Eric Nicholson, who has died aged 89, will be remembered by medical photographers throughout the country as Technical Medical Photography Representative for Ilford Ltd., the noted manufacturer of traditional photographic materials and equipment.
He was born on 17 June 1933 in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, unfortunately afflicted with congenital bilateral talipes equinovarus (CTEV), or club foot. Surgical intervention for the condition at that time was rare, so Eric was forced to wear calipers and leg irons until the age of 7, at which time he first learned to walk. He was told later that it was unlikely that he would walk after reaching the age of 40. This prediction was not fulfilled, but nevertheless he suffered pain on walking for the rest of his life.
Eric’s first taste of employment was on the fish docks at Grimsby; later, he worked briefly for an undertaker. Having spent much time in hospitals in his early years, it is not surprising that he recognised in the Health Service a potential source of employment, and in 1954 he obtained a post in the Radiography Department at Grimsby’s Scartho Road Hospital. At a church youth group he met through a friend the girl who was to become his wife, Barbara, then a trainee midwife at the hospital where Eric worked. Eric and Barbara were married in Grimsby in March 1959, and despite his handicap they enjoyed dancing and also performed in Gilbert and Sullivan productions. After qualifying Barbara worked as a Community Midwife in Grimsby and was a familiar figure riding her moped (known by the family as ‘Ermentrude’) around the poorest parts of the town.
At that time medical photography was often carried out by radiographers who had an interest in photography, but in the UK specialist departments were coming into being and in 1956 Eric joined the Medical Photography Department at the United Sheffield Hospitals under J.F.V. Larway, where he stayed for four years. In 1960 he was offered the post of Medical Photographer at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire; two years later he transferred to the Royal Marsden Hospital, and later still to Guy’s Hospital, London. Having joined The Royal Photographic Society in 1961, Eric became an active member of the Society’s Medical Group and thus met many medical photography professionals. Awarded the Society’s Associateship in Medical Photography in 1965, he was a Group committee member for several years and Group Chairman from 1974 to 1976. In 1970 he was honoured with the Group’s Chairman’s Award for his services to the Group.
In 1966 he was offered the opportunity to become Technical Medical Photography Representative for Ilford Ltd., a unique post which enabled him to establish contacts with members of the profession nationwide. When the Institute of Medical and Biological Illustration was founded in 1968 Eric was an early applicant for membership (Membership No. 93). The founders of the new professional body realised that a means of disseminating information was necessary, and established a newsletter for the purpose; the nature of Eric’s work, visiting medical photography departments the length and breadth of the country, enabled Eric to spread the word about the new Institute and undoubtedly resulted in many applications for membership. It also provided copy for the newsletter, making him an ideal choice for Editor, and he willingly took over this role. He remained Editor of IMBI News for some eleven years, producing more than 50 issues. IMBI soon became recognised as the primary professional organisation for medical illustrators. Barbara agreed to act as Institute Clerk and did sterling work in dealing with an avalanche of applications, mailing Institute literature and maintaining membership files, all done on their kitchen table and ably assisted by their two daughters Heather and Annette.
Eric was awarded Founder Associateship of IMBI in 1969, and was elected to Council in 1971. The Institute’s Annual Conference became an eagerly anticipated event and Eric was involved in several Conference Planning Committees and acted as Publicity Officer for numerous others. He was a regular exhibitor on behalf of Ilford Ltd. at the Annual Conferences and engineered many additional contributions from his employers to help make these events a success. He and Barbara were familiar and popular figures at the Conference Annual Dinners. In February 1987, in recognition of his enormous and valuable contributions to the work of IMBI, Eric was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Institute, an exceedingly rare honour. The Institute altered its name to Institute of Medical Illustrators in 1989.
Eric left Ilford Ltd. in 1979, having decided to pursue a new career as a freelance photographer, dealing with all the varied commissions that came his way. One unusual project, initiated by The Royal Photographic Society and sponsored by Kodak Ltd., was to copy items from the personal photograph albums belonging to the writer Barbara Cartland, which required Eric to visit Barbara at her home every week for over a year and resulted in the Barbara Cartland Scrapbook (published in 1980 and still obtainable on websites).
Alongside his professional life Eric had always retained a long-time interest in the Church, having studied hard to qualify as a licenced Reader in the Church of England in 1978. After some ten years of self-employment, in the 1980s he decided to change direction and returned to a paid position with the Church of England Children’s Society as Deputation Appeals Organiser for several southern counties of England. His Lay Reader qualifications enabled him to officiate at numerous parochial events. On his retirement from this role in 1998, Eric found the call of the ministry so strong that he decided to, in his own words, ‘turn his collar round’, that is, qualify as a priest. He began ministerial training with the St. Alban’s and Oxford Ministry Course, and as the oldest student became a well-liked ‘daddy’ to his fellow students. He was ordained in September 2001. He subsequently ministered across the benefice of West Wycombe, officiating at the entire range of church rituals. With the birth of their first grandchild Edward in 2007 Eric and Barbara decided to relocate to Scotland, their daughter Annette’s new family home. Settling in Fochabers, Moray, Eric and Barbara settled to life in their new surroundings. Eric was appointed Minister in the local Episcopal Church and both soon became much-loved and respected members of their new community. One benefit of Eric’s move to Scotland was the discovery of orthotist David Findlatter, of the Woodend Hospital, Aberdeen, whose skillful attentions over 14 years improved Eric’s mobility and reduced the pain he had suffered all his life. Eric remained eternally grateful for this treatment. Sadly, after 55 years of marriage, Barbara died in October 2013. Eric took solace in his daughters and grandchildren, all of whom lived nearby. Eric lived independently for some eight years, but was finally persuaded to move to the Speyside Care Home in Aberlour, where he died on 28th June 2022. Eric was a kind, devoted and well-loved family man, a good photographer, no doubt a good commercial representative, was strong in his faith, always generous with his time, and one who made light of his difficulties. Both he and Barbara made an important contribution to the profession of medical photography and will be remembered with affection. He is survived by their two daughters, Heather and Annette, and three grandchildren, Edward, Rachel and Charlotte.