Past Presidents

Dr J EDMOND CHARLTON
9th October 1942 - 3rd April 2010

Ed was a giant in the emerging field of pain relief medicine. He qualified in Durham in 1965 and had obtained Consultant status by 1973. He spent four of the next six years in Seattle, working with John Bonica and his colleagues, Bill Fordyce, John Loeser and Terry Murphy. This fostered his long-term interest in chronic pain management and also regional blockade, both of which were rarities in the UK at that time. He became one of the trusted few to administer pain relief blocks to Bonica, who had sustained injuries in his pre-medical career as a wrestler. These were usually done in the living room of Bonica's magnificent home overlooking the Puget Sound.

He developed the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Pain Management Unit with John Thompson, becoming Director in 1990 and staying until his retirement in 2003.

During his career he was an innovator and a mentor. He was a great administrator, committee man, speaker and writer. He spoke and wrote with wit and pithy humour, always to the point, and said things that others would not dare! His wisdom and advice helped many He made things happen.

His greatest love in his work was the British Pain Society and he was a Council member from 1986 onwards for twelve years, serving as President from 1997 to 1999. He edited the website for four years in the late nineties and was still working on the history of the Pain Society up to his death. He was also Editor of Anaesthesia News from 1992 to 1999, which was eagerly awaited by his colleagues for its sharp content and witty commentaries.

In the wide world of pain, he was an eminent and well-respected man. He was Secretary of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) from 1993 to 1999, surprising the administrative secretary by being the first to want to actually write the Minutes. He served on numerous committees of IASP from 1990 onwards, through to 2005, and he was the Editor of Clinical Notes, Pain, from 1993 until 2005. He gave numerous lectures and wrote many papers, chapters and books, as well as editing "The Relief of intractable Pain" with Mark Swerdlow in 1989 - at that time one of the very few textbooks on pain. He was the Founder Member of NeuPSIG, a Special Interest Group of IASP; he collected signatures for this in 1999 and was the first Secretary of the group, moving it forward to its present respected position.

He suffered poor health in his retirement, but maintained his immense interest in pain medicine, and he continued to be involved in meetings, education and medical politics. He was a major influence in the development of the IASP core curriculum. Outside work Ed was a bon viveur, raconteur and friend. At meetings, he could always be found dispensing advice and libations in equal quantity far into the night. He was a keen rugby player and then rugby referee and was an ardent observer of both international rugby and cricket. He leaves behind his wife Laura, from Seattle, and their two children John and Danielle, many grateful patients and a host of friends throughout the world.

The Society would like to invite members to contribute to a book of condolence, which will be given to Ed's family. If you would like to include a message, please do so by sending an email to Jenny Nicholas at: jennynicholas@britishpainsociety.org by the end of July 2010.

These will be printed onto adhesive labels for transfer into the book, and hence if you wish, your electronic signature can be included.