The Evolution of British Gerontology: Personal Perspectives and Historical Developments 9781447343110

Table of contents :
Front Cover
The Evolution of British Gerontology: Personal perspectives and historical developments
Copyright Information
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgements
Part I The ageing of British gerontology
1 Gerontology and gerontologists
Introduction
The emergence of gerontology
The ageing of British gerontology
Working in the archive
Constructing a timeline
Choosing participants
Interviewing, filming and photographing participants
Introducing the participants
Our project, ourselves
Conclusion
2 British gerontologists: who’s who
Introduction
Conclusion
Part II Learning from the past
3 The development of gerontology
Introduction
Politics, policies and practices
Advances in gerontology research and education
The post-war landscape
The expansion of research and education
Further milestones of the late 20th century
Programmes of ageing research
Into the new millennium
The British Society of Gerontology
Conclusion
4 Key themes in gerontology’s evolution
Introduction
Conference overview
Continuous presence: place and space
Care home research
Dementia
Home, homelessness and specialist housing
Retirement migration, housing-with-care and retirement villages
Urban and rural contexts
Assistive technology
Waxing and waning: ageism, age discrimination and human rights
New and emerging: participatory research
Conclusion
Part III Lives and careers in gerontology
5 Becoming and being a gerontologist
Introduction
Becoming a gerontologist: early influences
Childhood, family and early work experiences
Influential people and places
Becoming a gerontologist: the role of serendipity
Becoming and being a gerontologist: multiple pathways
Academic pathways: research routes
Academic pathways: practitioner routes
Knowledge exchange pathways
Hybrid pathways
Being a gerontological pioneer
Shared motivations
Identifying as a gerontologist
A context-contingent identity
Not identifying as a gerontologist
Conclusion
6 The personal and the professional
Introduction
Reflexive gerontologists
Being a gerontologist: the professional as it informs the personal
Being an ageing gerontologist: the personal as it informs the professional
Disappointments, surprises and challenges
The professional and the personal: a false dichotomy?
Conclusion
7 Do gerontologists retire?
Introduction
The emergence of retirement as a social institution
Retirement planning and extended working lives
Academic careers and retirement
Gerontologists contemplating retirement
The extended working lives of gerontologists
Gerontologists transitioning to retirement
Gerontologists in retirement
Conclusion
Part IV Informing the future
8 New directions for gerontology
Introduction
Gerontology and gerontologists
How far has gerontology come?
Theoretical developments
Visibility, activism and participation
Collaborations and connections
A cautionary note
Gerontology’s futures
Avenues for further research
Silences and challenges
Generation to generation
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Timeline: policies, research programmes, organisations and key events
Appendix 2: Conference themes, sub-themes and selected topics, 1971–2018
Bibliography
Index
Back Cover

Citation preview

“The people, the times, the contexts - these all come ‘alive’ through the voices and insights of prominent UK gerontologists who shaped their field. Their ‘reflexive seniority’ makes for a splendid read!” Anne Martin-Matthews, The University of British Columbia “This book is a wonderful journey through the dynamic and ongoing life of the discipline of gerontology in the UK, viewed through the eyes of familiar colleagues and friends.” Athina Vlachantoni, University of Southampton Half a century of UK gerontology research, theory, policy and practice are under the spotlight in this landmark critical review of the subject that places the country’s achievements in an international context. Drawing on the archives of the British Society of Gerontology and interviews with dozens of the most influential figures in the field, it provides a comprehensive picture of key developments and issues and looks to the future to plot new directions in thinking. This is the story of the remarkable progress of gerontology, told through the eyes of those who have led it. Miriam Bernard is Emeritus Professor of Social Gerontology at Keele University. Mo Ray is Professor of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln. Jackie Reynolds is Research Impact Manager at Staffordshire University.

ISBN 978-1-4473-4312-7

@policypress @policypress PolicyPress policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

9 781447 343127

The Evolution of British Gerontology Miriam Bernard, Mo Ray and Jackie Reynolds

“I am in awe of the authors’ ability to produce such a compelling and nuanced account of the development of gerontology in the UK.” Thomas Scharf, Newcastle University

EVOLUTI E VOLUTI E VOL U TON ION

The The The

BR I TI ITSI SHH BR GERONTOLOGY GE R O N T O L O G Y of of of

Bernard, Moand Ray Jackie and Jackie Reynolds Miriam Bernard, Mo Reynolds MiriamMiriam Bernard, Mo Ray Ray and Jackie Reynolds

THE EVOLUTION OF BRITISH GERONTOLOGY Personal perspectives and historical developments Miriam Bernard, Mo Ray and Jackie Reynolds

First published in Great Britain in 2020 by Policy Press North America office: University of Bristol Policy Press 1-9 Old Park Hill c/o The University of Chicago Press Bristol 1427 East 60th Street BS2 8BB Chicago, IL 60637, USA UK t: +1 773 702 7700 t: +44 (0)117 954 5940 f: +1 773-702-9756 [email protected] [email protected] www.policypress.co.uk www.press.uchicago.edu © Policy Press 2020 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 978-1-4473-4310-3 (hardcover) ISBN 978-1-4473-4312-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-4473-4311-0 (epdf) ISBN 978-1-4473-4313-4 (epub) The right of Miriam Bernard, Mo Ray and Jackie Reynolds to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Policy Press. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the authors and not of the University of Bristol or Policy Press. The University of Bristol and Policy Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. Policy Press works to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Cover design by Sukey Parnell Front cover: All portraits © Sukey Parnell Printed and bound in Great Britain by CMP, Poole Policy Press uses environmentally responsible print partners

We dedicate this book to the memory of two notable British gerontologists who are no longer with us: Alison Norman and Ken Blakemore. Alison Norman has been described by colleagues as a ‘doyenne of her generation in the field of social gerontology’; Ken Blakemore is remembered as a successful novelist and playwright, as well as a social gerontologist. We were privileged to interview them both. Ken Blakemore 5 July 1948–​7 June 2017 Alison Norman 13 January 1934–​17 June 2018

Contents Acknowledgements

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PART I: The ageing of British gerontology 1 Gerontology and gerontologists 2 British gerontologists: who’s who

3 21

PART II: Learning from the past 3 The development of gerontology 4 Key themes in gerontology’s evolution

95 119

PART III: 5 6 7

145 167 189

Lives and careers in gerontology Becoming and being a gerontologist The personal and the professional Do gerontologists retire?

PART IV: Informing the future 8 New directions for gerontology

213

Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Bibliography Index

239 269 279 303

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Acknowledgements As always with ventures of this kind, there are many people we wish to thank who have helped bring it to fruition. Our thanks and appreciation go to the Leverhulme Trust, which funded the Ageing of British Gerontology project (2015–​17) that forms the basis of this volume as well as its companion outputs. The work was supported throughout by the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) and the Centre for Policy on Ageing whose staff gave us access to the BSG archive and tracked down a number of references and resources we needed. We were fortunate to have a ‘virtual’ advisory group whose members helped steer and guide the project and gave constructive feedback as and when requested. We thank Andy Achenbaum (Emeritus Professor of History and Social Work, University of Houston, USA); Gilly Crosby (Director, Centre for Policy on Ageing); Claire Garabedian (former Associate Researcher, University of Worcester); Tessa Harding (community activist and former Head of Policy, Help the Aged); Robin Means (Emeritus Professor of Health and Social Care, University of the West of England); Sheila Peace (Emeritus Professor of Social Gerontology, The Open University); Debora Price (Professor of Social Gerontology, University of Manchester); Tom Scharf (Professor of Social Gerontology, Newcastle University); Charles Simpson (Research Fellow, University of Hertfordshire); and Mark Skinner (Associate Professor of Geography, Trent University, Canada). We most warmly thank our 50 participants for allowing us into their lives and, often, their homes, and for generously sharing their experiences and reflections with us. Being recorded, filmed and then photographed is no small undertaking and we appreciate your enthusiasm and the continued interest you have shown in the project. Working closely with professional photographer, artist and gerontologist Sukey Parnell was also a pleasure. Her superb images are reproduced here; they also form the heart of the Ageing of British Gerontology Exhibition launched in July 2017 at the 46th annual conference of the BSG hosted at Swansea University, as well as a wonderful newspaper-​ style publication and a series of postcards. The many hours of filmed interviews were edited and developed into a series of short films by Matt Watson of WatsOn Media Productions. Again, it was gratifying to work with such a creative, committed and patient colleague. Our sincere appreciation goes to the team at Policy Press, particularly Alison Shaw, Chief Executive and, initially, Isobel Bainton, Commissioning Editor. Subsequently, Laura Vickers-​Rendall, Associate

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Acknowledgements

Commissioning Editor, has seen us patiently through the personal and professional challenges we faced during the two years it took us to write the book. We are grateful too to the anonymous reader of the draft manuscript who provided helpful comments. Any remaining mistakes are ours. As authors, we also wish to acknowledge the importance of the support we have given each other throughout the whole process of conceiving, undertaking and then writing up the project for publication. Our motivations for becoming involved in this enterprise varied. For Mim, the work reflects a personal vision, commitment and desire to leave something tangible for future generations of gerontologists after a lengthy career as a critical gerontologist and a long-​established member of the gerontological community. Mim feels very fortunate to have concluded her 30  years at Keele University with this ‘flexible retirement’ project, doing what she has always most enjoyed: researching and writing with colleagues. For her part, Mo was very keen to work with Mim as she knew that, in all likelihood, this would be her last research project. Although they had co-​supervised doctoral students and worked on a number of gerontology-​focused learning and teaching projects, they had never undertaken research together. Mo also knew how personally important the project was to Mim and was extremely pleased to have been asked to be a member of the research team. For Jackie, the project was an opportunity to considerably expand her gerontological knowledge and understanding. The experience of interviewing participants was a unique privilege, and she too valued being part of a small team of close colleagues. Last, but by no means least, we wish to record our thanks not just to the colleagues and students we have known over the years, but especially to our families. Your support, love and encouragement has been invaluable and has sustained us through the challenging and difficult life transitions we have all experienced since we first embarked on the project in the summer of 2015.

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PART I

The ageing of British gerontology

1

Gerontology and gerontologists Introduction Ageing, it now seems, is everybody’s business. Wherever we turn these days, older people are visible in the British media: on television and radio, and in advertisements. Actors, celebrities and public figures are documenting their experiences and thoughts about ageing at a rate of knots; others are writing or making documentaries about living with, or caring for, family members –​often with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias; and the anti-​ageing beauty industry exhorts us to stave off the signs of growing older for as long as we possibly can. Paradoxically, alongside this increasing visibility, has been an ever-​present sense that population ageing  –​and older people themselves  –​is somehow to blame for many of society’s current problems. Indeed, proponents of ‘apocalyptic demography’ (Robertson, 1990) make uncritical use of statistics to fuel alarmist concern and generate moral panic among the media, government and the general population (Gee and Gutman, 2000; Bytheway and Johnson, 2010). This book, and the research project on which it is based, is located at the intersection of this paradox. Our contention is that much popular and policy understanding of ageing and older people often has very little basis in the growing body of national and international gerontological research that has been undertaken over the past 40–​50 years, and that, as yet, we know very little about the evolution of this inter-​and multidisciplinary field from the perspectives of those who have been instrumental in its growth and development. Consequently, this chapter begins our sociohistorical examination by considering how gerontology first emerged, before going on to describe the Ageing of British Gerontology research project. Our mixed-​method project looks at gerontology’s evolution through the contributions and experiences of senior figures in British gerontology and contextualises, supplements and integrates this new empirical work with a detailed examination of the archives of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG). It is our research into, and analyses of, these materials and interviews that are at the heart of the book. The chapter concludes by briefly introducing the 50 gerontologists who took part, as well as ourselves.

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The emergence of gerontology Historically, ageing and old age have interested scholars, philosophers and scientists since time immemorial (David, 1991; Cole, 1992; Thane, 2000; Small, 2007). Despite this long history of interest, gerontology is, paradoxically, a ‘young’ field of study. Its origins are Greek:  a combination of ‘geront’, meaning literally ‘old man’, and ‘logy’, meaning ‘the study of ’. The root ‘ger’ also means to ‘grow old’ –​so it is, technically, the study of ageing. Russian-​born biologist and Nobel Prize-​winning immunologist Elie Metchnikoff is commonly credited with first proposing and naming this new field in 1903 (Metchnikoff, 1908; Achenbaum, 1995; Stambler, 2015). Additionally, Martin and Gillen (2014) note that Metchnikoff suggested establishing gerontology as a discipline precisely because he recognised that ageing was not solely about disease and decline; nor was it to be the purview of medicine alone. Indeed, ‘Metchnikoff’s assertion that aging processes extend beyond the boundaries set by medicine defines gerontology as the first interdisciplinary venture of the 20th century’ (Martin and Gillen, 2014: 51). The emergence of gerontology –​particularly in Western nations such as the UK and the US –​can also be seen as a response to the major social and demographic changes that were occurring as the 20th century unfolded. In less than 100 years, average life expectancy in Britain increased dramatically from a little over 50 years to over 80; sex ratios shifted such that older women came to considerably outnumber older men; and one fifth of all newborn boys, and nearly one third of all newborn girls, are now expected to live to be centenarians (ONS, 2018: 9). In tandem with population ageing, the introduction of pensions, and the subsequent creation of the welfare state and the National Health Service, considerably altered the policy and practice landscape, as we shall see in Chapter  3. However, systematic and sustained investigation of the processes and stages of human ageing, and the experience of old age, only ‘took root at the end of the Second World War’ (Warnes and Phillips, 2007:  142). Before this, many scholars and practitioners working on ageing and with older people tended at best to be ignored and at worst to be completely marginalised. Marjorie Warren, ‘the mother of geriatrics’ and one of the pioneers of geriatric medicine in Britain, is a case in point (Barton and Mulley, 2003). Warren was developing her rehabilitative approach at a time when care of older people with chronic conditions was still largely custodial (St John and Hogan, 2014). Her attempts to overturn this situation

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at the West Middlesex Hospital in London where she worked were often met with opposition or treated as ‘a joke’ (Tepper, 1975). Even though she published some 27 scientific papers in the 1940s and 1950s (Barton and Mulley, 2003), colleagues saw little value in what she was trying to do despite compelling evidence of its impact on improving the health and wellbeing of older people (Bayne, 1977). In addition, her arguments for a team-​based approach, for careful assessment, for integrated care that included the patient, family and friends, and for the creation of a speciality, took a considerable time to come to fruition. Thus, it was only during the second half of the 20th century that gerontology really began to emerge as a recognised field, in tandem with the growing volume of ageing-​related research and knowledge considered further in Chapters 3 and 4. Despite Metchnikoff’s advocacy of interdisciplinarity, gerontology traditionally encompassed three distinct subject areas –​biology, psychology and sociology –​with the accepted methods of research about ageing, old age and older people’s lives being dominated by biomedical and quantitative approaches. These three ‘foundational’ disciplines were key to British gerontology. In the early days, biologists concerned themselves with the processes that limit length of life; psychologists studied the ways in which people’s behaviour changes with age; and sociologists examined age-​ related changes in roles and statuses as well as the impact of social institutions. As these disciplines themselves developed over the course of the 20th century, each has come to recognise that there is no simple or singular process at work in terms of ageing, and subdivisions (or subdisciplines) have emerged as the knowledge base and research has expanded. The rapidity of post-​war expansion meant that, some 30 years ago now, Achenbaum and Levin (1989) were able to identify 15 of what they termed ‘gerontology’s specialties’, illustrating just how diverse the early field of gerontology then was, and indeed still is. More recently in the UK, Clare Wenger (2006) articulated the range of disciplines she sees as contributing to gerontology, distinguishing between what she termed ‘traditional’ disciplines such as anthropology, sociology and psychology, and ‘applied’ disciplines such as geriatric medicine, nursing, social policy and social work. We return to considerations about the boundaries and nature of gerontology in the concluding chapter of the book, but, as part of this introduction, we now briefly consider each of the foundational disciplines. Biologists interested in ageing essentially looked at the cycle of birth, growth, senescence and death, intent on uncovering why and how we age (Finch, 1990; Hayflick, 1994; Strehler, 1999). Paraphrasing

