dominated and competitive than paediatrics. But she persevered and ended up at Birmingham University as research assistant to Otto Wolff, who became her friend and mentor. It was at Birmingham that she developed her research interest in child obesity caused by inherited disorders of fat metabolism. Her major research contribution was the discovery that children with α-β-lipoproteinaemia are unable to absorb vitamin E, which enabled doctors to treat them and prevent neurological damage. She became widely known as an authority on lipid disorders in children. In 1965, Lloyd became a senior lecturer at Great Ormond Street and the Institute of Child Health in London. In 1975, she became professor of child health at St George’s Hospital Medical School, establishing a new department of paediatrics. In 1985, she returned to Great Ormond Street as Nuffield professor of child health. She won much recognition for her work and was active on the national stage. In 1988, she became the first woman president of the British Paediatric Association and was also prominent within the Royal College of Physicians, becoming paediatric vice-president in 1992. Many thought Lloyd could become the first woman president of the Royal College of Physicians, but she had other ideas. She was one of an influential group within the British Paediatric Association that believed it was time paediatricians had a college of their own. That became a contentious issue within the profession. Many thought they would be better off remaining within the shelter of the Royal College of Physicians. Few argue now that it was not the right decision, but there were serious differences at the time. Aligned with Lloyd were Otto Wolff and Roy Meadow, who eventually became the first president. When the argument was won and the college was founded, there was little debate as to who would feature on the coat of arms. “She was key and institutional. She was highly respected and had a very good, considered judgment”, said Hamilton. Hamilton described Lloyd, famous for her flaming red hair, as “feisty”—a word others also regularly use about her—and with a propensity not to tolerate fools gladly. She was also credited with supporting and mentoring many young paediatricians. She is said to have been distant to many adults but to have had a great rapport with children, although she did not marry and had no children of her own. In 1996, Lloyd suffered a sudden and serious stroke that left her disabled and without the power of speech. Although she took her seat in the House of Lords in 1998, she was unable to make much use of it. It was very sad, reflected Hamilton. Had she not been so incapacitated, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury would have continued to be the powerful and impassioned advocate for children’s health in the Lords that she had been all her life.
Sarah Boseley [email protected]
www.thelancet.com Vol 368 August 12, 2006
Obituary
June Lloyd (Baroness Lloyd of Highbury) Leading paediatrician who was instrumental in the creation of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Born Jan 1, 1928, in Gilgit, Kashmir, she died on June 28, 2006, in Aylesbury, UK, aged 78 years. Few people are immortalised in a heraldic coat of arms. June Lloyd’s place in history, however, is confirmed in the shield of the UK’s Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health alongside Thomas Phaire, who wrote the first book on paediatrics in the English language in 1545, and a baby adapted from the coat of arms of the Foundling Hospital in Coram Fields. Baroness Lloyd, as she became in 1997, was a remarkable woman who earned this compliment not only as one of the founders of the college, but also as one of the leading paediatricians of her day and a pioneering example to women in medicine. “She is an example to us of what can be achieved and showed us that we should not accept that the higher roles are not for women, because they certainly are”, said Patricia Hamilton, the current—and first woman—president of the college, who knew Lloyd. “She was very much a role model for women. She was a doctor at a time when it was not so easy to be at the top of your profession as a woman.” These days 60% of trainee paediatricians in the UK are women. But after Lloyd qualified in medicine at Bristol University, in 1951, she was advised that she should try a specialty that 574
was less male-dominated and competitive than paediatrics. But she persevered and ended up at Birmingham University as research assistant to Otto Wolff, who became her friend and mentor. It was at Birmingham that she developed her research interest in child obesity caused by inherited disorders of fat metabolism. Her major research contribution was the discovery that children with α-β-lipoproteinaemia are unable to absorb vitamin E, which enabled doctors to treat them and prevent neurological damage. She became widely known as an authority on lipid disorders in children. In 1965, Lloyd became a senior lecturer at Great Ormond Street and the Institute of Child Health in London. In 1975, she became professor of child health at St George’s Hospital Medical School, establishing a new department of paediatrics. In 1985, she returned to Great Ormond Street as Nuffield professor of child health. She won much recognition for her work and was active on the national stage. In 1988, she became the first woman president of the British Paediatric Association and was also prominent within the Royal College of Physicians, becoming paediatric vice-president in 1992. Many thought Lloyd could become the first woman president of the Royal College of Physicians, but she had other ideas. She was one of an influential group within the British Paediatric Association that believed it was time paediatricians had a college of their own. That became a contentious issue within the profession. Many thought they would be better off remaining within the shelter of the Royal College of Physicians. Few argue now that it was not the right decision, but there were serious differences at the time. Aligned with Lloyd were Otto Wolff and Roy Meadow, who eventually became the first president. When the argument was won and the college was founded, there was little debate as to who would feature on the coat of arms. “She was key and institutional. She was highly respected and had a very good, considered judgment”, said Hamilton. Hamilton described Lloyd, famous for her flaming red hair, as “feisty”—a word others also regularly use about her—and with a propensity not to tolerate fools gladly. She was also credited with supporting and mentoring many young paediatricians. She is said to have been distant to many adults but to have had a great rapport with children, although she did not marry and had no children of her own. In 1996, Lloyd suffered a sudden and serious stroke that left her disabled and without the power of speech. Although she took her seat in the House of Lords in 1998, she was unable to make much use of it. It was very sad, reflected Hamilton. Had she not been so incapacitated, Baroness Lloyd of Highbury would have continued to be the powerful and impassioned advocate for children’s health in the Lords that she had been all her life.
Sarah Boseley [email protected]
www.thelancet.com Vol 368 August 12, 2006