The Thalidomide Society

Arranged in sections A-G as follows:

A Organisational and Administrative Records, 1962-c.2009

B Membership, 1962-2004

C Fundraising, Publicity and Projects, 1962-2010

D Society Publications, 1963-2012

E Relations with other Organisations, 1962-2004

F Correspondence, 1962-2011

G Textual Resources, 1962-2004

The Thalidomide Society is a registered national charity no. 231708 and company limited by guarantee no. 770036. It was formed following a meeting of four parents: Mrs Pat Lane, Mr Peter Carter, Mr Michael Carr-Jones and Mr Edward Satherley, at the Dolphin Hotel, Southampton, on the 12th August 1962. Their aim was to set up a national society devoted to the aid of their own and other children affected by the drug thalidomide. To considerable media attention the inaugural meeting of the Society for the Aid of Thalidomide Children took place on 20th October 1962, with 44 parents attending. A draft constitution was adopted and it was decided to include parents of children suffering from disabilities similar to those associated with thalidomide and to make an appeal to the public for support.

Soon after its foundation the Society joined forces with the Lady Hoare Thalidomide Appeal, a national appeal that had been launched by Lady (Mary) Hoare to raise money for thalidomide families. From 1962 to 1974 the Society and the Appeal worked closely together. Lady Hoare became the first president of the Society in 1963 and in 1966 also its Chairman. Funds raised by the Society were donated to what became known as the Lady Hoare Thalidomide Trust. They were used to support thalidomide families through the Trust's team of medical social workers, to sponsor research into useful technologies, for a holiday home in Pevensey and other schemes. Grants of the Trust supported extensions of the Oxford Centre for Enablement and the Chailey Heritage Craft School and Hospital. As the children got older the Appeal and Society also helped to buy specialist equipment such as POSSUM typewriters, to be used in schools. Branches of the Society were set up due to the wide geographical spread of the families and they would meet up regularly, and contact local organisations that could offer support and help. However from the late 1970s these ceased to function as the children had grown up, so their need had been met.

After several years of negotiations Distillers (the company that distributed the drug in the 1960s and is now owned by Diageo Ltd.) and the parents of children effected by thalidomide, finally reached a settlement agreement in 1973. From this the Thalidomide Children's Trust (now the Thalidomide Trust) was set up to distribute the payments fairly amongst those effected. Following this the Lady Hoare Trust stopped being involved specifically with just thalidomide effected children but did carry on working for other physically disabled children, so the Society and the Appeal went their separate ways.

The Society is now a user led organisation; there is a council of management that meets up to four times a year and the majority of the council is made up of thalidomide disabled people. There is an annual conference that gives workshops on various subjects and the Society regularly holds a series of road show workshops around the UK. As a result of the Distillers settlement (which will continue until 2022) and the high profile of the drug the Society no longer appeals to the public for support and relies solely on investment income to support members. The Society continues to raise awareness of thalidomide effected people and monitors and advises on the use of the drug today.

More information can be found on their website: The Thalidomide Society

Wellcome holds several other archive collections relating to thalidomide: