With many thanks to Henry Leese

In the March 2015 edition of Human Fertility (volume 18, number 1) Henry Leese published his last Editorial as Editor in Chief (Leese, 2015) handing over the editorial baton of the journal to me. Therefore, in my first Editorial as the incoming Editor in Chief, it would be remiss if I did not pay tribute to Henry's enormous contribution to the journal since its inception.

Henry's link to the journal goes back to its very beginning. I recall back in the mid-1990s when, with Allan Templeton, he presented the idea of a journal to the British Fertility Society Executive Committee. The idea was supported and the first edition of the BFS journal was published as a supplement to Human Reproduction in February 1996. However, in December 1998, after only four issues in that format, the journal was transformed into Human Fertility as we now recognise it. Henry's editorial in that issue describes the background to the launch (Leese, 1998) and for me it is a very special issue because it contains the abstracts of the 1998 Annual Meeting, which I had helped organise as my very first piece of work for the BFS.

Over the following years, the first 6 volumes of the journal (comprising 19 issues) were published by the Journals of Reproduction and Fertility Ltd (Leese, 2003) and then in January 2004 transferred to the larger publishing house Taylor and Francis Health Sciences (Remmington, 2004). In mid-2006 publishing was transferred to Informa Healthcare, a subsidiary of Taylor and Francis, where it has been ever since. Other highlights of the Journal's history include the move to become an electronic journal in June 2012 (Leese, 2012a) and the eventual award of the first impact factor as announced in December 2012 (Leese, 2012b).

Whilst trying to obtain a high impact factor was never the driving force for the editorial decisions Henry made, its award signified the transition that the journal had made from a BFS concept to a fully fledged academic journal; and for this we owe Henry a great deal. It is only now as I step into his shoes that I realise the tremendous hard work that is involved in being Editor in Chief. Whilst some terrific people on the Editorial Board have ably supported Henry in making Editorial decisions over the years, the job of pulling together each issue and preparing each accepted manuscript for publication has fallen to him alone. I estimate that over the last 16 years Henry must have single-handedly edited over 600 manuscripts and in doing so helped maintain the academic standards of the journal in addition to giving a helping hand to many first-time authors from both within the UK and further afield.

It is a tribute to the success and growth of the journal under Henry's leadership that the number of papers being submitted has increased year on year, with over 80% now being made by authors from outside the UK. Yet with the same number of typewritten pages available, only 22% of submissions can eventually be accepted, meaning the academic standards are inevitably increasing. Whilst this may mean the Editorial Board have some important decisions to make in the near future, this is not the time to talk about change. I want this Editorial to focus on what Henry has achieved.

The picture on the previous page was taken in April 2015 after my first Editorial Board meeting as the new Editor in Chief. Here we presented Henry with a bound volume of key papers and editorials from the journal as well as personal messages and tributes from past and present members of the Editorial Board. After such a contribution to the journal, and a stint as Editor in Chief lasting 17 years, we all wish Henry a very happy retirement and every success for the future.

I hope I can give the same high level of dedication as Henry has done over the years. However, I do not do this alone as a very talented and enthusiastic Editorial Board continues to give immeasurable support. Specific thanks need to go to Dr Jane Stewart (who in addition to being the BFS Honorary Secretary also acts as Clinical Sub-Editor of the Journal), Dr Sarah Earle (Health and Social Sciences Sub-Editor) and Mrs Jane Denton (Nursing, Counselling and Ethics Sub-Editor) without whom it would be a much harder task. However, final thanks must go to our Editorial Assistant, Sandra Downing, who keeps us all on track and without whom we would surely struggle.