On 15 July 2026, Arthur Williams, aged 93 years, of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. Mr Williams registered with the College in 1955 and become a Fellow in 1992. He left the College in 2023.
Tribute
It is with great sadness we learnt of the death of Arthur Williams, past president of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) (1994–1996). Arthur will be remembered for many things, but in his professional life, his interest was in care of the elderly. In 1979, as a chief pharmacist in Manchester, he undertook and published research into medicines use by the elderly and how pharmacists could help older people gain the full benefits of their drug therapy. This was innovative at the time and attracted much interest across the profession and pharmaceutical industry since it covered many areas such as opening packaging, reading labels and use of eye drops — this latter issue led to the development of a device called Opticare.
Arthur took his talents to Scotland when he became chief administrative pharmaceutical officer (CAPO) for the Grampian area, based in Aberdeen, where most notably he met the challenge of contracting out hospital pharmacy services and retained services in-house. As a member of the GHP Council at the time, he recused himself from discussion on this subject so he could maintain his impartiality and credibility when dealing with it in Aberdeen. He was well respected for his oversight, management and delivery of hospital pharmacy services in his CAPO role, which also included the Orkney and Shetland Isles, where he enjoyed carrying out statutory inspections and was made most welcome.
I knew Arthur as a hardworking member of GHP Council in the 1980s and 1990s, where he was also a great storyteller, mentoring many colleagues with his raconteur style, which he also developed and entertained others in occasional after-dinner speaking engagements. He served as a GHP delegate to the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) for over four years, where his contributions to the professional agenda were most welcomed, and he was known as a “real English gent”. Others described him as a very humble and honourable man. In 1990, he was a recipient of the GHP Gold Medal for an outstanding contribution to hospital pharmacy.
His interest in and support for care of the elderly lasted into retirement, where he supported his local stroke club and joined the panel of the Research Institute for Disabled Consumers so he could help “to make a difference”. Arthur was made a Fellow of the then Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 1991 and honoured with an OBE for his services to Grampian Health Board in the same year. He will be missed by many and most notably by his wife Barbara, son Alistair and daughter Katharine who he leaves behind.
Ron Pate MBE, FRCPharm, past president of the GHP and former honorary secretary of the EAHP