The story of FW Twort FRS travels to Poland

Back in 2008 I discovered in the Wellcome Trust archives that the famous expert microbiologist and discoverer of bacteriophages, Frederick W Twort was actually born and bred here in Surrey, and I could contact his only son and biographer, Dr Antony Twort.

It was a pleasure to invite Antony to tea. He already knew the way to Reigate because he had regularly driven himself to the Bourne Gallery round the corner in Lesbourne Road (now a trendy bike cafe) for occasional exhibitions.  Little did I know at the time that he had a famous watercolour artist as a distant relative - Flora Twort - whose own magnificent works are permanently on display in the gallery named after her in Petersfield. Antony very kindly brought me some goodies - a copy of his biography, which he inscribed for me, a copy of a crucial Penguin book from 1949 (Science News 14), which was from his father's own stash as one of the key authors, plus a splendid commemorative poster from the American Society of Microbiology that gives his father the credit he deserves in history.

Then in 2012 I also had the pleasure of inviting Antony to lunch - just before his 90th birthday, and I was able to give him an inscribed copy of my book - well, really, I had only written one of the chapters, but I included lots of material about the legendary FW Twort and the pioneering work he did.  It is now, in 2015, exactly 100 years since his discovery was first published in the Lancet, and I hope his son Antony has received my exciting news, that this centenary is going to be commemorated in proper style and dignity in Wroclaw, Poland, 850 miles away, with a one day conference - Clinical Phage Therapy 2015. Sadly, up until now, Twort has always been rather a Cinderella in the miniscule world of microbiology. We can transform all that on Saturday 26th September.

Here is the official website for Clinical Phage Therapy 2015: http://www.iitd.pan.wroc.pl/en/clinphage2015 - detailing the conference programme and speakers, registration, abstracts, and details of the venue and contacts.  Registration is free!

As a special guest, I shall be delighted to attend and present a 5 minute talk with some of my rare Twort photos and happy news of events this year when I have been able to easily spread the word about phage therapy.

Now I shall risk giving the game away: and for some very quick special effects to bring it all bang up to date, I have some marching band music playing Colonel Bogey, plus a video clip of a drone flying over a fabulous fairytale castle just 50 miles from Wroclaw Glowny railway station, which Winston Churchill visited way back in 1906 when it was still called Breslau. So I think that might be rather fun and I do think Dr FW Twort would have approved. (Incidentally, Twort once put butter on the railway tracks and watched the steam train skidding back down the hill again by his local station - naughty!)

My photo: Marching band playing Colonel Bogey to 1000 Churchill Fellows, at Blenheim Palace, 2015
                                                            (click link for the music)

Reigate woman meets the Queen - picture

Reigate resident attends Queen’s reception at Buckingham Palace, to mark the 50^th anniversary of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Grace Filby, a Churchill Fellow of 2007 from Reigate, Surrey, attended a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty The Queen on 18^th March.

Her Majesty The Queen, who is patron of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, hosted the event to mark its 50^th anniversary as Sir Winston’s living legacy.

Since 1965, over 5000 British citizens have been awarded Churchill Fellowships, from over 100,000 applicants, to travel overseas to study areas of topical and personal interest. The knowledge and innovative ideas they bring back are shared, for the benefit of their profession, their community, and, in lots of cases, the nation. For many people, a Churchill Fellowship proves transformational, and they go on to achieve great things - effecting positive change within society.

Grace went on her Fellowship in 2007 to the Former Soviet Union (Republic of Georgia) and Poland, as well as the USA and Canada to investigate the health value of bacteriophages.

As she explained in the commemorative booklet, phages are natural waterborne viruses that attack bacteria. Whilst their application is still obscure in the UK, Grace affirms that phage therapy has great potential in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

She says “the Anniversary Reception was an exciting and unforgettable event, with so many amazing people to meet and chat to about their Fellowships and what they have achieved since. As time rushed by, I suddenly realised I hadn’t yet been to meet our host, Her Majesty the Queen. Luckily I was whisked in to be presented to her and the Duke of Edinburgh, with the advantage of not even having to stand in line, so not a minute was wasted! Just one or two people knew that I had, all the while, brought a couple of tiny vials of phage medicine from the Former Soviet Union in my bag, for the sake of posterity. They are perfectly harmless. Considering it is exactly 100 years since phages were discovered by a Surrey microbiologist, I thought it was about time they got some official recognition in the UK.”

245 Fellows from every decade since 1965 represented the Trust at the reception, as well as representatives from The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in Australia, and the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States.

To mark its semi centennial, The Trust has just awarded a record number of 150 Travelling Fellowships – investing at least £1.3m in British citizens. This year’s Fellows will travel to 58 countries between them, across six continents, where they will carry out a wide range of projects. The average length of a Fellowship is 6 weeks.

Many events are being held throughout the year to celebrate Sir Winston’s life and legacy.

“We were delighted and honoured that the Queen hosted a reception to mark our anniversary year. Sir Winston’s legacy lives on through our Fellows – individuals who, like him, have vision, leadership, a passion with a purpose, and a commitment to help their fellow citizens” says Jamie Balfour, Director General of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

For an official photograph of Grace speaking with the Queen go to:

http://www.wcmt.org.uk/fellows/stories/grace-filbys-story