BMS Archive

Membership

Membership Numbers

Membership numbers since 1963 are plotted in Figure 1, together with the number of presentations (excluding symposia, workshop presentations and lectures).   

The third plot on the graph, the green line, shows the number of presentations as a % of membership.  While there are wide fluctuations, membership participation appears to have averaged 20 to 30% for the first 40 years, but latterly has reached around 40%.  It is hoped this represents a greater commitment of its members! 

Some of as the low values in the early years may not be a true representation of activity, however, as in 1969 the Treasurer pointed out that only 53% of members on the books had actually paid their subscription, with some Standing Orders remaining the same since the Society was founded. 

Gradually the number of members and their subscriptions were reconciled, especially after the introduction of Direct Debit in 1982, though even then payment was not infrequently a headache for the Treasurer. 

Officers and Honorary Members

In 1984 the Terms of Office holders were reorganised, and remained unchanged until 2005 when the period of office for the Editor of Proceedings was increased to 5 years from the previous 3.  This explains the very different length of service from the early days when the Society was developing to later, when it was becoming stabilised and more secure.

From the beginning, there was a category for Honorary Members who had retired from their academic appointments and had made a distinguished contribution to the work of the Society through their research and/or service. 

The Honorary Members table is divided into two, Current Members and Deceased Members who regrettably are no longer with us. Where there is a published obituary, this is indicated; some are available online.

References

Clough, G (1992) Organising a Meeting: A Brief Guide to the facts and figures (Download as a .doc Clough, (1992))

Monro, PAG (1984) The Early History of the British Microcirculation Society 1963−1984 pp32  British Microcirculation Society ISBN 0 9509887 0 7  (Download as a pdf  Monro (1984))