Will Pickles
William Norman Pickles (1885–1969) was an English general practitioner
Pickles was a pioneering British GP and epidemiologist whose meticulous observations from rural Wensleydale reshaped 20th-century public health. Working from his practice in Aysgarth, Yorkshire, Pickles used intimate community knowledge to document the incubation periods and spread of common infectious diseases, long before modern surveillance systems. His deep respect for patients and dogged pursuit of patterns helped elevate general practice to a position of academic importance.
In 1933, he published a key British account of Bornholm disease, confirming its epidemic nature and helping establish it in English-language medicine. His studies on catarrhal jaundice, measles, and whooping cough were notable for their precision and real-time epidemiology. These insights culminated in the 1939 publication of Epidemiology in Country Practice, a classic that remains a model for observational clinical science. The book showcased how general practitioners, by seeing cases at first onset, were uniquely placed to study disease transmission.
Pickles was the first president of the College of General Practitioners and a recipient of the James Mackenzie Medal and a CBE. He delivered prestigious lectures internationally, including the Milroy and Cutter lectures. Known for his modesty and clarity of thought, Pickles exemplified the idea that close attention to ordinary clinical encounters could yield extraordinary medical insight. His legacy lives on in community medicine, rural health, and the enduring value of primary care epidemiology.
Biographical Timeline
- Born on March 6, 1885 in Camp Road, Leeds, England.
- 1902 – Began medical studies at Leeds Medical School (Yorkshire College).
- 1909 – Qualified as Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries (LMSSA).
- 1910 – Graduated MB BS from University of London.
- 1912 – First visit to Aysgarth, Yorkshire, as locum for Dr Edward Hime.
- 1913 – Purchased Aysgarth medical practice with Dr Dean Dunbar.
- 1914–1918 – Served as Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve during WWI; published paper on Vincent’s disease (1918).
- 1918 – Earned MD degree.
- 1926 – Influenced by James Mackenzie (1853-1925) and his Principles of Diagnosis and Treatment in Heart Affections, he turned to epidemiology.
- 1929 – Investigated and published on an outbreak of Epidemic catarrhal jaundice in Wensleydale.
- 1933 – Published first UK description of Bornholm disease in BMJ tracing epidemiology from initial case.
- 1937 – Invited to London by epidemiologist Major Greenwood (1880-1849) to collaborate with leading epidemiologists.
- 1939 – Published Epidemiology in country practice, a landmark text in field epidemiology.
- 1942 – Delivered Milroy Lecture at Royal College of Physicians: Epidemic Diseases in Village Life in Peace and War.
- 1946 – Joint recipient (with Major Greenwood) of the Stewart Prize from the British Medical Association.
- 1948 – Gave Cutter Lecture at Harvard University.
- 1950 – Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Science by University of Leeds.
- 1953–1956 – Served as inaugural President of the College of General Practitioners (now Royal College).
- 1955 – Received James Mackenzie Medal, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
- 1957 – Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
- 1963 – Elected Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP).
- 1964 – Retired from general practice at age 79, after over 50 years in Aysgarth.
- Died March 2, 1969 in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, aged 83.
Key Medical Contributions
Bornholm Disease in Wensleydale (1933)
Acute, self-limited enteroviral myositis (predominantly Coxsackie B) with abrupt, severe, pleuritic chest wall or upper abdominal pain (± low grade fever/sweats)
1933 – Pickles published the first British clinical account of Bornholm disease in the BMJ. Though the syndrome had been described in Scandinavia by Ejner Sylvest (1880-1972) in 1930, Pickles’ careful field observations helped confirm its high infectivity, short incubation period, and epidemic pattern in close communities.
The disease started with severe pain in the chest or upper abdomen, often mistaken for surgical emergencies. Movement and respiration intensified the discomfort.
Pickles, BMJ 1933
Pickles traced the illness across local households and schools, documenting incubation periods and familial transmission, which later informed his broader work in rural epidemiology. His findings mirrored those of Sylvest and helped entrench the term Bornholm disease in English-language medicine.
