For almost twenty years, the British Geriatrics Society’s address was the briefcase of whomever the Honorary Secretary happened to be at the time.

The Medical Society for the Care of the Elderly - as the British Geriatrics Society was called when a handful of geriatricians formed it in 1947 - lived and travelled light.

It took twenty years before the BGS, duly re-branded, graduated from the Honorary Secretary’s briefcase to bricks and mortar, as humble tenants of the Institute of Biology. In 1983 it finally bowed to the neccessity of orderly paper shuffling when it employed a professional Membership Secretary and bookkeeper.

In less than the two decades which followed, the Society’s operations have expanded significantly. Its latest landlord, the Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park, was about to review the rental agreement and there were soft signals that the RCP, pressed for space to house its own expanding operations, might be tempted to present the BGS with a financial disincentive to remain at Regent’s Park. Thus, led by successive Honorary Treasurers, Dr Jonathan Potter, Dr Ian Sturgess and then Professor Margot Gosney, the BGS set about finding a home. Marjory Warren House was purchased in 2001.

To acquire affordable and suitable premises in London during the late 1990’s was no mean feat. To pay the mortgage in full, less than five years later, is just as remarkable. Where Dr Potter negotiated the first feat, Dr Sturgess and Professor Gosney set and sold to the BGS membership, the stringent financial policy whereby the second could be achieved.

As part of the strategy to pay off the mortgage in 5 years, all UK members had a premises levy attached to their annual membership subscription; £20 in the case of consultants and £10 for all other grades. This was enormously effective in helping the BGS to become mortgage free so quickly.

A big thank you
Contrary to the frugal natures which made our current Treasurers, Dr Sturgess and Professor Gosney so effective as guardians of the Society’s wealth, they have recommended to the United Kingdom Management Committee, that by way of a thank you for the extraordinary generosity of our members, in addition to removing the building premises levy from the 2006 subscriptions (in those categories where the levy was applied), all subscription rates will be frozen at 2005 levels during 2006, as opposed to the usual annual increase in line with inflation. This effectively means a reduction in the UK categories’ 2006 subscriptions.

With the Society no longer having to fork out money for rent (or mortgage repayments), it can now concentrate on applying these savings to projects in pursuance of its objectives. To this end, a second fellowship has been launched, co-funded by RIA. Like the Dhole Fellowship, the new fellowhship funds a selected research project with a minimum of £25,000 over each of three years. The other BGS grants funds have also been substantially increased. Further projects will be considered for funding during the course of the next few years.

Not only is Marjory Warren House home to the BGS, it also houses the Secretariat of the European Union Geriatric Medicine (EUGMS), which fortuitous fact, together with the BGS members who serve as office bearers in the EUGMS, places the Society in a good position to influence European policy on elderly care (to the extent that this will be possible!).

In the mean time, in Marjory Warren House, the BGS has an excellent and appreciating asset, thanks to the foresight and financial mangement of our Treasurers, and the generosity and fortitude of the BGS membership.

The following subscription rates for 2006 will apply (invoices will be mailed in late October):

As always, a discount of £20 applies to members in categories 1, 2, 3 and 5, who pay their membership subscriptions by direct debit. For these members the rates will be £150, £82, £67 and £25 respectively.