‘A divine right to photograph’: E. Graeme Robertson’s (1903–1975) historical motion pictures of National Hospital staff in 1933

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the course of researching and writing the first-ever book length biography of Edward Graeme Robertson’s (1903–1975) eventful life and career in Australasian neurology, a rare 1933 cinema film recording of National Hospital staff at Queen Square has recently been rediscovered. Graeme completed his residency in neurology at Queen Square in the early 1930s and maintained close connections with his colleagues in London, thoughtfully recording them at different times using early movie cameras. Two versions of Graeme’s 1933 film have been preserved, and there are also other color clips of his colleagues from later in life in the UCL Neurology archives and Robertson family collection. These remarkable films contain images of several historically significant neurologists, including Gordon Morgan Holmes (1876–1965), Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson (1878–1937), Derek Denny-Brown (1901–1981), Macdonald Critchley (1900–1997), and several others. We provide a contextual summary of the many clips recorded alongside an in-depth inventory of all the personalities represented in the 1933 film. Selected photographs are used to indicate the contents of these remarkable films.