Charles Frederick Thackray (1877–1934) was a pharmacist and manufacturer of surgical instruments in Leeds.
Thackray began an apprenticeship in pharmacy at the Bradford firm of F. M. Rimmington & Son. He then went to work at the prestigious Squire & Son, Queen Victoria's official chemist's, in the West End of London, and rounded off his education with a spell working on the Continent. He qualified as a pharmacist in 1899 and in 1902 opened a chemist shop in Great George Street, Leeds with his partner Henry Scurrah Wainwright. In 1903 Thackray married Helen Pearce, daughter of a leading Leeds jeweller. They lived in
Roundhay
Roundhay is a large suburb in north-east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Roundhay had a population of 22,546 in 2011.
It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency.
History Etymology
Roundh ...
, moving to bigger houses as business prospered.
The company bought a sterilizer in 1906 meant to develop another side to the business, supplying sterilized dressings to the Leeds General Infirmary, the nearby Women's and Children's Hospital and neighbouring nursing homes. The early years of the firm coincided with major advances in surgical techniques. Leeds was a centre of high-calibre surgeons, many of whom made their names at the Infirmary; best known was
Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan
Berkeley George Andrew Moynihan, 1st Baron Moynihan LL.D (2 October 1865 – 7 September 1936), known as Sir Berkeley Moynihan, 1st Baronet, from 1922 to 1929, was a noted British abdominal surgeon.
Early years
Moynihan was born in Malta i ...
, who achieved worldwide recognition for his contribution to abdominal surgery. It was Moynihan who first suggested to Charles Thackray that he should make instruments; and the firm, with its experience in repairs at their premises just across the road, was well placed to do so. By 1914 Thackray's was employing 25 people, including eight instrument makers and three full-time representatives. Salesmen visited customers over a wide area, supplying wholesale pharmaceuticals not only to hospitals and nursing homes but also to general practitioners serving rural areas. The War Office's acceptance of Thackray's ‘Aseptic’ range as standard
field dressings was important to the firm, both ensuring large contracts for drugs and sundries. By 1918 Thackray's employed fourteen instrument makers, out of a total workforce of 32. In the 1930s the firm began to make its own hospital sterilizers, operating tables and other items of theatre furniture.
Charles Thackray died suddenly at the age of 57 in 1934. He failed to return from an evening walk in
Roundhay Park
Roundhay Park in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is one of the biggest city parks in Europe.Only Richmond Park (London), Phoenix Park (Dublin) and Silesian Culture and Recreation Park ( Chorzów, Poland) are larger. It covers more than of park ...
near his home and later his body was recovered from Waterloo Lake.
The firm continued to prosper as a limited company and in the 1950s acquired the British Cystoscope Co Ltd, in Clerkenwell, London, and Thomas Rudd Ltd of Sheffield, makers of surgical scissors.
The company was a pioneer in manufacturing replacement hips, having collaborated with the "father" of modern hip replacement surgery, Sir
John Charnley
Sir John Charnley, (29 August 1911 – 5 August 1982) was an English orthopaedic surgeon. He pioneered the hip replacement operation, which is now one of the most common operations both in the UK and elsewhere in the world, and created the ...
. Thackray began manufacturing the Charnley Hip System in 1963 and it is still the best-selling cemented hip system in the world.
The
Thackray Museum of Medicine
The Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a museum of the history of medicine adjacent to St James's University Hospital. It opened in March 1997 as the Thackray Medical Museum. In 1998 it won "Museum of the Year" and ...
, founded by his grandson Paul Thackray is situated on the outskirts of Leeds in a Victorian
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
building adjacent to
St James's University Hospital
St James's University Hospital ''Confirming name as "St James's"'' is in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's. It is one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals due to its coverage on television. It is managed ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thackray, Charles
1877 births
1934 deaths
English pharmacists
People from Bradford