Journal of Immunological Methods 347 (2009) 1–2

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Obituary

John Holborow (1918–2009)

John Holborow, one of the three founding Editors of theJournal of Immunological Methods, has died at the age of 90.

John was educated at Clare College Cambridge and StBartholomew's Hospital Medical School in London. During theSecond World War he served as a Major in the Royal ArmyMedical Corps and was part of a team developing the use ofblood transfusions at a desert field hospital in North Africa. In1953 he was appointed Consultant Bacteriologist at theCanadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital in Taplow, Buckin-ghamshire, UK. This hospital had been transferred to theBritish government after the SecondWorld War and in 1947 aSpecial Unit for Juvenile Rheumatism was established thereunder the direction of Eric Bywaters. In 1958 the MedicalResearch Council accepted responsibility for the Unit and Johnbecame a member of the scientific staff of what was to be aworld famous centre of excellence in the field of juvenilerheumatoid arthritis. Interestingly, the original militaryNissen huts remained in use, housing both laboratory staffand clinical wards. Johnwas to remain there for some 18 yearsand established an international reputation as an experimen-tal immunologist with a special interest in autoimmunity. It

doi:10.1016/j.jim.2009.05.009

was during this period that the need for a journal devoted toimmunological methods emerged and was proposed to theNorth-Holland Publishing Company, later to become part ofthe Elsevier group.

In 1998, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of theJournal of Immunological Methods, John recalled the originsof the Journal (J. Immunol. Methods 216 (1998) 3–5).

“The early 1970's were a time when immunologicalresearch was relying somewhat less on using animals as testtubes to sort out and identify the cells andbiologicalmoleculesof immune reactivity; immunologistswere devising evermoreingenious ways of refining laboratory methodology forinvestigating cellular and molecular events of inexhaustibleinterest. Things had then reached a stagewhenmore andmoreimmunologists, biological and clinical, were feeling a need fora new journal reporting for all to read at bench level the best –that is the most practically useful – of the myriad newmethods being developed in this mushrooming field ofresearch.

Looking back now, I recall with much pleasure howamicably from the first we three shared our editorship of justsuch a new journal that North–Holland proposed publishing;Felix Borek – who had the seminal idea – and Jack Battisto,both of the Einstein Medical College in New York City, and mein the UK at the British Medical Research Council's Rheuma-tism Unit at Taplow.”

Shortly after the launch of the Journal John became,successively, the Director of the MRC Unit in Taplow andthen the Head of the MRC Bone and Joint Research Unit at theLondon Hospital Medical College. When John retired in 1983he also stepped down as European Editor of JIMhaving steeredthe Journal through its first 10 years during which he alwaysinsisted on the highest standards of clarity and accuracy in thepapers that referees had recommended for publication. Hebelonged to a generation of “hands-on” Editors who believedpassionately that their role was to be personally responsiblefor the published product and so would actively edit thegrammar and syntax of every scientifically acceptable manu-script in order to ensure the highest quality, especially whenEnglish was not the first language of the contributors. When Isucceeded John as European Editor in 1984 Iwas acutely awareof the high standards that he had set and for many years livedin expectation of receiving a phone call pointing out somelinguistic affront that he had spotted in his copy of the Journal.

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Fortunately, as far as I am aware, the call never came or,perhaps, was repeatedly suppressed by his basically kindlynature.

In addition to his primary research articles John will alsobe remembered for several important immunological titlesincluding, in 1965, “Autoimmunity and Disease”with LeonardGlynn, in 1968 “An ABC of Modern Immunology” and in 1977“Immunology in Medicine” with Gordon Reeves.

In retirement John moved to the village of Fingest nearHenley-on-Thames where he pursued, amongst other things,an interest in ecclesiastical records. In 1999 he published abook based on the 800 year history of the local parish church(“Fingest: stony ground”). In later years when life in thecountry became less easy he and his wife moved to Hythe inKent. He is survived by his wife Cicely and his three children,

Jonathan (a journalist), Paul (a College Lecturer in London)and Marnie (a teacher at Dublin City University).

Acknowledgement

The author is grateful to the Holborow family for their helpand particularly for the provision of the above photograph.

Malcolm TurnerE-mail address: mwtedjim@ichucl.vianw.co.uk.