40 year Barts Reunion
Ninety-one people from across the country and globe gathered on 6 September 2025 at The Brewery on Chiswell Street to celebrate 40 years of graduation from St Bartholomew’s Medical College in 1985.
With a backdrop of rotating black and white photos of our student days, we enjoyed a prosecco reception, a delicious four-course dinner and shared memories and nostalgic stories from friends and re-acquaintances.
The welcoming speech raised a toast to absent friends; those we had been unable to contact, those who were unable to attend and particularly to those who are so sadly departed and no longer in our midst. After dinner, speeches started with the words of the first verse of The Barts Song and progressed to an open mike session, when words of wisdom were shared along with stories of a bygone age of medical student life.
In the afternoon, some of us enjoyed an excellent tour of the hospital provided by City Guides. We were reminded of the unique history and architectural heritage of the hospital and its churches. As we looked out over the Smithfield site from the top of the remarkable and grand modern hospital building, we recalled our days of learning medicine on Nightingale wards, chips and cheese toasties from the all-night basement hospital canteen, gatherings around the fountain in the square and the camaraderie of experiencing undergraduate life at The Royal and Ancient Hospital of St Bartholomew’s. A true privilege.