Royal College of Surgeons

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 133 PLA/9/1
  • Former Reference
      GB 133 G
  • Dates of Creation
      1946-1980
  • Physical Description
      3 sub-subseries, 18 items.

Scope and Content

Platt was on the council of the Royal College of Surgeons of England from 1940 to 1958, he was Vice-President in 1949 to 1950 and President from 1954 to 1957. Platt was the first provincial President of the Royal College of Surgeons, and he was widely respected for the success with which he combined this important position with a continuing practice in Manchester. This series provides good coverage of Platt's Presidency of the College, including his diaries, annotated almanacs, general correspondence, speech notes, presidential expenditure and his nominations for the honours lists. Platt was particularly interested in the development of surgical education, and this is represented well in this sub-series. We can see clearly how Platt combined his heavy responsibilities of office with his practice in Manchester. Platt's period of Presidency saw substantial new building work at the RCS, and the building and opening of the Nuffield College of Surgical Science, with which Platt was closely involved. This sub-series contains substantial correspondence relating to the new buildings. There is also more general material relating to the College from periods outside Platt's Presidency. The subseries has been arranged into three sub-subseries, namely diaries, almanacs and other files.

There are items relating to the Royal College of Surgeons throughout Platt's papers, in particular in the photographic material at PLA/11.