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pioneering American scientist and gerontologist Nathan Shock (1951), Clark Tibbitts (1963: 342) –​his contemporary –​observed that: Biologists consider ageing as a normal process of progressive declines in cellular composition and capacity for growth; in tissue structure and function; in speed, strength, and endurance of the neuromuscular system; in the function of glandular and other organ systems; and in the capacity to integrate organ systems. Biological ageing processes take place, therefore, from the cellular level through tissues to whole-​organ systems. Tibbitts also drew attention to the fact that, in parallel with these processes, the prevalence of long-​term chronic disease was rising with age:  features that were reflected in early British work. Here, we note in particular the seminal contributions of British biologists such as Peter Medawar (1952) as well as Alex Comfort’s (1964) landmark study on senescence. In more recent years, scholars such as Tom Kirkwood (1999, 2001) have been at the forefront of challenging and expanding understandings of how biological ageing processes work. While ‘there are certain inescapable realities about ageing of the body’ (Cox et al, 2014: 31), ageing processes are now known to be much more malleable than originally thought. An increased ability to undertake genetic analysis, together with developments in genome sequencing, has provided greater insight into the underlying causes of biological ageing. This in turn has led many contemporary scientists to suggest that ageing may be a consequence of the accumulation of cell damage known as cellular senescence, and that cell senescence underlies many age-​related deleterious changes seen in human beings (Cox and Mason, 2018: 144). Together with increased understanding of disease mechanisms, these scientific advancements hold out the possibility of developing new strategies to improve health and extend longevity. Psychology too was particularly prominent in the early days of British gerontology, with work in the psychology of ageing tending to focus on issues such as the effects of ageing on intelligence, on motor skills (particularly in industry), and on learning and memory –​as well as on personality development (Welford et al, 1951; Bromley, 1966). In the latter part of the 20th century, the work of developmental psychologists and of lifespan developmental psychologists became increasingly important. These scholars began to challenge the decline narrative of ageing and the rigid demarcation of the life course into fixed, age-​ banded stages typical of many pre-​and post-​war researchers in this field

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(see, for example, Freud 1905/​1964; Bühler, 1935; Havighurst, 1953; Lidz, 1976). Such perspectives promulgated a normative, inflexible and deterministic view of the life course; privileged the early formative stages of human development; and contributed to a widespread belief that the second half of life was, in many ways, less valuable or important than the first half (Llewelyn and Osborne, 1990). Albeit products of their times, the early psychological models and theories were criticised for the normative assumptions they made about the life course and for their gender bias (Gilligan, 1982), often having been developed on, or with, male subjects in mind (see, for example, Erikson’s [1950] classic ‘eight ages of man’ theory and Levinson’s [1979] The seasons of a man’s life). They also paid scant attention to the influence of the social environment on human development (Fiske and Chiriboga, 1985), failing to appreciate that later life cannot be considered in isolation from what has gone before (Sugarman, 1986). By contrast, the revival of interest in lifespan developmental psychology has shown that the potential for development extends across the life course, that developmental paths vary from individual to individual, and that development occurs on different fronts (intellectual, physical, social) and at variable rates. In the UK, Peter Coleman has devoted much of his career to championing lifespan developmental psychology, most recently publishing a second edition of his textbook Aging and development (Coleman and O’Hanlon, 2017), which presents the latest research on social, personal and emotional development in older age. Coleman and O’Hanlon (2017) show how classic developmental accounts of ageing have been superseded by more recent theories and hypotheses (for example, Carstensen, 1992; Tornstam, 2005); they also consider processes of adaptation and shine a light on what they call ‘the later stages of aging’ (Coleman and O’Hanlon, 2017:  xi). While acknowledging that much progress has been made due, especially, to the pioneering work of researchers in the US and Germany (Coleman and O’Hanlon, 2017: 4), Coleman has long been concerned with the uneasy tension between psychology and gerontology over the years, a point we return to in the concluding chapter. If psychology focuses on the individual, then sociologists interested in studying ageing have been more concerned to examine social interaction between people, and the impact that an ageing population has on society, as well as the effects of that society on older people. Like biology and psychology, sociological work has evolved over the years since Metchnikoff first coined the term gerontology. In particular, sociologists were influential in developing (the subdiscipline of) social

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gerontology and, later, critical gerontology (Wellin, 2018). However, British sociologists of the mid-​20th century tended to look at old age and older people from within the positivist tradition: heavily influenced by the research methods of the natural sciences (Braun et al, 2014). The dominant theoretical perspectives  –​structural functionalism, disengagement theory, role and activity theory –​reinforced the view that older people represented a major problem that society needed to address. They were concerned with how individuals best adjust to old age –​notably to retirement and widowhood –​either by withdrawing from roles and activities (Cumming and Henry, 1961) or, conversely, by substituting new roles and activities in order to ‘age successfully’ (Havighurst, 1963). As in psychology, these perspectives were roundly criticised for the underlying assumptions they made about the inevitability and desirability of disengaging, for their gender biases, and for the unrealistic pressures that notions of successful ageing might put on people. Together with growing concerns about older people’s treatment under the welfare state (Townsend, 1981), this paved the way for the emergence of a more critical gerontology. Notable sociologists of ageing on both sides of the Atlantic were instrumental in first developing the new political economy perspective in the early 1980s (Estes, 1979; Phillipson, 1982; Walker, 1982). This perspective was underpinned by Marxist and neo-​Marxist theoretical traditions and, although it was concerned with how age, race, gender and class intersected, it was to be another decade and more before race and gender were afforded the same attention as class (Arber and Ginn, 1991, 1995; Bernard and Meade, 1993; Blakemore and Boneham, 1994; Minkler, 1996). Subsequently, feminist ideas (initially second wave and then third wave), together with the development of intersectionality theory, became increasingly important elements of the critical perspective (Ray, 1996; Calasanti and Slevin, 2001; Arber et al, 2003; Calasanti, 2004; Calasanti and King, 2015). Meanwhile, critical gerontology was making attempts to draw together the political economy of ageing framework with perspectives from disciplines in the humanities (notably history, philosophy and ethics). This humanistic focus was particularly strong in the US and in Europe, and was encouraging gerontologists to explore questions they had long avoided (Cole and Sierpina, 2006), such as ‘what makes for a good life in old age?’ and ‘how can society support different visions of old age?’ (Minkler, 1996: 470). As the emphasis began to shift away from structure and more towards agency, critical gerontology also began to query the traditional theories and methods that had been used to study

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ageing and old age, offering us new ways of both ‘doing gerontology’ and ‘being gerontologists’ (Bernard and Scharf, 2007b: 11). Echoing feminist perspectives, critical and humanistic gerontology has helped reorient approaches to research and practice by making older people central to these processes and giving voice to their lived experiences (Bornat, 2000; M. Ray, 2007; R.E. Ray, 2007, 2008). Together with the allied growth of age studies (Gullette, 1993, 2008; Pickard, 2016) and cultural gerontology (Twigg and Martin, 2015a), these different approaches are now bringing new subject areas and methodologies to gerontology, and broadening our understanding of how we age and of the nature and forms of creativity in later life (Twigg and Martin, 2015b; Fricke and Hartogh, 2016; Goulding et al, 2018; Amigoni and McMullan, 2019). Thus, as gerontological research and practice emerged and grew, disciplines other than the foundational ones contributed increasingly to its development (Baars et al, 2013). In fact, a survey of BSG members at the end of 2009 found a wide range of disciplinary affiliations among the membership, but with the social sciences dominating and health and social care still being the main focus for many people’s work (Peace, 2010). As will become evident in succeeding chapters, many of British gerontology’s earliest contributors have ‘grown up and grown old’ (to borrow Hockey and James’ 1993 phrase) with the gradual institutionalisation and maturing of the field: almost a fifth of the respondents to the BSG survey had been members for 20–​ 30 years or more and the oldest members –​a number of whom were interviewed for our project –​were in their mid-​eighties. For some, this proliferation of terms, specialties and contributory disciplines –​ including practice-​based and applied disciplines –​calls into question the status of gerontology and fuels the continuing controversy over whether or not it is a distinct academic discipline in its own right; for others, it is evidence of the dynamic inter-​and multidisciplinary nature of the field (Lowenstein, 2004; Alkema and Alley, 2006). That said, what is not in dispute is that gerontology in the 21st century has come to incorporate an ever-​widening range of themes and issues alongside its more traditional concerns. In addition, some gerontologists themselves have increasingly begun to reflect more on the scope of gerontology, on key contributors who are no longer with us, and on what ageing means in personal terms (see, for example, Dannefer et al, 2005; Journal of Aging Studies, 2008; Achenbaum, 2011, 2013; The Gerontologist, 2014; Marshall, 2015; The International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review, 2018). Indeed, Chamberlayne and her colleagues (2000) argue convincingly that to fully understand those

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with whom we work, it is important to also understand something of our own histories and how we have come to be what we are. With that in mind, the remainder of this chapter briefly considers the project underpinning this book and the personal stories that have led us, and our participants, to work on ageing and with older people for many years. Detailed pen portraits of the 50 participants follow in Chapter 2; here, we look at the common themes that emerge from these accounts and at our own roots –​and routes –​into gerontology.

The ageing of British gerontology The project underpinning this book explored the evolution of British gerontology from the founding of the British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology (now the British Society of Gerontology) in 1971, up to the present day. It looked at the society’s archives and at what might be learnt from the experiences and motivations of senior gerontologists who have actively contributed to building the knowledge base in ageing. The first phase of the two-​year project (2015–​17) concentrated on exploring the archival materials and charting the growth of research, policy and practice initiatives in ageing. The interviews then sought to document people’s careers in ageing; ascertain their views about the evolution of gerontology as a field of study; record their involvements with the BSG; and get them to reflect on their own ageing and the ways in which this has intersected –​or not –​with their professional careers. The empirical research has been complemented by photographic and film work. Each participant was invited to have their portrait taken by artist, professional photographer and gerontologist Sukey Parnell. These images accompany the written pen portraits in Chapter 2 and were central to the electronic Ageing of British Gerontology Exhibition and associated ‘newspaper’ publication. Selected extracts from the filmed, in-​depth interviews also formed the basis of eight thematic films reflecting many of the issues discussed in later chapters. To our knowledge, no similar undertaking of this scale has been attempted before, although the project draws on cognate work and scholarship (Cole et al, 1992; Achenbaum, 1995; Katz, 1996; Thane, 2005). It is also set in the wider context of a continuing interest in professional and disciplinary ‘histories’ (see, for example, Halsey, 2004; Agnew and Duncan, 2011; Backhouse and Fontaine, 2014), including the contributions of both historical and contemporary ‘key thinkers’ (for example, Smith and Greene, 2014; Hall et al, 2015; Twamley et al, 2015; Stones, 2017).

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Working in the archive The BSG’s archives provided a valuable opportunity for investigating the ways in which a learned society in the Enlightenment tradition has contributed to, and explored the expansion of, knowledge in this important area. Its significance lies in the ways in which it: encapsulates the shifting identities and values of a particular professional/​academic body; reflects changing attitudes to ageing in our society; and reveals the differing disciplinary perspectives of BSG members as they address the challenges of population ageing and of fluctuating welfare policy as it has affected older people. In this sense, the archive is an important element in exploring how British gerontology has evolved as a field of study, and how this links to key developments or milestones (in knowledge, in research, in theoretical development, in policy) over the past 40–​50 years. Both before and during the course of the project, the BSG archive was housed at the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) in London (it has since relocated to Swansea University). We were granted access to it by the BSG and CPA. At the time the project began, the archive was, in effect, in its ‘raw’ state: none of the material had been digitised or catalogued beyond the inclusion of contents sheets in each of the 50 or so boxes and lever arch files that comprise the collection. It mainly consists of records accumulated via the BSG’s volunteer officers (notably the presidents/​chairs, secretaries and treasurers). Following a 2012 consultation with an adviser for The National Archives, these records were classified into nine broad categories:  constitution(s); newsletters; membership lists; conference information; annual general meetings; executive (and sub-​committee) minutes (and papers where available); relationships with other groups; history of local groups; and international links. After an initial overview of the archive, it was decided to focus primarily on conference-​related documents (handbooks; programmes; participant lists and associated documents) and, with help from advisory group member and project participant Tessa Harding, on issues of Generations Review, the BSG’s newsletter. Research was carried out using two specifically developed data extraction templates: one recorded key information about each conference, the other about the contents of the newsletter. Analysis of this information shows how gerontology has evolved over time and has helped us draw out key research themes and topics, as well as methodological and theoretical developments. It also contextualised the interviews and informed the questions asked of participants, as well as helping in the compilation of a research and

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policy timeline against which to set the archival and interview findings (see Appendix 1). Constructing a timeline As noted earlier, while interests in ageing and older people have a long history, we have taken the Second World War –​and the subsequent creation of the welfare state and the National Health Service –​as the starting point for our timeline. The timeline provides a summary of national research programmes, important reports and policy documents, and events such as the emergence of influential organisations. It is always difficult to know what to include and what to leave out in a timeline such as this; others may well have constructed it somewhat differently. Nevertheless, it provides a concise way of summarising the broader context to the sociohistorical evolution of British gerontology over the past 80 years or so. Missing from the timeline are key gerontology texts. Having debated the merits, or not, of including these, it was decided, instead, to ask participants for recommendations to be incorporated into the book’s bibliography. Each participant was invited to send details of up to three publications or resources. The resulting recommendations include classic texts and studies; definitive resource books, helpful collections and accessible introductions to particular themes, issues or subdisciplines; texts that have been important to an individual’s own career and development as a gerontologist; and, on occasion, one or two novels or other kinds of resources. These references are emboldened in the bibliography for ease of identification. Choosing participants How we came to interview the people we did, is a frequently asked question. The original intention was to conduct 40 narrative interviews with gerontologists who were widely regarded as key to the evolution of the field –​as distinct from charting the evolution of a single profession such as geriatric medicine or social work. While recognising that there would be close connections with the BSG, it was also important to ensure that the project was about the wider development of gerontology rather than a sociohistorical account of the BSG per se. Thus, the first step was to compile a list of potential participants from our own knowledge of the field and our professional and personal networks developed over many years. The list included people from ageing organisations and from other areas of practice and