Rural Epidemiology and Epidemiology in Country Practice (1939)
William Pickles transformed general practice into a tool for epidemiological discovery, showing that isolated rural communities could yield unique insights into the spread of infectious diseases. Working from Aysgarth in Yorkshire, he recorded cases over decades, tracking illness onset, incubation periods, and transmission patterns.
In 1939, Pickles published Epidemiology in Country Practice, a landmark work that detailed outbreaks of catarrhal jaundice, measles, Bornholm disease, and other infections. The book demonstrated how careful clinical observation, daily proximity to patients, and longitudinal tracking could uncover patterns often missed in hospital settings.
The general practitioner, who sees the case at its earliest moment, is in the best position to observe the incubation period of disease.
Pickles, 1939
The book earned international acclaim and was widely adopted by public health physicians. It helped elevate the status of the GP as epidemiologist, influencing figures such as Richard Doll and Thomas McKeown, and laying groundwork for modern community-based surveillance.
Major Publications
- Pickles WN. Vincent’s disease. J Roy Nav Med Serv 1919; 5: 87
- Pickles WN. Epidemic catarrhal jaundice: an outbreak in Yorkshire. Br Med J. 1930 May 24;1(3620):944-6
- Pickles WN. “Bornholm” disease: account of a Yorkshire outbreak. Br Med J. 1933; 2(3800): 817-8.
- Pickles WN. Epidemiology in Country Practice: (Section of Epidemiology and State Medicine). Proc R Soc Med. 1935 Aug;28(10):1337-42
- Pickles WN. Epidemiology in country practice. 1939
- Pickles WN, Burnet FM, McArthur N. Epidemic respiratory infection in a rural population with special reference to the influenza A epidemics of 1933, 1936-7 and 1943-4. J Hyg (Lond). 1947 Dec;45(4):469-73.
- Pickles WN. The country doctor. Lancet. 1948 Feb 7;1(6493):201-3.
- Pickles WN. The country doctor and public health. Public Health 1944;58:2.
- Pickles WN. Research in general practice. Br Med J. 1948 Sep 4;2(4574):469-71.
- Pickles WN. Epidemiology in country practice. N Engl J Med. 1948 Sep 16;239(12):419-27.
- Pickles WN. Trends of general practice; a hundred years in a Yorkshire dale. Practitioner. 1951 Oct;167(1000):322-9
- Pickles WN. Sylvest’s disease (Bornholm disease). N Engl J Med. 1954 Jun 17;250(24):1033-6
- Pickles WN. Bornholm Disease. The Practitioner 1955; 174(1039-1044): 85-86
- Pickles WN. Epidemiology in the Yorkshire Dales. The Practitioner 1955; 17: 76–87.
References
Biography
- Obituary: W. N. Pickles. Br Med J. 1969 Mar 15; 1(5645): 719–720
- Pemberton J. Will Pickles of Wensleydale. The Life of a Country Doctor. 1970
- Murrell TG. Nineteenth century masters of general practice. Med J Aust. 1991; 155(11-12): 785-7
- Moorhead R. Pickles of Wensleydale. J R Soc Med. 2001; 94(10): 536-40
- Metcalfe N. William Norman Pickles (1885–1969) In: 100 Notable Names from General Practice 2018: 105-107
- Made in North Yorkshire: Dr Pickles. North Yorkshire County Record Office, 2020
- Biography: William Norman Pickles. Lives of the Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of London. Munk’s Roll: Volume VI: 379.
- Bibliography. Pickles, William Norman. WorldCat Identities
Eponym
the person behind the name
BA MA (Oxon) MBChB (Edin) FACEM FFSEM. Emergency physician, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Passion for rugby; medical history; medical education; and asynchronous learning #FOAMed evangelist. Co-founder and CTO of Life in the Fast lane | On Call: Principles and Protocol 4e| Eponyms | Books |