Somerville Hastings, FRCS (4 March 1878 – 7 July 1967) was a British surgeon and Labour Party politician. ODNB article by John Stewart
'Hastings, Somerville (1878–1967)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
accessed 16 Feb 2016

Early life and career

The son of the Reverend H G Hastings, he was born in Warminster, Wiltshire. He was educated at Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire), University College (receiving the gold and silver medals for botany) and the Middlesex Hospital, London. He qualified as MRCS LRCP in 1902, FRCS in 1904 and MB (London) in 1908. On 19 October 1911 Hastings married Bessie Tuke (1882–1958), the daughter of the architect William Tuke. They had two children.

Working life

Hastings was Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading, in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, from 1923 to 1924, and from 1929 to 1931. He returned to the House of Commons at the

1945 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1945. Africa * 1945 South-West African legislative election Asia * 1945 Indian general election Australia * 1945 Fremantle by-election Europe * 1945 Albanian parliamentary election * 1945 Bulgaria ...

as MP for Barking, holding the seat until his retirement at the 1959 general election. Thora Silverthorne worked for Hastings as a nanny and went on to be secretary of the Socialist Medical Association. Hastings was founder President of the Socialist Medical Association (SMA) 1930–51. He served in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

during the First World War, followed by work as an aural surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital. He was a Member of the London County Council for fourteen years. Edith Summerskill felt that the "idea of a National Health Service germinated in the hospitable atmosphere" of Hastings’ home. He successfully proposed a resolution at the 1934 Labour Party Conference that the party should be committed to the establishment of a State Health Service. He was a member of the Party's Medical Services sub-committee which produced the report ''A State Health Service'' which was accepted as the basis for the Party's policy.

Death

Somerville Hastings died at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, on 7 July 1967, aged 89.

Publications

Hastings was the author of: *''Toadstools at Home'' (1906) *''Wild Flowers at Home'' (1906) *''Alpine Plants At Home'' (1908) *''Summer Flowers Of The High Alps'' (1910) *''First Aid for the Trenches'' (1917) *''The Future of Medical Practice in England'' The Lancet (1928) *Fabian Tracts no. 24
''A National Physiological Minimum''
(January 1934) *''The Future of Medical Practice: A Personal View'' (1942) *''The Development of the Health Services'' (February 1943) (and many other leaflets and tracts for the Socialist Medical Association)
''The Family And The Social Services''
with Peggy Jay (February 1965)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Somerville 1878 births 1967 deaths Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Reading UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951 UK MPs 1951–1955 UK MPs 1955–1959 National Health Service people 20th-century English medical doctors Alumni of University College London English health activists English surgeons Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons 20th-century surgeons