Two centuries of medical benevolence: the Norfolk and Norwich Benevolent Medical Society 1786-1986.

a considerable need for charitable medical benevolence. In 1986 two charitable medical organisations in the United Kingdom celebrate anniversaries that remind us of the importance of this need. The Royal Medical Benevolent Fund has planned several events to mark the 150th anniversary of its foundation in 1836 as the Benevolent Society of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association, which in 1856 became the British Medical Association; in 1870 the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund separated from the BMA to become a society in its own right. The Norfolk and Norwich Benevolent Medical Society, which was founded 50 years earlier and claims to be the oldest surviving benevolent medical society in the United Kingdom, marks its 200th anniversary with a birthday party and publication of its history.'