Sir: As we near the end of the twentieth century it can be hard to believe that members of the medical profession might find themselves in need. As a profession we are reasonably well paid and jobs are relatively secure. We have the NHS Pension Scheme and we can take out insurance policies which, at first sight and at a price, appear to cover most eventualities.

The Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the College was held at the International Convention Centre, Birmingham, on 28 June–3 July 1999.

When Samuel Hitch and his five colleagues agreed to form the Association of Medical Officers of Asylums and Hospitals for the Insane in 1841 it probably never occurred to them that it would grow into an organisation needing its own headquarters. The first mention of a permanent headquarters is in the minutes of the 1864 annual meeting when the President, Dr Munro, suggested: “If we could get thus into bricks and mortar, and have a more solid existence than at present, that would help to establish us very much”. However, the meeting decided against this on the grounds that it would make the Association “a strictly metropolitan one”. The question was discussed at intervals until 1893 when the Association, by then called the Medico Psychological Association (MPA), began to lease space from the Medical Society of London at 11 Chandos Street.

Dr Wallis was born in Southsea, Hampshire and came from a Naval family. His father was a doctor in the Royal Navy and his paternal grandfather had been a Naval Paymaster Captain. His father died when he was only four years old and he grew up with his mother. Early schooling was in Hampshire and in Malta and later at Epsom College, where he was keen on rugby and cricket. He maintained his interest in these sports all his life.

Professor Robert (Bob) Cawley was one of the College's founding fathers who led members of the Royal College of Psychiatrists to believe that to ‘let wisdom guide’ is a most appropriate precept for our professional body.

His formative years were spent in the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, an area which always held a deep affection for him and played a part in his musical development. Another strong influence on him was the Quaker school he attended there. Anyone who knew Bruce can vouch for his strong sense of right and wrong and the importance of each individual. His work for organisations, such as St Dismas in Southampton and the Samaritans was invaluable. A man respected by so many, could do much for such worthy, charitable organisations who work with those often just on the edge of psychiatric services.