The Association of Certifying Factory Surgeons was founded in 1888 and was based in Manchester. It was incorporated in 1910. Meetings were regularly held in other industrial towns and cities, such as Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham and London. In 1900 a London branch was formed. It was still meeting in 1969. Certifying surgeons were first appointed under the

Factory Act The Factory Acts were a series of acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to regulate the conditions of industrial employment. The early Acts concentrated on regulating the hours of work and moral welfare of young children employed ...

of 1833 which required that a child between the ages of nine and eleven required a certificate from a doctor stating that they were eligible to work. They were required to report on certain accidents and to certify that children appeared to be of a specified age and with normal bodily strength appropriate to that age. In 1874 the association reported that between 20% and 50% of those presented were rejected as either under age or unfit. The archives of the association from 1892 to 1969 are held in The

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

Library. The 1911 Annual General Meeting was held in the Trocadero Restaurant and reported extensively in the

British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...

. In 1920 the BMJ reported on the unsuccessful campaign against the reduction of fees for factory surgeons associated with the wartime economies.

References

{{authority control Health and safety in the United Kingdom Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Occupational safety and health Organizations established in 1888 1888 establishments in England