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policy as well as from academia. BSG Founding Fellows, recipients of the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award and people associated with the society’s ‘senior members’ initiative, also featured. The initial list, submitted with the funding application, had 48 names on it. We continued to add to the list while awaiting the outcome of the application. By the time the project began in July 2015, a further 20 names had been added. At this point, we then consulted with the project’s advisory group which, in addition to both established and early career British gerontologists, included senior colleagues from overseas as well as the current, past and future presidents of the BSG, and the Director of the CPA. As a consequence, some names were removed and others were added; other potential participants, it transpired, were unfortunately no longer alive. We also anticipated that once the interviews started other names might come up, so wanted to retain the flexibility to add people as the project progressed. In the event, the ‘final’ list had a little over 50 potential participants on it. Rather than draw 40 names out of a hat, or further whittle them down by other means, it was decided to make contact with everyone and see what would happen. Such was the positive response –​and so few were the refusals or non-​responses to our enquiries –​that we eventually ended up interviewing a total of 50 people: 25 per cent more than originally envisaged. This provided us with a lot more material, but it also pushed back the timetable and added to the work involved in the other elements –​notably the photographic and film work. Interviewing, filming and photographing participants Preparation for the empirical aspects of the project began in the autumn of 2015 with the construction of an interview guide, an information leaflet, consent forms, a letter of invitation, and a participant details form. Keele University’s Ethical Review Panel gave approval in December 2015. Where possible, the intention was to both audio-​record and film the interviews, and to work with professional photographer, artist and gerontologist Sukey Parnell to produce a series of high-​quality photographic portraits. Clearly, participants would be identifiable if they consented to appear on film and be photographed. Consequently, the letter of invitation, and the accompanying information leaflet and consent forms, laid out in detail what was intended and gave people the ability to opt out of any or all of these elements. In addition, participants consented separately to have quotes used and attributed or not, and/​or to be anonymised. If participants requested it, they were sent the topic guide ahead of the

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interview; afterwards, their transcripts were returned so that they could indicate any parts they wished to exclude from the research, or that they preferred to have anonymised. In the event, in addition to audio-​ recording all interviews, 43 participants consented to be filmed, 47 to be photographed, and all 50 to have their quotes used and attributed. In January 2016, we acquired filming equipment and underwent training in how to use it, the intention being to film all the interviews ourselves. Interviews began in February, the first two serving as pilot interviews, with a number of minor changes then being made to the interview guide. The guide was divided into four sections and asked people to reflect on their careers in ageing; on the evolution of gerontology as a field of study; on their involvement with the BSG; and on their own ageing. During the following year, the three of us travelled all over the UK interviewing people in a place of their choosing, be that in their own homes, at work, or at conferences. Interviews were typically around two hours long and, on occasion, people would share their own archival materials with us. The interviews were professionally transcribed and the transcripts returned to participants for corrections, further comments and ongoing consent to attribute quotes. Participants were also invited to email us further thoughts and, if they wished, their most up-​to-​date  CV. Initial analysis of the transcripts was carried out as a team using an analytical framework that developed iteratively. Subsequently, we each took the lead on working individually on the dataset for three separate but related aims: to build on the initial analytical framework and produce a more detailed Nvivo-​aided analysis of the transcripts; to provide our filmographer with storyboards and narratives for the films; and to construct 500-​word pen portraits of all 50 participants (see Chapter 2). For readers unfamiliar with Nvivo, it is a computer software package that enables researchers to analyse large volumes of qualitative data such as interview transcripts. This meant that all three of us were immersed in the data and, in so doing, we have undergone a clear process of analytical triangulation. Moreover, for each of these tasks, we would then come back together as a team to add to, amend and discuss the analyses as necessary. Introducing the participants As Ruth Ray (2008: 98) noted in her foreword to the Special Issue of the Journal of Aging Studies in memory of British gerontologist Mike Hepworth, we, and our participants, are ‘aware of being part of a cohort or generation that has been shaped by its particular time and

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place in history’. Here, we draw out some of the cohort experiences and summarise common themes in participants’ biographies by way of introducing them to readers ahead of their individual pen portraits in Chapter 2. We highlight five themes, covering: disciplinary origins; the influence of early family experiences; early work in gerontology and with older people; conventional versus non-​conventional career paths; and important people and places. We refer to our participants as ‘gerontologists’ but, as will be seen in later chapters, the extent to which people identify with this label varies considerably. First, in the light of earlier discussions, it is instructive to note that our 50 participants cover some 17 base disciplines and/​or professions between them. Over a dozen participants originally studied sociology at degree level (or sociology in combination with, for example, social anthropology); six studied geography; four social anthropology; and pairs or threes of people studied social policy, social administration, social science, politics and economics. Eight participants have social work qualifications; three have education/​teaching qualifications; and a couple trained in nursing/​health visiting. Four participants come from scientific (maths, biology, statistics) and medical backgrounds; three studied psychology; and two are qualified clinical psychologists. In terms of the humanities, a couple of people trained as linguists; a couple studied history; a couple English literature; and one or two others studied philosophy and liberal arts. On the face of it then, our participants are a diverse group. As will be seen in Chapter  3, the historical development of gerontology in the UK means that, at undergraduate level at least, there are no full degree courses in the subject, although one or two people did take Master’s courses later in their careers. What this means therefore is that the overriding shared cohort experience is that everyone’s entry into gerontology has been via a different discipline and/​or professional pathway. Second, it is evident that for some participants early family experiences were influential in them becoming gerontologists. Some people lived with and/​or were brought up in extended intergenerational families including with grandparents. Although this does not automatically mean these participants had a natural rapport with older people, it did mean that contact with older generations was a component of growing up and felt normal and natural. Third, this led on, for several participants, to early  –​often voluntary  –​work with older people, usually in residential or hospital settings and during school holiday or university vacation periods. These formative work experiences sometimes cemented people’s interest in and commitment to working with older people as a career: a number of participants went on to train

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as community or social workers, doctors or nurses, or psychologists, and to work for some or all of their career in their chosen profession or in the voluntary sector. Others began work in these sectors but switched later to academic or research careers, although they continued to value, contribute to and make use of, their established links with practice and policy. In addition, a few people made a conscious choice to pursue doctoral research on older people and ageing, immediately or soon after completing their first degree. Fourth, in direct contrast, not everyone made early career choices about working with older people or undertaking research on ageing. In fact, a number of people followed quite different career paths earlier in their lives as, for example, teachers and tutors, administrators, in industry, or as trainees in completely different fields. For many people, getting involved in gerontology happened by chance or serendipitously: opportunities presenting themselves at the right time and in the right place. Word of mouth and networks also played a part at various stages of people’s careers. There appears too to be a gendered element here. A number of male participants spoke about being put forward for, or being recommended by, one of their university tutors for postgraduate research assistant posts with key figures, which subsequently led to appointments as lecturers and a conventional academic career path. Only one female participant shared this experience. More commonly, women experienced many years on short-​term and insecure research contracts before securing ‘permanent’ posts. Finally, whatever people’s routes into gerontology, many spoke about the importance of periods of time spent studying or working abroad and/​or the influence of key figures in their professional and academic lives. Some participants went as graduate (and occasionally undergraduate) students; others secured fellowships or internships; and yet others went on ‘study abroad’ or ‘travelling scholarships’ to learn about practices and developments in Australia, North America and around Europe. This brought people into contact with luminaries in their field and often established relationships and friendships that have endured for many years. As a consequence, many participants value the international links they have and which, in turn, contribute to the vibrant and global nature of contemporary gerontology. Our project, ourselves To complete this discussion, we also wish to acknowledge the personal and professional forces that have brought the three of

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us to gerontology and to this project in particular. In a sense, we reflect three generations of gerontologists and three different routes into gerontology despite a chronological age difference of just 15 years between us. Miriam (Mim) Bernard is one of the ‘senior’ gerontologists included in the 50 participants interviewed for the project and whose pen portrait can be found in the next chapter. Entering gerontology in the early 1980s, her career path reflects some of the key themes identified earlier: brought up in a household that included her paternal grandfather as well as her uncle and his family, she came to gerontology by chance rather than design. She spent years on temporary research contracts in the voluntary sector and only moved into academia –​albeit on a fixed-​term post –​in her mid-​ thirties. This was the late 1980s, a period that, as Chapter 3 shows, saw the emergence of educational courses alongside the burgeoning of research. Mim was appointed to teach on Keele University’s newly established postgraduate programmes in gerontology which was how, in 1992, she came to be teaching Mo Ray. As the courses grew, Mim’s post was made permanent and, a decade later, at the end of the 1990s, she was awarded a personal chair. Drawing on her own background and experience of applied and policy-​relevant research, Mim’s approach to gerontology is characterised by a commitment to inter-​and multidisciplinary perspectives; much of her written work also combines social scientific research with insights drawn from her interests in literature and the arts. If Mim can be considered as one of the first generation of gerontologists like others interviewed for the project, then Mo Ray is a second-​generation gerontologist. At the time she came to Keele in 1992, Mo was a practising social worker and social work trainer working with older people. She came knowing she wanted to take the one-​year postgraduate diploma course to widen her knowledge, seeing it as the basis for research she intended to do having become very interested, through her practice, in how long married couples managed caring responsibilities when one or both of them experienced illness or disability. Combining part-​time study with full-​time work, Mo then embarked on her PhD (supervised by Mim and Judith Phillips), completing it in 2000. She was subsequently awarded an Economic and Social Research Council Research Fellowship in 2003 (also at Keele) and was appointed as Lecturer in Social Work (again at Keele) in 2005. In 2014, she became Professor of Gerontological Social Work before joining the University of Lincoln in September 2016 as Professor of Health and Social Care. Committed to practice development in health and social care, and

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educated and supervised in the critical gerontology environment of Keele’s Centre for Social Gerontology, Mo is a leading advocate of the need for, and benefits of, a critical gerontological social work approach to ageing and later life. Jackie Reynolds is our third-​generation gerontologist. After many years as a self-​employed working mother, Jackie returned to education in midlife and undertook her first degree as a mature student, graduating in 2005. Following her applied social studies degree, she completed a Graduate Certificate in community practice focusing on community arts. This was what first sparked Jackie’s interest in arts and older people. After a period as a part-​time research officer at Staffordshire University, she came to Keele to undertake her PhD with Mim (and Tom Scharf). Jackie’s research focused on investigating the meanings older people attach to participation in group arts activities throughout their lives. Awarded her PhD in 2011, she worked as an independent researcher specialising in participatory research, as well as teaching in the Creative Communities Unit at Staffordshire University. In 2013, she was appointed as Senior Researcher in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Technologies at Staffordshire University before returning to Keele in 2015 to work on our project. Her commitment to public engagement led to her appointment as Keele’s first ever Public Engagement (with Research) Fellow in 2017. She is currently back at Staffordshire University having taken up a new post in 2018 as Research Impact Manager. Jackie’s approach to all her work reflects her passions for cultural gerontology, participatory and arts-​based research, and –​above all –​for the creative possibilities of later life.

Conclusion The chapters that follow pick up and develop many of the themes mentioned in this introduction. As we shall see, gerontology as a field of research and practice is maturing rapidly, so, while our focus is on British gerontology and British gerontologists, this is framed by knowledge of the international gerontological literature and of international gerontologists. As such, we believe the book will interest a wide readership for three interrelated reasons. First, British gerontologists are internationally recognised for the world-​class contributions they have made –​and are still making –​to gerontological theory, research, policy and practice. Second, because certain key individuals are no longer with us, and others are retired and/​or approaching retirement, it felt timely to try to capture the contributions, experiences and perspectives of leading British gerontologists before the opportunity

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was lost. By gathering together their insights and views, this book provides a perspective largely missing in the current international literature and research about ageing and later life. Third, in contrast to many disciplines in which the ‘young Turks’ may be thought to make the future, long-​established gerontologists are well placed to help us articulate possible future directions in ageing research because of their unique historical vantage point and, for many, their continued involvement with, and mentorship of, younger colleagues. National and international gerontologists will therefore be interested to read about the avenues for further research raised by these analyses, and the key messages and advice that senior gerontologists have for careeryoung colleagues. The book itself is divided into four parts. ‘Part I:  The ageing of British gerontology’ consists of this introductory chapter and Chapter 2. Together they provide the background and context for what follows. To complement this first chapter, Chapter 2 presents pen portraits of all 50 participants. Drawing on the literature and on our analyses of the archival materials and interviews, ‘Part II: Learning from the past’ also comprises two chapters. Chapter 3 explores the evolution of gerontology considering, first, the broader political, policy and practice context. It then looks at advances in education and research, including the impact of major research programmes on ageing; the role and contributions of the BSG are also appraised. Chapter 4 complements these explorations by drawing on the analyses of conference materials to examine some of the key themes and topics that have characterised the evolution of British gerontology. We consider three overarching areas: themes that have had a continuous presence; themes that have waxed and waned over time; and new and emerging themes. The three chapters in Part III look together at ‘Lives and careers in gerontology’. Chapter 5 uncovers how our 50 gerontologists first got involved with ageing research, policy or practice; whether they identify as gerontologists; and what has motivated them over the course of their careers. Chapter 6 focuses more particularly on the intersections between personal and professional identities and the ways in which growing older challenges what participants thought they knew about ageing. Chapter 7 rounds off these discussions by considering whether gerontologists ever retire, looking at transitions to retirement and at what life is like now for people whose career in ageing has spanned many decades. ‘Part IV: Informing the future’ comprises a final chapter: Chapter 8. This reflects on lessons learnt, considers what directions British gerontology might now take in a

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global context, and articulates potential avenues for future research. Our hope is that this unique sociohistorical exploration of a field, a topic and a set of social practices that ultimately affect us all, will shed light on some of the ways in which we might creatively address the continuing difficulties and opportunities that population ageing and later life presents us with.

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British gerontologists: who’s who Introduction Having briefly described in Chapter  1 how the 50 gerontologists came to participate in the project, as well as some of the threads that connect them, this chapter presents a series of individual pen portraits. These portraits are not, in any sense, meant to be formal biographies or CVs, or the kind of profile that might appear on institutional web pages. Instead, the aim is to provide readers with more of an insight into who these 50 British gerontologists are than might be gleaned simply from using selected quotations from their interviews to illustrate the themes and issues discussed in subsequent chapters. In this sense, the portraits are the individual and personal contexts for what follows. Up to three references at the end of each portrait are also included to enable readers to follow up work that participants are known for. These publications and resources were sometimes mentioned in interview as things of which people are proud, or feel are important. Others were sent subsequently in response to a request for such information, or have been added by us as authors. While everyone who participated in the project is well versed in critiquing the nature of ageing and old age, we were keen to encourage these ageing gerontologists to reflect a little on their own ageing as well as on their own work. Indeed, if professional gerontologists are unable to identify with becoming and being old (Bytheway et al, 1989), what hope is there for changing attitudes and furthering understanding more broadly? Moreover, by accompanying the written portraits with professional photographs, we have taken to heart calls from prominent international colleagues to put a ‘human face’ not just on critical gerontology (Moody, 1992; Holstein and Minkler, 2007; Ray, 2008) but now, literally, on gerontologists themselves.

