News

ISPO mourns loss of Dr Herbert J B ('Binks') Day

It is with sadness we inform the ISPO community of the recent passing of Dr Herbert J B Day on 23 December 2022.

'Binks' Day was born in London on 7 February 1927 and trained as a doctor at Kings College Hospital. After graduation he worked in Accident & Emergency and Orthopaedic Surgery.

He entered the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre (ALAC) service at Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton, London where he had a close productive relationship with Dr Robin Redhead. In 1960 Binks was posted to Manchester as Senior Medical Officer, where he remained up to his retirement in 1990.

Binks Day’s accomplishments were many and varied, including:

• Founder member of ISPO UK where he served as Vice Chairman of the UK Member Society for two terms. Binks was highly respected in the field internationally and also served on the International Board of ISPO.
• Introduced the clinical use of the Myoelectric Prosthesis to the UK service.
• Wrote up the definitive Classification of Congenital Limb Deficiency. This classification is used internationally to this day.
• Pioneering Research to measure function, including step counting of lower limb activity.
• In 1997, Binks chaired a committee that wrote Standards and Guidelines for the management of people born with Congenital Upper Limb Deficiency.
• Represented the UK at International Prosthetic Standards Committees for many years.
• Teaching and mentoring doctors, nurses, and therapists right up to the time of his retirement. Every DSC doctor, at the time, had spent some period of their training with Binks.

A big man with the ability to see a logical and humorous way through any difficulty. He leaves behind many friends and colleagues but, above all - from Binks' point of view - many hundreds of patients, particularly children and their parents, who were under his loving care.

Binks was predeceased by his wife Minty - who regularly joined him on the ISPO conference trail - and leaves four children, and their families.