St Mary's Hospital Medical School was the youngest of the constituent medical schools of

Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and was ...

, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most popular medical school in the country, with an application to place ratio of 27:1 in 1996. St Mary's continued comparatively unmoved by the other nomadic medical schools in the area, until its merger with

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

in 1988, and the foundation of

in 1997 by the merger with Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School.

''Doctors to Be''

'' Doctors to Be'', a biographical documentary series first broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

, followed 10 medical students who enrolled at St Mary's Hospital Medical School in the 1985 intake. It started with admission interviews in November 1984, then followed their lives as medical students for five or six years, and ended with their first experiences of working as busy junior hospital doctors in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

. A sequel '' Doctors to Be: 20 Years On'' was first broadcast on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in 2007 and provided an update on the careers and lives of the same people after they had qualified.

Student life

St Mary's Hospital, London St Mary's Hospital is a teaching hospital in Paddington, in the City of Westminster, London, founded in 1845. Since the UK's first academic health science centre was created in 2008, it has been operated by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust ...

was traditionally regarded as the refuge of sons of Welsh farmers and miners arriving by train from nearby

Paddington station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

. St Mary's Hospital Medical School thus developed a reputation for sporting prowess, with the rugby club actually predating the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. The sporting traditions of Mary's are reflected with its alumni, such as the Welsh rugby captain J. P. R. Williams (commemorated in the annual ICSM vs. Imperial Varsity Rugby match, the J. P. R. Williams Cup); and

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub- 4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

(commemorated in the annual ICSM vs. Imperial Varsit
athletics meet
, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. The first woman to graduate from St Mary's Hospital was Jean Ginsburg in 1952. St Mary's Hospital has an equally rich history in the arts. The dramatic society staged performances of operettas at Wilson House, London, which on occasion were graced with a royal visit and a performance from Princess Margaret. This royal association continued until recent times with the Queen Mother being the patron of the soirée – the post opera comedy night – until her death in 2002 (the post has remained unfilled following its failure to be won in the post-soirée raffle of the same year). The student clubs of the hospital had many

United Hospitals United Hospitals is the historical collective name of the medical schools of London. They are all part of the University of London (UL) with the exception of Imperial College School of Medicine which left in 2007. The original United Hospitals re ...

victories.

St Mary's Swimming Pool

The swimming pool in the basement of the Medical school building was built in 1932. It was opened by the Queen Mother who was the royal patron of the pool. Sir Alexander Fleming became familiar with the water polo team's commendable sportsmanship, which influenced his decision to come to St Mary's from Scotland.

Clubs and Societies

* St Mary's Hospital RFC *St Mary's Water Polo Club

Alumni

Graduates of St Mary's Hospital Medical School can join the St Mary's Association.

Notable alumni

– First man to run a four-minute mile, professor of neurology *Air Vice-Marshal John Cooke - senior RAF officer and Dean of Air Force Medicine * Ray Donnelly MBE - cardiothoracic surgeon and founder of the UK's only lung cancer charity *Sir

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wha ...

- Nobel Laureate, Physiology and Medicine, known for his discovery of penicillin at the hospital in 1928. The room in which the discovery took place is currently a museum at the hospital, open to the public. * Jean Ginsburg - reproductive endocrinologist *

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

Frederick Charles Hurrell - Director-General of the

RAF Medical Services The Royal Air Force Medical Services is the branch of the Royal Air Force that provides health care at home and on deployed Military operation, operations to Royal Air Force, RAF service personnel. Medical RAF officer, officers are the Physicia ...

from 1986 to 1988 * Harry Keen - diabetes expert * Tommy Kemp - International rugby player *Major General Frederick Mayes -

Director General Army Medical Services Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

from 1993 to 1996 * Doris Odlum - early psychiatrist * Tuppy Owen-Smith – International rugby player and cricketer * Augustus Rowe - Canadian physician and politician; Health Minister of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

(1972-1975). *

Andrew Wakefield Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born 3 September 1956) is a British fraudster, anti-vaccine activist, and disgraced former physician. He was struck off the medical register for "serious professional misconduct" due to his involvement in the fraudu ...

– instigator of the MMR vaccine controversyIn the news: Andrew Wakefield – Times Higher Education
/ref> * J. P. R. Williams – International rugby player * Richard Tecwyn Williams - First Chair of Biochemistry at the medical school * Charles Wilson, 1st Baron Moran - later college Dean and personal physician to

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

References

External links

Imperial College Healthcare NHS TrustSt Mary's Hospital Medical School student lists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Hospital Medical School 1854 establishments in England Medical schools in London History of Imperial College London Universities and colleges established in 1854 Imperial College School of Medicine