The National Hospital for Diseases of
the Nervous System including Paralysis and Epilepsy was founded in 1859. It was the first to be established in England dedicated exclusively to treating the
diseases of the nervous system. It treated soldiers suffering from shell shock
during WWI. The current name, National Hospital for Neurology and
Neurosurgery, came into use in 1988. Pioneering Neurologists included John Hughlings Jackson, David Ferrier, Sir William Gowers, Sir Victor
Horsley, et al. The hospital became part of University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in 1996.
Guyanese born Dr J.S. Risien Russell (1863-1939) was one of the leading second generation Neurologist who
worked at the hospital. Current research by Windrush Foundation is discovering his outstanding contribution to
the science. Our findings will summarise
his life and work in the UK.
Last week I spoke with on
the phone with a descendant of the husband of Risien's daughter Marjory who
died in 1998 (aged 104). She is his
great-aunt, and I am hoping to meet up with him next month.
arthur