A legacy from Dr. Joseph Sankey led to the establishment of The Sankey Club in January 1949. Sankey was a Consultant Surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The Club promotes medical knowledge and to provide opportunities for members to hear from experts across various fields. It is supported by University Hospitals Birmingham Charity.

The current Silver & Plated Ware | Monies, Medals and Militaria sale features a collection of silverware from the Sankey Club, the sale of which will raise funds for the Club’s mission. This collection is notable for its representation of a diverse range of local figures, central to Birmingham’s rich medical and metalworking history.

Professor Dame Hilda N. Lloyd

Hilda Lloyd (1891-1982) is a pioneer of women’s health. After graduating from Birmingham Medical School in 1916, she returned from various training and junior posts in London as a resident in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Birmingham Maternity and Women’s Hospitals. Lloyd qualified as a surgeon in 1920. She then progressed from lecturer to professor and then chair of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1946.

During her work as a surgeon and physician, Lloyd recognised the correlation between poverty and rates of STDs and dangerous, self-managed abortions experienced by female patients. She established flying squads, and carefully organised teams of obstetricians, midwives and medical students armed with vital equipment, to serve the most socioeconomically deprived communities of 1930s Birmingham.

Lloyds’ attendance to the needs of women neglected by mainstream healthcare saved countless lives. Her provision of transfusion supplies ensured that many women survived self-managed abortion, at a time when death rates were high due to the highly restrictive nature of UK abortion laws.

Lloyd’s commitment to women’s health, dignity and professional development is evident across her varied work.  She was one of an influential group of obstetricians and midwives responsible for the ‘Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths’, which since 1951 has collected information about deaths during pregnancy and childbirth. She further co-founded the Women’s Visiting Gynaecological Club, when only men’s clubs existed, and advocated for mothers to continue their careers after childbirth.

Lloyd's Legacy

In 1949, Lloyd became the first female President of a Royal Medical College, at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She was unanimously re-elected twice. The year after, she became the first woman on the General Medical Council.

Dame Hilda Lloyd’s legacy is celebrated across cultural heritage and medical circles:

-There is a blue plaque dedicated to her contributions at the University of Birmingham

- The Dame Hilda Lloyd Network is a West Midlands-based network that supports research and clinical care.

Stanley Morris and Cyril J. Shiner, The Sankey Club

Morris and Shiner both studied at the Birmingham Central School of Art, under esteemed silversmith and head of the department of metalwork, Bernard Cuzner. Both silversmiths enjoyed illustrious careers and created nationally significant works.

Cyril J. Shiner designed the trophy for the winner of the King’s Vase race at the 1940 Royal Ascot. Organisers cancelled the race due to wartime conditions and repurposed the trophy as the Dunkirk Cup, commemorating the naval action of the Dunkirk evacuation of that year. Lord Queenborough bought the cup at auction and donated it to the Admiralty to retain at the National Maritime Museum.

During the 1930s, Stanley Morris received the Messenger Prize, the John Henry Chamberlain Medal prize, and two Goldsmiths Company Scholarships. When he was just 19 (1938), Morris made the ‘Crozier Head’. The materials for which were paid for using scholarship funds. It is one of his best-known works and can be seen on display at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Morris specialised in ecclesiastical, domestic and civil works, and many of his pieces designed for churches are still in use around Birmingham.

The Sankey Club Collection at Auction

Lot 100

A mid-20th century silver mounted & hardwood presentation bowl.

Estimate: £500 - £700

Lot 101

A mid-20th century Scottish silver presentation vase.

Price Realised:  £572.00

Lot 102

A 1930's silver mounted presentation table cigarette box.

Price Realised:  £468.00

Lot 103

A silver mounted presentation table cigarette box.

Lot 104

A mid-20th century silver mounted presentation box.

Price Realised:  £455.00

Lot 105

A pair of mid-20th century silver candlesticks, each on hardstone base.

Price Realised:  £455.00

Lot 106

A large mid-20th century silver presentation chalice & cover.

£800 - £1,200

Lot 107

A pair of mid-20th century silver twin-branch candelabra, each on hardstone base.

Price Realised:  £767.00