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