McEwan, John

This collection reflects Dr McEwan's interest in developing general practice, including his work in GP education, and his longstanding interest in family planning, as a provider and as a trainer of other health professionals, and improving professional recognition of the subject. This collection covers a significant period in family planning provision, with the advent of new contraceptive technologies during the 1960s, the legalisation of abortion in 1967, and the full inclusion of reproductive health services within the NHS, developments within which McEwan was at the forefront. He was also a pioneer in providing contraceptive advice for the unmarried and his involvement with Brook is well-documented. His materials for a never-completed history of the early years of Brook can be found in section C.

Dr McEwan had grouped his papers to reflect the various aspects of his career and this arrangement has been adhered to. Some minor anomalies of filing were were corrected, and letters and articles found loose collated into artificial files, although kept within the groups in which they were found.

One box of Dilys Cossey's papers relating to Brook were transferred into SA/BRO archives of Brook, SA/BRO/J/4. A folder of Dr Christine Watson's material relating to the Walworth Clinic has been transferred to join other papers of hers relating to the Walworth Clinic and family planning in South London, MS.9178

A. Developments in General Practice, 1957-1989
A/1 Notes on the material
A/2 Practice Administration
A/3 Other professional activities
A/4 The Problem-Oriented Record
A/5 Camberwell Reception Centre
A/6 Travel
A/7 GP education and professional development
A/8 Correspondence
A/9 Gillie McEwan, "A View of General Practice between 1957 and 1987"
A/10 Practice memorabilia

B/ King's College Hospital
B/1 Note on his relations with the hospital B/2 International Planned Parenthood Federation Training Clinic
B/3 King's College Clinics, miscellaneous correspondence
B/4 Employment conditions etc
B/5 Proposed Lambeth Community Hospital
B/6 Lambeth Inner City Partnership Fund Family Planning Project
B/7 Proposed Department of Reproductive Medicine
B/8 Community Family Planning and Well Woman Clinics
B/9 Family Planning Training Unit transfer
B/10 South East Region Family Planning and Abortion Survey
B/11 1992-3 JMcE fights management
B/12 Correspondence
B/13 Articles and papers by him
B/14 Articles and papers by others

C/ Brook Advisory Centres
C/ 1 Notes on the material
C/ 2 Formation and early years
C/3 Historical materials later 1960s-early 1990s
C/4 Research for history
C/5 "Biography of Brook"

D/ Family Planning Association Projects
D/1 Note on this section
D/2 South East London FPA
D/3 Secretary of the Steering Committee leading to Branch Reorganisation
D/4 Long-term Planning Group
D/5 Family Planning in Eire
D/6 Correspondence
D/7 Publications and press-cuttings

E/ Medical Birth Control Organisations
E/1 Note on this section
E/2 National Association of Family Planning Doctors
E/3 Joint Committee on Contraception

F/ Miscellaneous Activities
F/1 Note on files F/2 Institute for Social Studies in Medical Care
F/3 Fertility Studies Group
F/4 Publications
F/5 Correspondence
F/6 Carolynne Skinner's research on teenage pregnancy in South London

G. Population Mission to India

In the mid-1970s John McEwan was a GP in Elephant and Castle, south London, with an interest in family planning. An active member of the Family Planning Association, McEwan chaired the south east London branch, as well as establishing and chairing the long term planning group. He believed that the long term planning group was influential on the 1974 decision by the National Health Service to introduce contraceptive services. Indeed, McEwan was recruited by the Department of Health and Social Security to work in the author's group of the Handbook of Contraceptive Practice, which was issued to all GPs following this decision.

Besides his work as a GP, John McEwan ran an International Planned Parenthood Foundation teaching clinic at King's College Hospital. The aim of this was to train doctors from other countries about contraception. In 1974, the hospital made McEwan a member of their staff when they appointed him as the first family planning consultant to work in, and be funded by, the National Health Service.

Having known Helen Brook since 1963, John McEwan became chair of the Brook Advisory Centres in 1986, a post he held until 1995. He was working on a history of the organisation, but was forced to abandon this in 1997 for personal reasons. He later wrote a history of the Simon Population Trust, along with Dilys Cossey, having served as a Trustee and represented the organisation on the Population Investigation Committee.

John McEwan was involved with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists throughout his career, chairing their committee on contraception for several years. He helped set up the Faculty of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, becoming the first chairman of the Education and Training Committee. He continued to serve on the editorial advisory board of the journal until his retirement.