BAPRAS Archive
The Archives were started in the 1980s by Antony Wallace, Our current Honorary Archivist is Roger Green, following Brian Morgan who retired from the post in 2014 having spent fifteen years overseeing and expanding the archive. Mr Morgan was preceded by Phil Sykes and Charles Chapman.
Accessing the Archives
The BAPRAS archives are visited by people worldwide and all are welcome to view our collection. Viewings are available by appointment only. To arrange a visit, please contact the Secretariat. No charge is made for visits, but donations to support the archive are always welcome.
The BAPRAS Archives consist of:
Photographs
BAPRAS holds numerous photographs, some of which depict staff and treatment procedures from the First World War, others are of plastic surgery personalities from the 1930s, Second World War and later 20th Century. One of the most significant collections of photographs is that taken by Mr Percy Hennell during the Second World War. These are of great interest because of the method devised for colour photography which resulted in minimal image fading. The archives are also home to a 16mm cine film from the 1930s which has been digitised and contains footage of several operative procedures.
Instruments
BAPRAS has a collection of plastic surgery instruments, including a variety of grafting knives. Some instruments carry famous surgeons' initials, while others display various developmental designs. Notably, BAPRAS owns a set of instruments that once belonged to the German surgeon Professor Joseph, who was the pioneer of cosmetic rhinoplasty. Read more about Professor Joseph's instruments
All BAPRAS-archived instruments are available for viewing and can be accessed online here
Can you help?
If you have any experiences or knowledge of plastic surgery in the past, memories of working with or being a patient of Harold Gillies and his contemporaries, we would be very pleased to hear from you- please email the Secretariat