Sara Arber Sara is Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey and describes herself as transitioning to retirement having been working part-​time for the past four years. A sociologist by background, with a Master’s

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in medical sociology from Bedford College, London and research methods and quantitative analysis skills acquired at the University of Michigan, Sara first got a lectureship at Surrey in 1974, “at the grand age of 25”. She sees herself as a medical sociologist and says [I]‌“never have, never would” self-​define as a gerontologist as she is interested in ageing as part of the life course rather than in older people per se. Her early work was around class inequalities in health, and she came to ageing serendipitously in the early to mid-​1980s through two successful applications to the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) very first initiative on ageing led by Margot Jefferys. One project was to analyse caregiving among ‘the elderly’ in the 1980 General Household Survey; the other was analysing retirement transitions. She subsequently applied for further ESRC grants and, in the late 1980s, these brought Jay Ginn to work with her at Surrey. Both sociologists, they wrote a couple of articles at this time about the invisibility of age in sociology, and then about the invisibility of gender in ageing research, which, together with findings from their ESRC project, were the impetus for their 1991 ground-​breaking book Gender in later life. Since then, Sara has gone on to undertake major research projects (with Jay) on income inequality, particularly in relation to older women and pensions, and ethnicity and pensions, often involving analyses of large datasets. At the start of the new millennium, she turned her focus to research on sleep and, under the first phase of the national New Dynamics of Ageing programme, was successful in gaining one of the large multidisciplinary collaborative awards. Sara was awarded a PhD by publication at Surrey, and considers one of her most significant contributions as being the successful supervision of some 50 PhD students over the course of her career. She has been particularly active in the British Sociological Association, having served on its Executive and as its President and Vice President. She has also been involved in the International Sociological Association since 1994 and values the international colleagues and networks she has developed since first studying in North America in the 1970s. Although describing herself as “less research-​active now”, she is still engaged in analysing the large Understanding Society dataset (developed from the British Household Panel Survey) and sees her role “as an older academic” as supporting and mentoring students and colleagues. Her key message for career-​young colleagues is to “take every opportunity because you don’t know where they’re going to lead to” and “work collegially with others”. The best thing about where Sara is now in her life is “the freedom or autonomy” she has in her part-​time role; and the ability to “spend more time with grandchildren, and travel a bit more, and do other things”.

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Arber, S. and Ginn, J. (1991) Gender and later life: A sociological analysis of resources and constraints, London: Sage Publications. Arber, S. and Ginn, J. (1995) Connecting gender and ageing: A sociological approach, Buckingham: Open University Press. Arber, S. and Timonen, V. (eds) (2012) Contemporary grandparenting: Changing family relationships in global contexts, Bristol: Policy Press.

Jonathan Barker Jonathan says it was 1986 when he went to America and “substantially leapt out of gerontology”, having been active in the early years of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) and Director of the Age Concern Research Unit. His interest in ageing dates to his Master’s in public and social administration at Brunel University from 1971–​72. Prompted by his grandfather’s poor treatment, he ended up doing a dissertation on the discharge of older people from “a terribly sad, now demolished old hospital in Hackney”. This research was brought to the attention of the then first Director of Age Concern England (ACE), David Hobman, who asked him to contribute to “a little manifesto series of papers”. Titled, Home from hospital, it unexpectedly attracted a lot of media attention and Jonathan found himself being interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme and Radio 2’s Jimmy Young programme, wryly commenting how “that launched me”. At the time this happened, Jonathan was teaching sociology to dental and medical students for the London Hospital Medical College and working as a research assistant based in the Family Research Unit in Bethnal Green, very close to the Institute of Community Studies and the Institute for Social Studies in Medical Care. This meant he rubbed shoulders with –​and was influenced by –​Michael Young, Peter Wilmott and Anne Cartwright, all of whom were doing ground-​breaking work on the welfare state. During his six years at “The London”, Jonathan also spent “several autumns” in New York after which he secured a lectureship in social policy at Middlesex University. In the summer of 1978, while Chair of Islington Age Concern, he was approached by ACE’s Assistant Director Sally Greengross about co-​directing the Age Concern Research Unit, then headed by Mark Abrams. The unit existed in “virtual form”, so, on taking up post, Jonathan set about raising money and developing relationships with organisations such as the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA). Major studies followed, including early projects on Black and Asian elders, drugs and older people, and support for people with dementia, alongside a series of research publications. In 1986, “after putting out feelers” to see whether

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an academic institution might like to link with them, the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology based at King’s College London came into being under the directorship of newly appointed Anthea Tinker, and with people like Tony Warnes and Janet Askham intimately involved. Personal circumstances took Jonathan back to America that same year, to run The Accessibility House, showcasing cutting-​edge designs to support people with disabilities “and yet have a home that still looked like a normal home”. Then, after returning to the UK in the early 1990s, he set up a consultancy followed by a research company of which he is still Director. In 2004, Jonathan co-​founded Musique Cordiale International Festival and Academy of which he is now Chair, so he spends two months every summer in the south of France. He says the “transformatory experience of having grandchildren” and “the belief that I’m still making an active contribution” are the best things about being where he is now in his life. Barker, J. (1983) Mental health for older Europeans, London: Age Concern Research Unit. Barker, J. (1984) Black and Asian old people in Britain, London: Age Concern Research Unit. Oakley, A.  and Barker, J.  (eds) (2004) Private complaints and public health:  Richard Titmuss on the National Health Service, Bristol: Policy Press.

Miriam Bernard Like a number of her peers, Mim ended up in gerontology “completely by accident”. With a degree in geography and English, in the latter stages of writing up her PhD at Keele University and unemployed, she answered a job advert in early 1982 for a researcher at a local charity. The charity turned out to be the Beth Johnson Foundation, an organisation known for its innovative developmental and educational work with older people. Mim’s temporary nine-​month contract turned into six years, during which time she undertook varied research projects ranging from support for older people living with dementia, to leisure activities and self-​health care. She joined the BSG and, in 1985, helped organise what was to be the first of four conferences hosted at Keele over the coming decades. In retrospect, Mim’s family history was also influential: there were always older people around, including “on my Dad’s side … a lot of his elderly aunts and uncles”, and, until the age of eight, she lived in a three-​generation, three-​family

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household with her paternal grandfather and her father’s brother and his family. In spring 1988, Mim returned to Keele to another temporary post, but this time as a lecturer. Working with Frank Glendenning and Chris Phillipson in the recently created Centre for Social Gerontology (CSG), her main focus was to recruit to –​and teach on –​the newly established MA/​Diploma and Certificate courses in gerontology that began that autumn. With “no background in gerontology” other than what she had picked up while at the Foundation, this “was a very steep learning curve”. Although Mim says “teaching wasn’t my forte”, the courses grew, her post was made permanent and, just before the millennium, she was awarded a personal Chair. Mim had also continued her research on health promotion as well as returning to her long-​standing interests in gender. Two collaboratively written books –​Women come of age (1993) and Women ageing (2000) –​are still among the things she is most proud of. And, as new colleagues joined the CSG, Mim’s research extended into work on intergenerational relations and family life, working carers and retirement community living. Latterly, her theatre and ageing projects, the establishment of the Ages and Stages Theatre Company and the now annual Live Age Festival, “brought together all the things I was interested in” and enabled her to reconnect with her arts-​based background. For Mim, the BSG has been “a really important part of my professional and personal identity”. Rarely missing a conference since 1982, it has been a source of support and of long-​lasting friendships. In the early 1990s, she was the West Midlands Regional Co-​ordinator and served on the BSG Executive. She also chaired the organising committees for the conferences hosted at Keele and was BSG President from 2010 to 2012. She was also review co-​editor for Ageing & Society between 1997 and 2002. Now flexibly retired, she feels “privileged to be able to manage the last part of my professional career this way” by doing the Ageing of British Gerontology project: “something I have long wanted to do”. Bernard, M. and Meade, K. (eds) (1993) Women come of age: Perspectives on the lives of older women, London: Edward Arnold. Bernard, M., Phillips, J., Machin, L.  and Harding Davies, V.  (eds) (2000) Women ageing:  Changing identities, challenging myths, London: Routledge. Bernard, M. et al (2015) ‘ “Ages and Stages”: the place of theatre in the lives of older people’, Ageing & Society, 35 (6): 1119–​45.

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Simon Biggs Describing himself as someone with a “quite mixed” career, Simon is currently the Brotherhood of St Laurence Professor of Gerontology and Social Policy at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne. His original training was in psychology and he worked initially with adolescents in the London Borough of Newham as a community psychologist. It was there, in the 1980s, that colleagues Mike Bender and Alison Cooper first piqued his interest in ageing: in the care and institutionalisation of older people and in the lack of staff development opportunities for those working in this field. Moving to the Central Council for Education and Training in Social Work in the mid-​1980s, Simon was able to take up the recently vacated “ageing brief ”, later becoming head of the Community Care programme and then of the Development Department. Having always worked on the boundaries between applied and academic work, Simon never saw himself as a career academic but describes being appointed to a lectureship at Keele University in 1994 as “a liberation for me”. He says he really took to it and found being with people looking at ageing from different perspectives especially important for developing “a critical social gerontological approach”. His particular interests in social interaction and identity, and in how social inequality and social structures affect people’s identities over the life course, have found expression in varied projects ranging from a continuing interest in elder abuse, to retirement housing, baby boomers and generational intelligence. While at Keele, he wrote The mature imagination (1999), the book he says he is most proud of and which cemented his reputation in theorising about age, identity, masquerade and performance. Awarded a Chair in 2000, he then went to King’s College London in 2004 where he was Director of the Institute of Gerontology until 2010, before moving to Australia. Simon calls himself a gerontologist and says he is happy for other people to think of him as such. It has brought him into contact with international colleagues and enabled him to take up a variety of interesting opportunities, including being the UK representative on the European Master’s in Gerontology programme in the early 2000s, as well as serving for six years as a member of the World Economic Forum’s special group on ageing. He has been a member of the BSG for as long as he can remember and a regular participant at the annual conferences. For the future of gerontology, he sees it important “to keep the criticality going”; to address more deeply intergenerational dynamics in the light of the radical change to the age structure of our societies;

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and to explore “a human purpose for a long life”. He advises career-​ young colleagues to think of gerontology as an exciting area where there are lots of very interesting people working “on the fringes” of things, “which is always a more … stimulating place to be than when you’re slap bang in the middle of something”. Biggs, S. (1999) The mature imagination: Dynamics of identity in midlife and beyond, Buckingham: Open University Press. Biggs, S. (2017) Negotiating ageing: Cultural adaptation to the prospect of a long life, London: Routledge. Biggs, S. and Lowenstein, A. (2011) Generational intelligence: A critical approach to age relations, London: Routledge.

Ken Blakemore (5 July 1948–​7 June 2017) Having taken voluntary redundancy/​early retirement from Swansea University in 2005, Ken became a successful playwright and novelist, consciously leaving gerontology and “all this academic stuff” behind to concentrate on his lifelong desire to write fiction. Although he had written a radio play for the BBC that aired in the mid-​1980s, personal circumstances meant he “never had the courage to get off the academic conveyor belt” until he left his full-​time job and immediately enrolled on a Master’s course in creative writing. In the following years, he wrote many plays –​including five comedies –​for the Fluellen Theatre Company, and published a novel, a memoir of growing up in the 1950s and, in 2015, Ugly lovely, an affectionate and humorous series of pen portraits of characters, scenes and events around Swansea illustrated with Bill Bytheway’s sketches. When not writing, Ken spent time at the gym and walking. Ken described his career as one in which he was “a jack of all trades”. Starting out in sociology, he subsequently did a PhD on village schooling in Ghana, an interest stemming from time spent doing Voluntary Service Overseas before going to the University of Hull. With few jobs in the field of African studies in the mid-​1970s, and a lack of research funding, he instead secured a post at Coventry Polytechnic lecturing in sociology. Although he maintained his interest in Africa and in comparative education, the 1980s saw him increasingly drawn into social policy, social welfare and social work teaching. Alongside this, he was also developing particular interests in the study of ethnic relations and race relations, and in ageing and gerontology. Ken recalled the 1980s as the time when he was most directly engaged with the BSG, attending the Wye College Summer School in 1981 and taking

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an active part in annual conferences. Then, in the late 1990s, he became co-​editor of Ageing & Society, also with Bill Bytheway. While working in Coventry, Ken lived in Birmingham where he was involved in a very early community study of Black and Asian elders being undertaken by a multifaith voluntary organisation. This led, eventually, to him writing –​with Margaret Boneham –​Age, race and ethnicity, the first definitive study of ageing among Black and Asian people in Britain (and the first book in the Open University Press ‘Rethinking Ageing’ series, 1994). Ken moved to Swansea not long after this book won the 1995 Age Concern Book of the Year award. There, he found himself part of a “very small unit” teaching social policy but which, because of internal politics, saw itself as separate from both gerontology and applied social studies. As a result, Ken channelled his interest in gerontology into research and writing, while his teaching tended to be in social policy and comparative studies. He went on to write the bestselling text Social policy: An introduction, now in its fourth edition. Ken’s advice to career-​young gerontologists is to explore the exciting new fields opening up in, for example, epigenetics, longevity, and the interplay between genetic inheritance and environmental influences in later life. Blakemore, K. (1998) Social policy: An introduction, Buckingham: Open University Press. Blakemore, K. (1999) ‘International migration in later life: social care and policy implications’, Ageing & Society, 19 (6): 761–​74. Blakemore, K.  and Boneham, M.  (1994) Age, race and ethnicity:  A comparative approach, Buckingham: Open University Press.

John Bond Now retired after over 30 years at Newcastle University, John describes how he first came to ageing as “a very wonderful experience” because he did his undergraduate degree in sociology at Essex where renowned sociologist Peter Townsend was one of his lecturers. Peter then employed him as a research assistant for a year before he went to work with Michael Young and Peter Wilmott for a further year on The Symmetrical Family study. A research post in Edinburgh was followed by five years working for the Scottish Office on projects related to the needs of older people. By this time, John’s wife was working in Newcastle and, after two years spent commuting from Edinburgh, he secured a lectureship in sociology in what was then the Health

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Care Research Unit, funded by the Department of Health (DoH), at Newcastle University. Initially, John worked on a range of projects before being awarded a grant in 1979 to evaluate National Health Service (NHS) nursing homes. With changes to DoH funding, a new department was created in Newcastle and John began to run a programme on ageing linked with the multicentre Cognitive Function and Ageing study. Cognition and dementia –​and particularly the issues around mild dementia –​ have been persistent threads in John’s career, bringing him into close contact with international colleagues in the US and Europe. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Institute of Health for the Elderly at Newcastle University, a collaboration with the then Professor of Neurochemistry, an old age psychiatrist and a colleague from the local Mental Health Trust. Joined in 1999 by bio-​gerontologist Tom Kirkwood, this subsequently evolved into the Institute for Ageing. Working in a health/​medical environment, the focus of John’s work has, of necessity, been around health policy and health services research, but using sociological knowledge and theory to help explain what is happening. While he would like to have had more opportunities to engage in social gerontology research than he was able to, he consciously made time in his academic life to explore gerontological issues and ideas. In particular, he co-​edited (with Peter Coleman) the pioneering text Ageing in society (1990). Regarded by John as one of his key contributions, the book was sponsored by the BSG, went on to be used widely on many courses and is now in its third –​and much expanded –​European edition. John advises career-​young colleagues to get a good grounding in one of the basic social sciences  –​in its theories and methods  –​ before specialising in gerontology. He sees this as gerontology’s continuing conundrum, believing strongly that while gerontology is an interdisciplinary subject, it is impossible to be an interdisciplinary person oneself. His advice is to work interdisciplinarily, as “you can’t be good at everything”. For John, the best things about being retired are having the resources to now do what he wants. He made a decision that he was going to change his life “and not try and hang on”, so has been able to focus on other lifelong interests, notably returning to playing the cello seriously and to his love of hill walking. Bond, J. (1999) ‘Quality of life for people with dementia: approaches to the challenge of measurement’, Ageing & Society, 19 (5): 561–​79.

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Bond, J. and Coleman, P.G. (eds) (1990) Ageing in society: An introduction to social gerontology, London: Sage Publications. Bond, J.  and Corner, L.  (2004) Quality of life and older people, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Margaret Boneham Margaret says she “fell into gerontology almost by accident”, having started out as a geography teacher. While undertaking an advanced research methods course at the University of Birmingham, she met “a really inspirational lecturer called Valerie Karn”, who, among other things, wrote the seminal 1977 book Retiring to the seaside. She dates her interest in culture and ethnicity from this meeting, and Karn’s contention that learning about how services affect one group of people will raise the level for everybody, whatever their ethnicity. Active in her local Community Relations Council where she lived in Leamington Spa, Margaret was stimulated to embark on a PhD looking at ageism and racism. Her action research study involved helping set up a centre for older Sikh women, following them over a period of four or five years and looking at their relationships with formal services, friends, family and the wider community. She also learnt Punjabi and is delighted that the original day centre is still functioning some 30 years later alongside a second centre. Awarded her PhD in 1987, Margaret then moved to a post at Huddersfield, became involved in a two-​year project at Liverpool University’s Institute of Human Ageing looking at depression and dementia among people from minority ethnic communities, and ended up at the University of Bolton, where she would work for the next 20 years –​largely in university management. Although she feels she hasn’t been very active in gerontology, she is perhaps best known for co-​writing  –​with Ken Blakemore  –​the award winning book Age, race and ethnicity (1994). Being part of the early development of research into ethnicity and ageing is something Margaret is proud of, and she has maintained her interests in mental health across cultures, in community health and in work with disadvantaged communities, particularly in relation to the lives of older women. She emphasises the pleasure to be had in talking with older people, and advises career-​ young colleagues that they will enjoy and benefit from the wealth of experience that exists among that sector of society. Margaret found retiring from a stressful, full-​time, management job (as a faculty dean) quite difficult and, in her own words, “drifted into a haze of pleasure” for a while before realising that she missed

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the contact and wanted something a little more challenging from life. She therefore went back to work after a couple of years to advise on a completely different project in dental technology. She also works on a voluntary basis at the British Heart Foundation and, using her free bus and train pass, travels frequently to the University of Liverpool to undertake adult education courses. Now qualified in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, she teaches English to Spanish executives, as well as reinforcing her geographical “passion for people and places” by going on walking holidays using maps rather than a Satnav. With grown-​up children and her career behind her, Margaret values the freedom she now has, being able to catch up with old friends, not having to stick to a routine and “just enjoying life each day”. Blakemore, K.  and Boneham, M.  (1994) Age, race and ethnicity:  A comparative approach, Buckingham: Open University Press. Boneham, M. (1989) ‘Ageing and ethnicity in Britain –​a study of elderly Sikh women in a Midlands Town’, New Community, 15 (3): 447–​49. Boneham, M. and Sixsmith, J. (2006) ‘The voices of older women in a deprived community: issues of health and social capital’, Social Science and Medicine, 62 (2): 269–​79.

Joanna Bornat Joanna retired in 2009 from The Open University as the UK’s first Professor of Oral History. Her career in ageing has always been conducted through the lens of oral history, in combination with a strong and enduring commitment to grassroots activism and political causes. Following a first degree in sociology from the University of Leeds, some teaching and some editorial work on the journal Oral History, she moved with her husband and two small daughters to London in the late 1970s. By this time, Joanna was finishing her PhD in labour history at Essex University with Paul Thompson, the “doyen of oral history”. In London, she taught part-​time for the Workers’ Educational Association, which brought her into contact with people from organisations such as Task Force (later Pensioners Link) and Help the Aged’s Education Department. When, in 1980, the adult education officer post at Help the Aged became vacant, she applied and was appointed. This was her first real direct work on issues connected with ageing and older people and, among other things, saw her collaborate in the production of the ground-​breaking training pack entitled Recall. Recall consisted of 12 packages of sounds

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and images mirroring the life of someone who had been born in 1900 and following them right up into the 1980s. Joanna became Director of the Education Department and, as the “life history scene” took off, she also chaired a pan-​London initiative called Exploring Living Memory. From Help the Aged, she moved to join Educational Resources for Older People at the Inner London Education Authority and then, in 1988, took up a lectureship at The Open University. Her work centred on devising and revising innovative Open University (OU) course materials and study packs on ageing and community care. During this time, she continued her “parallel life with oral history”, and is still a joint editor of the Oral History journal. Her interests –​and those of OU colleagues –​in the use of biographical methods and life history interviews, led to the founding of the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies at the turn of the millennium. Joanna was also involved in a series of pioneering research projects looking at step-​families and older people; at the ‘oldest old’ as part of the Timescapes programme; at the histories of South Asian doctors in the NHS; and at re-​analysing archived oral histories of the pioneers of geriatric medicine. Her varied research experience leads her to advise career-​young colleagues to “work in an interdisciplinary way”. With Julia Johnson, she was also review co-​editor of Ageing & Society for seven years, from 2003 to 2010. In retirement, Joanna continues to be politically active and maintains her involvement in community-​based oral history projects. At the time of interview, she was collaborating on a project researching the lives of local men who were conscientious objectors in the First World War. She describes her and her husband as belonging to “the lucky generation”, with financial security, family support and, above all, having the “freedom to make your day go the way you want it to” while “doing things which have got some kind of meaning”. Bornat, J.  (1994) Reminiscence reviewed:  Perspectives, evaluations, achievements, Buckingham: Open University Press. Bornat, J. (2010) ‘Remembering in late life: generating individual and social change’, in D.A. Ritchie (ed) The Oxford handbook of oral history, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp 202–​18. Raghuram, P., Bornat, J.  and Leroi, H.  (2016) ‘ “Without racism there would be no geriatrics”: South Asian overseas-​trained doctors and the development of geriatric medicine in the United Kingdom, 1950–​2000’, in L.  Monnais and D.  Wright (eds) Doctors beyond borders: The transnational migration of physicians in the twentieth century, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp 185–​207.

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Bill Bytheway Bill is one of the founders of the BSG, having come to gerontology in a “rather happenstancy sort of way” at the end of the 1960s, following a first degree in statistics and research in Aberdeen on “the consequences of obstetric performance”. He was subsequently offered a job in the then Statistical Research Unit in Sociology at Keele University and, once there, completed his PhD about later life, focusing on sequences of events in family histories. During the course of his doctoral studies, he accompanied a colleague to a gathering in London in 1971, which, in effect, turned out to be the first meeting of the British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology, as it was originally named. To Bill’s surprise, his colleague nominated him to be the sociology representative on the committee; this was to be the start of a long involvement with all things gerontological. By 1973, Bill was secretary/​treasurer of the fledgling society, describing its activities as “like a touring circus”. Twice a year, for four or five years, a group of people would deliver a collection of papers at a day event at different venues around the country. Eventually, this morphed into the first gerontology residential summer school at Wye College in Kent and then the society’s now annual conferences. In 1988, Bill hosted the conference at Swansea University (to which he had moved in 1975) and, between 1997 and 2001, was the third editor of Ageing & Society. His post at Swansea took him back to medical sociology but, in 1980, when the unit’s DoH funding ended, Bill spent a period “living on contracts of one sort and another”. As well as undertaking two ESRC-​funded research projects –​including one interviewing older steelworkers at Port Talbot –​he spent six months working for Age Concern West Glamorgan, running a hospital discharge scheme. A  three-​year project followed based in Cardiff, promoting teamwork in primary healthcare in the South Wales valleys, before he was recruited to The Open University where he worked as Senior Research Fellow until he retired in 2009. Bill is probably most well known for his research and writings on ageism, an interest he dates back to seeing and hearing Maggie Kuhn speak at the 1985 BSG conference at Keele. There, “she had us all singing the Gray Panthers’ anthem”. Bill subsequently published a number of articles on this topic before completing his 1995 book Ageism and furthering his interest through the Research on Age Discrimination project. Other research on age and birthdays, on medication in later life, and on the ‘oldest generation’, all provided material for his later book, Unmasking age (2011).

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Bill has remained living in Swansea and now describes himself as an “allotmenteer”, an activity he shares with his partner Julia Johnson. He also has a second career as a sketcher. Indeed, Bill has always sketched. His cartoons illustrate some of the OU course materials and, with Ken Blakemore, he published Ugly lovely in 2015, an affectionate portrait of their adopted city. Bytheway, B. (1995) Ageism, Buckingham: Open University Press. Bytheway, B.  (2002) ‘Positioning gerontology in an ageist world’, in L.  Andersson (ed) Cultural Gerontology, Westport, CT:  Auburn House, pp 59–​76. Bytheway, B.  (2011) Unmasking age:  The significance of age for social research, Bristol: Policy Press.

Peter Coleman Peter has been interested in ageing and older people for as long as he can remember, linking it back to his close attachment to his grandmothers. He studied psychology and philosophy at Oxford where his tutor was the cognitive gerontologist Patrick Rabbitt. A PhD in reminiscence followed under the supervision of social psychologist Sheila Chown, who, in 1971, hosted the Bedford College meeting at which the British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology was established, and in which Peter participated. Clear that he wanted a career in this field, Peter was strongly advised to look abroad because of the difficulties of specialising in ageing research in UK psychology at that time. In 1972, he was offered a post in the gerontology department of an applied psychology research institute in Nijmegen, working with the psychogerontologist and educator Joep Munnichs. These five years cemented his admiration for the central role that European psychologists played –​and continue to play –​in ageing research and practice with older people. Personal circumstances brought him back to England, to the University of Southampton, as Lecturer in Gerontology, a joint appointment between Geriatric Medicine and Sociology, Social Administration and Social Work. Peter was soon called on to develop a new post-​qualifying training course for social workers working with older people. It also attracted people from health services and was supported by geriatricians and the growing psychogeriatric services of the time. Although the work “was wonderful”, the community care reforms were the death knell for such multidisciplinary courses and Peter reluctantly decided he could no longer stay in social work. In 1996  –​three years after being promoted to Professor of Social

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Gerontology –​he transferred to the Psychology Department, taking the title Professor of Psychogerontology, a designation that is still unique in the UK but encapsulates his belief in the importance of a developmental psychology of ageing. Peter continues to research and write on the functions of reminiscence and life review, is particularly well known for his work on religion and ageing and, in his later years, has developed “much more of an interest in issues around spirituality”. He is especially proud of having led Southampton’s Longitudinal Study of Ageing and of the related 2015 book, Self and meaning in the lives of older people. With John Bond, he co-​edited the BSG text Ageing in society (1990), now in its third and much-​expanded European edition, and, from 1992 to 1997 was the second editor of the journal Ageing & Society. In 2015, he received the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Now Emeritus Professor, Peter still guest lectures on the developmental psychology course and supervises doctoral students. Ever the European, he lives part of the year in Italy and is writing a number of things with spirituality at their heart, including an historical novel and psycho-​ biographies of people’s late life. In retirement, he values the freedom that comes with ageing, adding “it is important that people have this time … to reflect, to experience, to journey in the mind”. Coleman, P.G. (1986) Ageing and reminiscence processes: Social and clinical implications, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Coleman, P.G. and O’Hanlon, A. (2017) Aging and development: Social and emotional perspectives, London: Routledge. Coleman, P.G., Ivani-​Chalian, C.  and Robinson, M.  (2015) Self and meaning in the lives of older people: Case studies over twenty years, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gilly Crosby Now Director of the CPA, Gilly has dedicated her career to “trying to engage the whole community: researchers, practitioners, professionals, people in media … it is always [about] older people”. After graduating in sociology from the University of Warwick, followed by further postgraduate study, she worked briefly as a research assistant and then in a public library. Her first substantive post was with the housebound reader service in Harrow, North London. This brought her into direct contact with many older people –​in residential care and in their own homes –​and had a powerful impact on her. She tells us, “in sitting with people, and talking to them about their lives, and helping them

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to find something that they’d like to read, that was it for me: I was absolutely hooked”. Gilly then moved to the National Corporation for the Care of Old People (now the CPA) as its librarian. The beginnings of the library were established in 1971 and, when Gilly joined, it was housed in a tiny room in the charity’s headquarters at Nuffield Lodge in Regent’s Park. Gilly describes the job as “the perfect mix”: not only was it to expand the library collection and improve its information services, but it was also all about ageing and ‘what works’ in terms of policy and practice. The organisation grew rapidly, transformed into a think tank concerned with social issues in older age, changed its name to the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) and produced a series of ground-​breaking reports. Always believing “that information is powerful and [that] it can make a difference”, the library was now at the heart of the CPA’s activities, serving both its own staff and the growing numbers of researchers, academics, funders, policy makers and practitioners around the country. Firmly established as a member of the wider gerontological community, Gilly developed AgeInfo, a unique information resource collating an evidence base for the field of ageing. She also participated in numerous projects on a range of topics saying, “I became interested particularly [in issues] around older women … and in minority ethnic communities”. Working with other organisations has also been important and, together with the BSG, CPA was instrumental in establishing the journal Ageing & Society. Many of what Gilly calls the “founding fathers” and “founding mothers” in gerontology have used the resources of the CPA. Being able to “get that evidence out there” and share information and knowledge with others –​not just accumulating an inaccessible major collection of ageing research –​has been the central motivating force throughout her career. She is concerned though that “there are still a lot of people who assume that Google will be the answer to everything: that you can find everything via some of these search engines, and you can’t, and you certainly cannot in our subject area”. Having merged her interest in later life issues with being an information professional, Gilly hopes that, with the right access to research, “the findings will then … move forward and influence policy and practice”. With colleagues at CPA, Gilly has carried out many reviews including, in 2009, a series on ageism and age discrimination for the DoH. These are available on CPA’s website (www.cpa.org.uk).

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Kate Davidson Kate describes herself as “an accidental traveller in academia”, coming to it in her late forties, having been a neonatal intensive care nurse and then health visitor in London in the 1980s and 1990s. She also spent many years as an army wife and had “traipsed around the world” moving house numerous times, overseeing her children changing schools and making relationships with people in many different communities, all of which has stood her in good stead for the ups and downs, and successes and disappointments, of academic life. As a health visitor, it was one of the union’s officers who suggested that her role and interest in campaigning work might be enhanced if she did a degree in social research. In the event, she studied social policy and women’s studies at Roehampton where she was taught by Graham Fennell, who also supervised her final-​year dissertation. Then, on interview at the University of Surrey for a Master’s in social research methods, she was advised to go straight for a PhD because she seemed so engaged with the subject –​but also because, as one professor told her, she was “no spring chicken”. Undeterred, Kate was pointed in the direction of Sara Arber’s office along the corridor and “that day we came up with an idea for a PhD”. Kate never did return to the NHS. Instead, what followed were 15 or so “late-​life blossoming” and “absolutely happy” years at Surrey during which she completed her doctoral work on the gendered aspects of widowhood, was instrumental in setting up the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender, started up two Master’s courses in ageing, led major research projects on older men’s lives, and became increasingly involved with the BSG. Having been “scooped up” by the society to represent students on one of its sub-​committees, Kate was then elected to the role of Secretary, which she did for six years between 1996 and 2002. In 2006, she became the society’s President, getting it back on an even keel after an especially difficult period but also delighting in the national and international opportunities it offered. She chaired the Gerontological Society of America’s interest group on men’s issues, became the UK representative on AGE Platform Europe, a European network of non-​ profit organisations promoting the interests of older citizens, and was on the committee of the International Sociological Association’s ageing section. Her identity as a gerontologist meant that people recognised her “for what I was doing; not for being a mother and not for being a wife and not for being a daughter”. Having left Surrey at the end of 2009, Kate kept up some involvements such as guest lecturing, committee work for Age Concern, and editorial

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board membership of Ageing & Society, but says she’s now become “the classic retired person”, doing voluntary work and looking after grandchildren. She also wryly observes that “it doesn’t matter how old you are or how many birthdays you’ve had, if you can feel good in yourself then ageing is not an issue, even if I do have to come down the steps one at a time first thing in the morning”. Arber, S., Davidson, K.  and Ginn, J.  (eds) (2003) Gender and ageing:  Changing roles and relationships, Maidenhead:  Open University Press. Davidson, K.  (2001) ‘Late life widowhood, selfishness and new partnership choices:  a gendered perspective’, Ageing & Society, 21 (3): 297–​317. Davidson, K. (2003) ‘Older men, social integration and organisational activities’, Social Policy and Society, 2 (2): 81–​9.

Bleddyn Davies Born in an Anglo-​Welsh market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Bleddyn moved at the outbreak of the Second World War to a (culturally and linguistically) remote village in North Pembrokeshire, to Barry at the age of 12, and, at 16, to a small town in a very depressed mining valley before reading economics at Cambridge. There, his supervisor was Kenneth Berrill –​later head of the economic section of the Treasury –​though, for one term, he was taught by John Vaizey. Vaizey encouraged him to switch his interests to social policy, and to do his doctorate at Oxford in the new department for which Vaizey worked. His supervisor was the economist, Lady Ursula Hicks, co-​ author of a book on patterns of local expenditure with the Nobel Prize-​winner, Sir John Hicks. A year as Lecturer in Economics at the University of Wales followed, before Bleddyn was interviewed and appointed to work with Richard Titmuss at the London School of Economics (LSE). Here, he developed his work on territorial justice and the ‘production of welfare approach’ for which he has become universally recognised. The opportunities afforded to him during these ten years laid the foundations for the creation of the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) which he established at the University of Kent in 1974, and directed for nearly three decades. The unit grew rapidly and Bleddyn’s analyses and theory building around community care, care management, social care and the support of older people were taken up and used as the basis for UK policy making by successive governments, and in many other countries. Acutely aware of

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the need to foster collaborations in other parts of the country, PSSRU satellites were established at the University of Manchester and the LSE, a tri-​partite structure that remains in place to this day. Bleddyn’s long and distinguished career continues in retirement, which, he says, “hasn’t really made much difference: I still go in every day” –​to the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing where he is a Professorial Fellow. He is Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at both the LSE and University of Kent, where he was made a Doctor of Letters in 2013. In the same year, he received the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award ‘in recognition of significant and lasting contributions to British social gerontology’. These follow on from his OBE (2001) for ‘services to social science and social policy’, from international recognition as a Fellow of the Gerontological Society (1993) and as recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Public Health Association (2007). Despite a number of health challenges, Bleddyn’s enthusiasm for academic work continues undiminished. His one regret is that he stopped playing the violin earlier in his adult life but he likes to see research and academic writing as “essentially a creative process”. Reflecting on his career, he jokingly says, “I’d love to call myself a gerontologist but it would be a bit vain really … what would be really nice would be if gerontologists thought of me as a gerontologist, and economists thought of me as an economist, and the statisticians thought of me as a statistician”. Davies, B.P. (1968) Social needs and resources in local services:  A study of variations in provision of social services between local authority areas, London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Davies, B.P.  and Challis, D.  (1986) Matching resources to needs in community care, Aldershot: Ashgate. Davies, B.P. and Fernández, J-​L. with Nomer, B. (2000) Equity and efficiency policy in community care: Needs, service productivities, efficiencies and their implications, Aldershot: Ashgate.

Maria Evandrou Now Professor of Gerontology at the University of Southampton, Maria came to ageing in the mid-​1980s via a Master’s programme in research, and a one-​year post as a contract researcher at the University of Surrey. From there, she took up a research post at the LSE, where she spent eight years on short-​term contracts, first as a research officer and subsequently as a research fellow, honing her quantitative skills and

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statistical interests alongside her fascination with social issues. This was followed by a two-​year lectureship in epidemiology and public health at University College London with Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and then a six-​month secondment to the King’s Fund as Fellow in Health Policy, which turned into three years. Her time at the LSE and the King’s Fund also coincided with her serving as the BSG’s Honorary Secretary from 1990 to 1996. Maria’s first opportunity to fully focus on gerontology came with her appointment to a senior lectureship at the Institute of Gerontology, King’s College London, where she was able to design modules in gerontology and teach to her strengths and interests. She eventually became Reader in Gerontology before moving, in 2005, to the University of Southampton to set up the new Centre for Research on Ageing and new postgraduate training programmes in gerontology. She has been there ever since. Her work at Southampton crosses disciplines and the Centre brings together colleagues from medicine, health sciences, computer sciences, anthropology, history, statistics, maths, the school of art and social sciences. In addition to her continuing research interests in the health and wellbeing of older people, being at Southampton has enabled Maria to broaden out the international focus of her research, which primarily involves secondary analysis of complex and large datasets. Much of her research concerns inequalities in later life and she is known especially for her work on informal care and on the retirement prospects of future generations of elders, which, with colleagues, she has spent many years modelling. At Southampton, she is proud of the online distance learning programmes in gerontology she and colleagues have developed: programmes that have particular emphases on research methods as applied to ageing, and on social policy perspectives. Linked with this, Maria and colleagues have also established active partnerships and research projects with many countries and, in 2014, the Southampton team hosted the BSG’s annual conference. Maria feels “there’s never been a better time, or a more exciting time, for career-young colleagues to specialise in ageing and the life course” and would encourage people to take the time to work on issues they are really passionate about. She herself says “I love the research. I love the engagement with NGOs, with older people, with government departments. I love teaching and supervising PhD students”. The best thing now is feeling she has choices about the research she conducts.

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She also speaks for many when she says: “We all hope that in some way, some small way, our research will make a difference”. Evandrou, M.  and Glaser, K.  (2003) ‘Combining work and family life: the pension penalty of caring’, Ageing & Society, 23 (5): 583–​602. Evandrou, M., Falkingham, J., Feng, Z. and Vlachantoni, A. (2016) ‘Ethnic inequalities in limiting health and self-​reported health in later life revisited’, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 70 (7): 653–​62. Evandrou, M., Falkingham, J., Gomez-​Leon, M.  and Vlachantoni, A. (2018) ‘Intergenerational flows of support between parents and adult children in Britain’, Ageing & Society, 38 (2): 321–​51.

Eileen Fairhurst Describing herself as “a sociologist who studies ageing”, Eileen is a social anthropologist and sociologist by academic background. After a spell in Canada as a graduate student, she came back to England in the early 1970s to work in the Geigy Unit for Research in Ageing at the University of Manchester. Headed by John Brocklehurst –​one of the pioneers of geriatric medicine –​it was here that Eileen also undertook her PhD. This was the first ethno-​methodological study of a hospital and, in particular, of the rehabilitation of older people. After spending the first 11 years of her career on short-​term research contracts, she eventually secured a full-​time lecturing post at Sheffield Hallam University before coming back to Manchester where she was to spend the next 25 years at what is now Manchester Metropolitan University. Here, Eileen developed her research on the menopause and mid-​life, had opportunities to teach about ageing in different parts of the university, and was awarded a personal Chair. She subsequently moved to the University of Salford where she was Professor in Public Health until the end of 2016. In parallel with her academic posts, Eileen has always been actively involved with the National Health Service, chairing NHS trusts in Salford and Greater Manchester for many years. She currently chairs East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and is also a trustee of the Beth Johnson Foundation (a voluntary organisation known for its innovative work with older people). These two facets to her career –​the academic and the practical –​have been interlinked and have enabled her to apply innovative approaches to ageing and ensure that her students had really up-​to-​date knowledge. Her contributions to the work of the NHS

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were recognised in 2008 with the award of an MBE, and her expertise in health policy and ageing has been used internationally, in Finland, Italy, Ireland, Germany and Canada. Eileen also views her research on women and mid-​life, and on the sociology of the body, as among her key achievements. Eileen was very actively involved with the BSG in the early days and was a member of the first editorial board of the journal Ageing & Society. Personal life events, including a stroke in her thirties, necessarily affected her career, although she has continued  –​and continues  –​ to reflect on, and use, aspects of her biography in her writing and presentations. As she says, “I’m doing ethnography all the time … reflexivity all the time”. She has also found having an academic identity a great source of resilience and derives ongoing personal satisfaction from contributing to the development of others. Her advice to career-​ young colleagues is “to write and go to conferences … share your work, get colleagues to read your work and hang on in there”. She sums up her personal philosophy as “you can’t sit around waiting for things to happen: just get on and do”. Fairhurst, E. (1999) ‘ “Growing old gracefully” as opposed to “mutton dressed as lamb”:  the social construction of recognising older women’, in S. Nettleton and J. Watson (eds) The body in everyday life, London: Routledge, pp 257–​75. Fairhurst, E.  (2008) ‘Ordinary theories of aging and membership categorisations’, Journal of Societal and Social Policy, 7 (1/​2): 3–​16. Fairhurst, E.  (2012) ‘ “Positive” images and calendars:  explorations in “agelessness” or “ambiguous” identities?’, in V.  Ylanne (ed) Representing ageing: Images and identities, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp 189–​206.

Mary Gilhooly An American by birth, Mary first came to the UK in 1967 –​to the University of Leeds –​as part of her degree studies in liberal arts at the University of Oregon. Although she wanted to stay, overseas fees tripled at the time, so she reluctantly went home. A little later, she returned to tour the UK and went to see her personal tutor, who was moving to the University of Aberdeen. She was able to relocate there to work as his research assistant and then to study for an MEd and a PhD in psychology. Her ambition was to be an architectural psychologist, but, as she says, “there was not one job in the whole world in architectural psychology”. Instead, she secured a research position in Aberdeen’s

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MRC Medical Sociology Unit on one of the first studies of family care of people with dementia. It was here that Mary came into contact with gerontologist Rex Taylor, who encouraged her to attend her first BSG conference in 1979; she has since been the society’s President (2000–​04) and is a BSG Founding Fellow. A chance encounter with Jim Birren (psychologist and pioneer of ageing research in the US) led to a Fellowship at the Andrus Gerontology Center in Southern California where, for ten months, she worked with “all these famous people”. She co-​edited a book and “made wonderful contacts” that she maintains to this day. After a period back in Scotland working for the Grampian Health Board, Mary moved to Glasgow, to her first permanent job in the Medical School teaching behavioural sciences. Quite by chance, her office was next to the now relocated MRC Medical Sociology Unit with many of her former colleagues still there. In Glasgow, Mary found herself teaching sociology to medical students, then helping set up and teach on a new MPhil in law and ethics in medicine, which she also undertook herself. In 1994, after ten years, she moved across the river to Paisley to become Professor of Health Studies and establish a new Gerontology and Health Studies Centre. Paisley opened up other opportunities for Mary: she set up Scotland’s first MSc in social gerontology and, with colleagues, edited Generations Review, the BSG’s newsletter. After nine years at Paisley, Mary went to Plymouth for a year, then back to Glasgow Caledonian University for a further year before, finally, joining Brunel University London, where she set up the Brunel Institute for Ageing Studies. Here too, she is Professor of Gerontology and Health Studies, reflecting her long-​standing interests in healthy ageing and the determinants of good health in old age. Along the way, however, Mary’s research has ranged from early work on dementia, through ethical and legal issues, to transport and financial abuse. She has always worked with people from other disciplines, but defines herself as a gerontologist, saying: “It’s part of me”. Mary also says she “should have retired ten years ago”, but continues to work because she finds the prospect of retirement “scary” and has “this kind of fear I’ll never get out of my pyjamas once I retire”. Gilhooly, M.L.M.  and McGhee, S.M. (1991) ‘Medical records: practicalities and principles of patient possession’, Journal of Medical Ethics, 17 (3): 138–​43. Gilhooly, M.M. et al (2016) ‘Financial elder abuse through the lens of the bystander intervention model’, Public Policy and Aging Report, 26 (1): 5–​11.

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Sweeting, H.N.  and Gilhooly, M.L.M. (1997) ‘Dementia and the phenomenon of social death’, Sociology of Health and Illness, 19 (1): 93–​117.

Chris Gilleard Chris has spent the majority of his career as a clinical psychologist, combining practice in the UK and overseas with research and writing. His first job, after qualifying from the University of Leeds, was in a large psychiatric hospital at Clifton in York working in long-​stay wards and in a newly established sexual disorders clinic. He ended up doing a PhD looking at the impact of age of onset of dementia on its subsequent progress, and was able to combine part-​time study at the University of Leeds with his work in Clifton Hospital. With colleagues, he was also instrumental in developing the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly. On completion of his PhD, he was offered a post in the MRC Social Psychiatry Unit in Canberra, Australia, but had to turn it down due to family circumstances at the time. Serendipitously, another job came up at the University of Edinburgh as a lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, and he moved there, joined later by his wife and new baby. Edinburgh was Chris’s first academic post, but he maintained his practice links working with Glenda Watt, the Sister in charge of a then newly established psychiatric day hospital. Together, they explored new ways of working with older people and their families; Chris secured a grant to look at the day hospital’s effectiveness and, based on their experiences, the pair wrote a (1983) book on Coping with ageing parents. With Mary Gilhooly and other colleagues, they also established the Scottish Psychologists’ Special Interest Group in the Elderly, laying the foundations for its “subsequent migration south into England as PSIGE”. He worked closely with Lothian Social Services, and the late Averil Osborn, the well-​known social gerontologist, undertaking research into the use of hypnotics in residential care homes. In 1984, after a short sabbatical to the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, Chris moved to Turkey with his wife and family, and spent the next five years there, initially setting up a clinical psychology programme. Returning to London in 1989, to a job as Head of Adult Mental Health Psychology at Springfield Psychiatric Hospital, Chris was asked if he would also like a one-​day-​a-​week academic post in the Department of Geriatric Medicine at St George’s. The then professor, Peter Millard, had some funding left over from a research project on

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which Paul Higgs was working as a research assistant, and so began a research and writing partnership –​much of it about critical perspectives on the third and fourth age –​that endures to this day. Back in London, Chris also began to do more mental health promotion work in the community, an area that had long interested him, until, at the beginning of 2010, he took early retirement from the NHS. He maintains his academic links as Visiting Research Fellow at University College London, to where Paul had moved some years previously. While conscious that “a lot of my friends are old, so I must be old”, he also says, “I don’t think that personally I want to be defined by age”. Gilleard, C.  and Higgs, P.  (2002) ‘The third age:  class, cohort or generation?’, Ageing & Society, 22 (3): 369–​82. Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. (2013) ‘The fourth age and the concept of a “social imaginary”: a theoretical excursus’, Journal of Aging Studies, 27 (4): 368–​76. Pattie, A.H. and Gilleard, C.J. (1979) Manual of the Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly (CAPE), Sevenoaks: Hodder and Stoughton.

Jay Ginn Although technically retired, Jay is still an Associate of the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender at the University of Surrey. In her twenties, she worked as a technician, going part-​time in her thirties when she had children and then making the decision to do a sociology degree at the LSE. This was followed by an MSc in social research methods at Surrey and then, quite by accident, she was asked to apply for a research post working with Sara Arber on a study looking at material, health and caring resources in later life. This set Jay on the research path and, in particular, looking at pension inequality and at sources and types of income, an area for which she has become extremely well known. At Surrey, she learned how to program computers and how to write proposals, her work on pensions subsequently securing a series of grants, bringing her into contact with international colleagues and resulting in important comparative work and publications. She says her work on pension inequality is the thing that has always motivated and been most important to her, and is delighted that others have extended it “wonderfully, imaginatively, beyond what I did, and built on it, as I’ve built on other people”. Alongside her pensions work, Jay has collaborated on, and contributed to, a range of other research projects, including studies on

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health and lifestyles, changing family forms, and welfare policies. With Sara Arber and Kate Davidson, she was also instrumental in setting up the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender, reflecting their pioneering work on gender inequality in later life. Until her retirement in 2005, she initiated and ran the Research Network on Ageing in Europe, part of the European Sociological Association. She became a Visiting Professor at Surrey when she retired and, subsequently, at King’s College London. In parallel with her research interests, Jay is active in community-​based and advocacy organisations, notably the National Pensioners’ Convention and the Citizen’s Income Trust. From 2002 until 2009, she was a gender consultant on AGE Platform Europe. She continues to give talks and referees journal articles and book chapters in her field. Reflecting on her career, Jay says she doesn’t really define herself as a gerontologist but that it “depends who’s asking”. In some forums she describes herself as a sociologist or social researcher but, for AGE Platform Europe and the National Pensioners’ Convention, she does call herself a social gerontologist. Nor does she feel that her own experience of ageing has determined or influenced what she has chosen to write about, but she does find it “useful just to keep checking I’m not up in an ivory tower somewhere”. Her commitment to cooperative and collaborative research leads her to advise career-​young colleagues to “try and find a mentor who is as helpful and supportive as I had”. She also urges colleagues to “follow what motivates you … it’s got to be something you care about: it’s got to come from inside you”. Arber, S. and Ginn, J. (1991) Gender and later life: A sociological analysis of resources and constraints, London: Sage Publications. Ginn, J. (2003) Gender, pensions and the lifecourse: How pensions need to adapt to changing family forms, Bristol: Policy Press. Ginn, J., Street, D.  and Arber, S.  (eds) (2001) Women, work and pensions:  International issues and prospects, Buckingham:  Open University Press.

Sally Greengross Describing herself as “a passionate European”, Sally began her career as a linguist in the electronics industry, working around Europe. Back in London, and with four small children, she spent time in the mid-​ to late 1960s working with young people in prison before, eventually, returning to study and beginning a doctorate at the LSE. By her own admission, she came to the conclusion that “I’m not really a researcher”,

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so sent back her grant and applied for a job. The first job that came up was with what was then a small voluntary organisation by the name of Age Concern England. To Sally’s “utter surprise”, she was appointed as Assistant Director in charge of fieldwork, information, policy, research and training, and was there for the next 27 years. Based in Mitcham, South London, Age Concern grew rapidly, extending its network of local groups and developing, in particular, its information and policy work. Living in central London, Sally was always the person on hand to “do the media stuff” or go in at weekends. “It became very much the centre of my life,” she says, so much so that, when Director David Hobman retired in 1987, she was appointed as the new Director General. By this time, Sally had forged a considerable reputation in policy and research circles and was instrumental in setting up the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology at King’s College London and appointing Anthea Tinker as its first Director. From 1985 to 1989, Sally headed up the ageing projects under the Second European Programme to Combat Poverty, and, until 2000, was also Secretary General of Eurolink Age, a European network concerned with older people and issues of age. The 1990s saw Age Concern’s influence continuing to extend. Sally established many innovative programmes, including the Employers Forum on Age, and was responsible for building Age Concern Enterprises into a multimillion-​pound business. As the century drew to a close, Sally received a phone call from the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, inviting her to join the House of Lords (one of the last two people to enter under this system). Now Baroness, Sally is a crossbench (independent) member of the House of Lords and has been co-​chair of four All-​Party Parliamentary Groups:  Dementia, Corporate Social Responsibility, Continence Care, and Ageing and Older People. She is also the Chief Executive of the International Longevity Centre (ILC) UK, an organisation inspired by the work of her late friend, the gerontologist and medic Robert Butler, who set up the first ILC. There are now 17 such centres around the world, all of them doing similar work, producing evidence-​based reports and seeking to influence policy. They are also future oriented: looking at how societies can plan for demographic change rather than at older people per se. Sally is still involved with a wide range of organisations, holds honorary doctorates from nine UK universities, and, in 2008, received the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award. Although Sally says she owes the fact that she doesn’t have to retire from everything “to the work that’s been done in gerontology”,

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she also reflects that “gerontologists have still got a huge job to do to make sure that … age becomes more irrelevant”. Butler, R.N., Forette, F.  and Greengross, S.  (2004) ‘Maintaining cognitive health in an ageing society’, Perspectives in Public Health, 124 (3): 119–​21. Greengross, S. (1986) The law and vulnerable elderly people, London: Age Concern Books. Greengross, S. and Greengross, W. (1989) Living, loving and ageing: Sexual and personal relationships in later life, London: Age Concern Books.

Tessa Harding Tessa has had a long career in policy and practice, starting out as a community worker with Staffordshire Social Services in the early 1970s and retiring in 2006 from Help the Aged where she had been Head of Policy and, subsequently, Senior Policy Adviser on Age Equality and Human Rights. Trained originally as a linguist, Tessa says that one of the threads in her professional life has been that she has always enabled “translation between people who speak very different languages”. This embraces skills in translating research findings, evidenced very clearly in her work with the national New Dynamics of Ageing research programme where she summarised the key findings from all 35 projects into an easily accessible handbook. She relishes the continued intellectual challenge of such work but describes herself as “a doer” rather than a researcher or an academic. After three years in Staffordshire, Tessa worked for two other local authorities before joining the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, and then the National Institute for Social Work (NISW) from the latter half of the 1980s. At NISW, she worked closely with organisations that were increasingly vocal in disability politics and disability rights. However, what struck Tessa was the absence of older people in these debates, even though a considerable portion of older people are disabled. At Help the Aged, she devoted herself to challenging the received wisdom that “the professionals knew best” and, instead, ensuring that older people were directly involved in all aspects of the organisation’s work and had their voices heard. The organisation did this very effectively, with representatives travelling around the country, talking and listening to what older people needed and making sure they set the agenda. As a consequence, Help the Aged’s Speaking Up for Our Age programme of support for Senior Citizens’ Forums meant that older people were able to feed their views directly

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into major policy developments of the period such as the National Service Framework for Older People. Eventually, there were some 600 Senior Citizens’ Forums around the country with a particularly strong voice in Scotland, Wales and some parts of England. Tessa had also, by then, become closely involved with issues around age equality and human rights and was a member of the age discrimination working group of AGE: the European older people’s platform. Although Tessa says she is “pleased to have left behind me the very public role I had with Help the Aged”, she still likes to get involved with older people’s issues. She is the secretary for a local group that raises funds and organises respite for carers of people living with dementia; enjoys painting and singing; and travels quite a lot as her family is “spread round the world”. She has always seen gerontology as a broad church, but feels strongly that there is more to do to make sure that research is actually applied. Awarded an MBE in 2003, she was also the recipient of the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2009 in recognition of her career-​long contribution to the empowerment of older people. Harding, T.  (2005) Rights at risk:  Older people and human rights, London: Help the Aged. In collaboration with others, and with older people, Tessa was also involved in producing a range of publications and pamphlets while at Help the Aged. These included, in 2000, a contribution to the development of the National Service Framework for Older People, published in the pamphlet Our future health: Older people’s priorities for health and social care.

Sarah Harper An anthropologist by original discipline, Sarah also studied geography in her third year at the University of Cambridge, having become interested in demography and population studies. These interests have been fundamental to her career, from her doctoral study of decision making and migration to her lifelong fascination with Asian countries and the establishment of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, which she has directed since 1998. In the late 1980s, after a brief period at the BBC, Sarah decided she really wanted to become an academic. She worked as a research assistant on one of the early Growing Older Programme projects, a study of the social construction of retirement, headed up by the notable historian Pat Thane. This was also Sarah’s introduction to the BSG as the research teams were encouraged by

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the programme Director –​the late Margot Jefferys –​to attend the society’s annual conferences. Sarah presented her first paper at the 1986 conference in Glasgow, where, much to her surprise, she found herself nominated to sit on the Executive. She was on the Executive for nine years, became the BSG’s International Officer, edited its newsletter Generations Review and ran two conferences: Royal Holloway in 1994 and Oxford in 2013. A one-​year lectureship in human geography back at Oxford, and another at Lampeter, followed Sarah’s first research post before she joined the Geography Department at Royal Holloway, staying for six years. In 1994, she and her family moved to the US where she was appointed Professor of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. The university had just set up its new Center on Demography and Economics of Aging, so Sarah worked with staff there and undertook a project on the ageing of Chicago’s Chinese population. She also got to know the late Richard Suzman, Director of the Behavioural and Social Research Division of the National Institute of Aging (NIA). Back in Oxford again after two years, and now with three very young children, Sarah worked part-​time at the Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine, but harboured an ambition to set up an institute like the Chicago one. In 1997, with Richard Suzman’s help and financial support from the NIA, the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing was established, with Sarah and three postdocs housed in a small room in the Department of Social Policy. Over 20 years, it has grown considerably, undertaking research on demography, health policy, technology and the environment, and with a mix of staff, postdoctoral researchers, research assistants and research associates from across the university, as well as visitors. In 2005, it initiated the Global Ageing Survey involving 24 countries, and has established four Research on Ageing Networks:  AFRAN (African); LARNA (Latin America); APPRA (Asia); and EAST (Central and Eastern European). Simultaneously, Sarah held positions as an adviser to the Singapore government’s ageing programme and as International Chair in Old Age Financial Security at the University of Malaya, and recently chaired the UK government’s Foresight review on ageing. After being interviewed for the current project, she served as the Director of the Royal Institution in 2017 and was awarded a CBE for services to demography in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Harper, S.  (2006) Ageing societies:  Myths, challenges and opportunities, London: Routledge. Harper, S. (2014) ‘Economic and social implications of aging societies’, Science, 346 (6209): 587–​91.

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Harper, S.  (2016) How population change will transform our world, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Paul Higgs Paul identifies himself as a “sociologist of ageing”, but came into ageing research “more by happenstance than calculation”. After what he describes as a conventional sociology degree at the then Polytechnic of North London, he went to the University of Kent where he undertook a PhD in social policy. In the late 1980s, and needing a job, he worked as an administrator in an NHS geriatric hospital before seeing an advertisement for a research assistant post with Peter Millard, the then Professor of Geriatric Medicine at St George’s Hospital in South London. Up until this point, Paul had no background or interest in ageing, but his new role included researching aspects of long-​term care and the changing policy framework. He stayed at St George’s where he subsequently became a research fellow, then the Eleanor Peel Lecturer in Social Gerontology. While his research was increasingly focused on ageing, he was teaching on the intercalated BSc in sociology applied to medicine run by the University of London and, eventually, moved to University College London (UCL) as Lecturer in Medical Sociology. He has been at UCL ever since and is now Professor of Sociology of Ageing, a title he chose because it “is closer to what I do and is more easily identified”. By the time he moved to UCL, Paul had already met Chris Gilleard, who was also working at St George’s, and their fruitful research and writing partnership began to develop from this point. It was clear to Paul that, even in the 1990s, “there was quite a lack of sociology in ageing studies”, that ageing “wasn’t very well theorised” and that “you couldn’t explain all of later life from the point of view of health”. Together, he and Chris set about questioning some of the received social gerontological wisdom and orthodoxy, developing their thesis around both the third and fourth ages –​what he calls “the emergence of later life out of old age”. This led to the book Paul is most proud of –​ Cultures of ageing (2000) –​and, subsequently, to later publications on consumerism and consumption, and on the theoretical and practical issues raised by advanced old age. His most recent work has been exploring the idea of personhood and what personhood means in the context of the very profound cognitive impairments experienced by people living with dementia. Paul contributes regularly to BSG conferences, finding it “a very useful forum to try out ideas”. He is also a member of the British

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Sociological Association, has served on the Research Committee on Sociology of Aging of the International Sociological Association, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is positive about future developments for gerontology, feeling that the 21st century is going to transform many of the assumptions we have about old age, although, in terms of his own personal ageing, Paul says “I haven’t really thought about it”. Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. (2000) Cultures of ageing: Self, citizen and the body, London: Prentice Hall. Gilleard, C. and Higgs, P. (2005) Contexts of ageing: Class, cohort and community, Cambridge: Polity Press. Higgs, P. and Gilleard, C. (2015) Rethinking old age: Theorising the fourth age, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Anne Jamieson Anne was born and educated in Denmark, undertaking a broad interdisciplinary social science degree before coming to London in 1974 to study for an MSc in politics and sociology at Birkbeck. While there, she worked on a project evaluating a centre for drug users and then at the King’s Fund researching health issues. Although she describes herself as a gerontologist, it wasn’t until she moved to Bath in the mid-​1980s that she began to work on ageing. Serendipitously, the renowned medical sociologist Raymond Illsley was starting a research project comparing care for older people across the countries of the then European Economic Community. With Anne’s health background and knowledge of Europe and European languages, she was appointed to the project and worked on it for five years. In 1990, she returned to Birkbeck to a lectureship in gerontology. Her role was to run the extramural Certificate in gerontology and to start the new MSc in life course development, which had grown out of the existing Diploma in midlife planning. She was “absolutely solo”, teaching the courses with the help of a series of guest speakers. This meant she got to know lots of people, learnt a great deal in a very short space of time and, in her own words, became “an advocate of the life-​course perspective”. Anne was at Birkbeck until she retired in 2011. Part of the University of London, Birkbeck is well known as a place to study for both part-​time and mature students and there were considerable numbers of students aged in their sixties and seventies. As a consequence, Anne secured funding to explore why older people

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get involved in education, which, in turn, brought her into contact with what is now the Association for Education and Ageing (AEA). She regularly attended the annual conferences of the BSG, served on the Executive and, in 1994, ran the Royal Holloway conference with Christina Victor and Sarah Harper. Together, they edited Critical approaches to ageing and later life (1997), arising from papers on theoretical perspectives and international developments presented at the conference. Anne was also able to maintain her European links and interests: she evaluated the 1993 European Year of Older People; did a comparative study for the Organisation for Economic Co-​operation and Development on long-​term care; and, more recently, through the AEA, has been supporting a European project looking at wellbeing in later life in relation to learning. In retirement, Anne has remained on the Executive of the AEA and describes herself now as “very much an older learner”. She has undertaken a series of courses and classes in astronomy, London history, the history of art and of architecture, music and painting, and has a good circle of friends with whom she goes to exhibitions, films, opera, theatre and concerts. She is involved with a local community organisation, teaches Danish and values the “freedom and choice” she has to combine work she enjoys with “trying out different things” in retirement. Jamieson, A.  (ed) (1991) Home care for older people in Europe, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jamieson, A. and Victor, C. (eds) (2002) Researching ageing and later life, Buckingham: Open University Press. Jamieson, A., Harper, S. and Victor, C. (eds) (1997) Critical approaches to ageing and later life, Buckingham: Open University Press.

Julia Johnson Julia came to ageing research via practice as a childcare officer, then social worker. After her degree in social anthropology she moved to Stoke-​on-​Trent when she first got married and ended up “rather happenstancely” as a childcare officer. With the switch to social service departments in 1970, she started working with older people, doing her social work qualification at Keele University. As part of the course, Julia had to do a residential placement in a care home, which, contrary to her fears, she found fascinating. It was this experience that “really got me interested in ageing and ageing research”. Her first research post in the late 1970s was as project officer at the Beth Johnson Foundation, evaluating its day centre and then establishing

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and monitoring a mobile day centre serving older people across rural Staffordshire. The Foundation funded her MA-​by-​research back at Keele under the supervision of the late Olive Stevenson –​one of the leading social work academics of her generation –​before she moved to the Lichfield Diocesan Association for Family Care leading early research on informal carers. This research produced one of the first ever guides for carers, and, with a colleague, Julia set up the North Staffs Association for Family Carers, which operates to this day (now the North Staffs Carers Association). A couple of enjoyable years as a specialist social worker with older people in Cheshire then followed. Julia had attended the 1985 BSG annual conference at Keele, but joined as a member in 1987 when she took up a lectureship at Swansea University. Bill Bytheway had volunteered Swansea to host the 1988 conference so Julia found herself co-​organising the event, being co-​ opted on to the BSG Publications Committee and then becoming a member of the Executive in the 1990s. After three-​and-​a-​half years at Swansea, she was seconded to The Open University (OU), the institution she had worked for in 1980 as a tutor on its original An Ageing Population course. At the OU, she co-​edited the BSG’s Generations Review and, in 2005, was awarded a three-​year ESRC grant. This led to the publication of Residential care transformed (2010), of which she is immensely proud. She says she feels “lucky” to have been able to lead that project at the end of her career and to win the British Academy’s Peter Townsend Prize for it in 2011. In 2012, she retired completely and, in her own words, “cut off from gerontology” in order to be able to forge a new life for herself. In retirement, and still living in Swansea with partner Bill Bytheway, Julia has returned to playing the piano and to taking piano exams –​ something she had abandoned much earlier in life. She finds this “a very positive thing”, alongside the allotment they have, the book group she belongs to, and the walking with friends. Her advice to career-​young colleagues is to remember that “curiosity, listening and sharing are the most important things about being a good researcher” and she would “put those before ambition”. Johnson, J.  (ed) (2004) Writing old age, London:  Centre for Policy on Ageing. Johnson, J. and Slater, R. (eds) (1993) Ageing and later life, London: Sage Publications.

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Johnson, J., Rolph, S.  and Smith, R.  (2010) Residential care transformed: Revisiting ‘The Last Refuge’ (1st edn), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Malcolm Johnson Like many of his peers, Malcolm says it was pure serendipity that he ended up in ageing research. After reading economics at Leicester and graduate studies at Oxford in the 1960s, his first job was in the new social research unit at Bedford College, London, headed by the late Margot Jefferys, one of the founders of medical sociology and a champion of inter-​and multidisciplinary approaches to the study of ageing. A lectureship in sociology at the University of Leeds followed where he established the UK’s first Master’s degree in health studies and enjoyed teaching “all kinds of students”. He became a founder member, and then Secretary, of the British Sociological Association’s Medical Sociology Group, getting to know his “lifelong friend” Bill Bytheway. In 1971, Malcolm attended the inaugural Bedford College meeting of what was to become, eventually, the BSG. He spoke at the first conference but didn’t join the committee until a few years later when he gave up the Medical Sociology Group and became BSG Secretary, a role he undertook for seven years. At Leeds, Malcolm authored a seminal paper on biographical approaches to later life and although he says he is “rather dismissive of people who come up with one idea when they’re young and do nothing else”, he recognises that biographical perspectives have become especially valuable in considerations of later life. The recipient of an early Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship, he visited Western Europe and the US, talking to “the luminaries” of world gerontology and making connections and friends he retains to this day. After ten years at Leeds, Malcolm and his young family moved back to London where he headed up the Personal Social Services Council, an advisory body to the government. When the newly elected Conservative government abolished it 18 months later, he was appointed as Principal Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust and Senior Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) supported by the Trust. With the Trust, he was a giver of research monies; at PSI, he spent his time seeking research funds and doing his own research. Then, at the age of 40, he moved to the Chair of Health and Welfare at The Open University, overseeing the growth of the department into a school –​ and being its dean –​for the next 12 years. In 1995, he relocated to Bristol –​where he is now Emeritus Professor of Health and Social

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Policy –​and then to Bath University, which is still his academic base and where he helped establish the Centre for Death and Society. Malcolm was founding editor of Ageing & Society  –​one of the contributions to gerontology he is most proud of  –​and, in 2014, received the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award. He chaired the CPA Advisory Council for the entire period of Eric Midwinter’s directorship before becoming the Centre’s Vice Chairman, and was Chair of Homeshare International and a member of the Board of Methodist Homes. He now describes himself as “a continuing academic” rather than retired because “once you do that, people write you off”. Johnson, M. (1976) ‘That was your life: a biographical approach to later life’, in J.M.A. Munnichs and W.J.A. van den Heuvel (eds) Dependency or interdependency in old age, Springer: Dordrecht, pp 147–​61. Johnson, M.L. (ed) (2005) The Cambridge handbook of age and ageing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Johnson, M. and Walker, J. (eds) (2016) Spiritual dimensions of ageing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Leonie Kellaher In her own words, the majority of Leonie’s working life has been spent as “a jobbing researcher” by choice rather than by accident. After four years as a childcare social worker, she was asked by a friend at the LSE if she would be interested in becoming an interviewer on a project researching the activities of Task Force, a community organisation operating across a number of London boroughs that recruited young people to visit and help older people in their own homes. This was Leonie’s first “gerontological job”, and, while she found it interesting, she also remembers being profoundly upset about the isolated older people she interviewed and how difficult it was to leave them. She continued doing other research jobs, not always in gerontology, before doing a degree in social anthropology at the LSE concurrently with working at what was then North London Polytechnic (subsequently London Metropolitan University). The polytechnic was expanding its research base at the time and had recruited two new staff members: Sheila Peace and Dianne Willcocks. Fortuitously, the three of them got together and, with a DoH grant, began a major project in the early 1980s researching 100 local authority residential care homes for older people. Leonie describes this as “the first serious committed piece of gerontology that I did”, and, in 1983, the group set up the

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Centre for Environmental and Social Studies in Ageing (CESSA). After a series of collaborative research projects on aspects of residential care, Sheila and Dianne moved to other posts but Leonie kept CESSA going for about 20 years, undertaking a variety of research projects and recruiting other people to help as needed. One piece of work that she is particularly proud of was the development of an ethnographically based tool for performance review in care homes to be used with residents’ families and staff. Then, in the late 1990s, with the support of an anthropologist/​gerontologist friend from America, Leonie’s research changed focus. They undertook a project on cemeteries, since when Leonie has gone on to forge a reputation for pioneering work in this field. She says that what ties together her gerontological expertise and her anthropological work in cemeteries is an interest in what would now be called material culture. Leonie is also a Founding Fellow of the BSG, was on the society’s Publications Committee and, with Christina Victor, was a “founding editor” of what became Generations Review, the BSG newsletter. Today, she is Professor Emeritus at London Metropolitan University, but doesn’t consider herself fully retired quite yet because she sits on a number of advisory groups, and still undertakes some research interviewing as well as other things that interest her. She says, “I can’t and don’t wish to switch off completely” and “I like brain work”. She also likes the “luxury of having expanses of time that are just there” to be able to “make a cup of tea and have a think” –​something she felt unable to do at all while working. Francis, D., Kellaher, L. and Neophytou, G. (2005) The secret cemetery, Oxford: Berg Publishers. Kellaher, L. (2000) A choice well made: ‘Mutuality’ as a governing principle in residential care, London: Centre for Policy on Ageing in association with Methodist Homes. Willcocks, D., Peace, S. and Kellaher, L. (1986) Private lives in public places: A research-​based critique of residential life in local authority old people’s homes, London: Tavistock Publications.

Tom Kirkwood Born in South Africa, Tom came to the UK as a child when his family set up home in Oxford. Passionately interested in both biology and mathematics, he took a first degree in maths at Cambridge, followed by a Master’s in applied statistics, before reconnecting with biology and working as a scientist at the National Institute for Medical Research in

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London. A “chance conversation with a very distinguished geneticist” in a lift led to him beginning work on cellular ageing and to a 1977 paper that was the foundation of his disposable soma theory of ageing. Another job in the institute, and a part-​time PhD in the biology of ageing, consolidated what would become his lifetime’s work on why and how the body ages. In 1993, he moved to the University of Manchester as Professor of Biological Gerontology, the first professorial appointment of its kind in the UK. Here, he says, he really began to appreciate the role and contributions of other disciplines, setting up the Centre for Integrative Ageing Research. Across the Pennines, Newcastle University had also launched its then Institute for the Health of the Elderly, so, rather unusually for those days, Tom and his opposite numbers established a joint centre on ageing between the two universities. As Chair of the British Society for Research on Ageing (for those in biomedical sciences) –​and in cooperation with the BSG and the British Geriatrics Society –​Tom also organised the first interdisciplinary British Congress of Gerontology, which was held in Manchester in 1996. Then, in 1999, he moved over to Newcastle and, in 2004, took on directorship of the now renamed Institute for Ageing and Health. Having championed interdisciplinary ageing research and seen it flourish across the university, he is now Professor Emeritus. At the end of the 1990s, Tom published a landmark book on the science of ageing called Time of our lives (1999). Aimed at a general readership, it got noticed by the mainstream media as well as the scientific community and led to him being approached by the BBC. In 2001, he had the “fantastic opportunity” to deliver five Reith lectures on the challenges of ageing, which, in turn, brought him into contact with new and different people and broadened the scope of his own research on ageing. Since then, he has been a special adviser to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee; led the Foresight report Mental capital and wellbeing, looking at how to improve mental wellbeing through life; and set up the longitudinal Newcastle 85+ Study, investigating the lives of the fastest-​g rowing segment of our population. Having now stepped down from managerial responsibility, Tom enjoys the freedom to spend more time on research and mentoring students. He also thinks it is important “to review where one is in one’s own life journey” and looks “forward with interest to what’s to come”. He tells us too that Time of our lives has an epilogue: a short story he wrote exploring some of its implications, which was made into an award-​winning play and is now being turned into a film script.

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Kirkwood, T.B.L. (1999) Time of our lives: The science of human ageing, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kirkwood, T.B.L. (2001) The end of age, BBC Reith Lectures. Available at: www.bbc.co.uk/​radio4/​reith2001 Kirkwood, T.B.L. (2017) ‘Why and how are we living longer?’, Experimental Physiology, 102 (9): 1067–​74.

Peter Lansley Peter had a long professional and academic career in statistics, organisational research and senior university management at the University of Reading before, in the mid-​1990s, being asked how the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) could get involved with ageing research. He chaired the EPSRC’s Extending Quality Life initiative (known as EQUAL) –​its first foray into ageing –​ then directed its successor, the Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (SPARC) before jointly directing Knowledge Transfer for Extending Quality Life (KT-​EQUAL). This “family of research programmes” fostered inter-​and multidisciplinary, user-​focused ageing research. It drew in disciplines that previously would not have secured research council funding although they may have considered the needs of older people, and researchers from mainstream disciplines that may have never considered them, and it addressed issues around the built environment, inclusive design, rehabilitation, home adaptations and assistive technology. These ‘bottom-​up’ initiatives engaged older people, user communities, practitioners and policy makers, and have created cohorts of new researchers. Now Emeritus Professor, Peter no longer has university responsibilities, but does still sit on a number of trusts, advisory bodies and peer review panels. A telecommunications trainee at the age of 16, Peter then undertook a first degree in mathematics followed by a Master’s degree in statistics. He worked briefly for the Agricultural Research Council as a biometrician, “getting a real professional grounding as a research scientist”, before moving to Ashridge Management College as a statistician. This independent business school had a research unit and it was here that Peter worked with social scientists on research about how the construction industry could best manage the ups and downs in the economy. After 14 years, and having become its Director of Building Industry Research, Peter was appointed as Reader in Management Studies at Reading in 1984. In quick succession he was made Head of the Department of Construction Management (during which time he also completed his PhD), then Dean of the Faculty of Urban and Regional Studies, and

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then Pro Vice-​Chancellor. It was during his period as dean that he was approached by the EPSRC, which then led him into ageing. Peter continued to pursue construction research alongside his interest in organisations and the building of disciplines. His family background is in construction and this has come together in various projects with gerontologists around housing and design for older people. He has also worked with colleagues from other countries for many years, and his internationally recognised AROUSAL system (A Real Organisational Unit Simulated As Life) is an approach to management and organisational development that has been adopted around the world. In ageing, he forged strong links between the research programmes he directed and the Canadian Institute of Aging (established by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research), which led to joint research in a number of areas. Having now “stepped back from doing ageing research” himself, he has re-​engaged with his own management business; likes the maintenance and upgrading his 200-​ year-​old house requires; and enjoys “the absolute wonderful delight of having two granddaughters”. Goodacre, K., McCreadie, C., Flanagan, S.  and Lansley, P.  (2008) ‘Enabling older people to stay at home:  the costs of substituting and supplementing care with assistive technology’, British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71 (4): 130–​40. Lansley, P. (2008) Ageing research going places, and supplement: Going places with SPARC, Reading: University of Reading. Lansley, P. (2013) ‘Multidisciplinarity, user engagement and the design of special programmes of ageing research in the United Kingdom’, Ageing & Society, 33 (5): 727–​60.

Jill Manthorpe Jill is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King’s College London, although she says that when she left university she thought she didn’t want to go into academia. Instead, having been very active as a volunteer while a student, she went to work for what was then Age Concern England. It was “very lively” and “an exciting time to work” in this area: the Age Concern Research Unit was headed up by Mark Abrams and the Director was David Hobman. The researchers were a small group and Jill enjoyed getting to grips with what was “a very broad social science perspective”. She subsequently decided she wanted a more hands-​on, people-​facing job, so ran an urban aid-​funded advice centre in South London before

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undertaking a Master’s in social policy at Hull University. With young children, Jill then spent a few years in various part-​time positions, voluntary work and NHS non-​executive roles, including teaching about older people on university programmes, before securing a full-​time post at Hull and, eventually, becoming Reader in Community Care in the late 1990s. In 2001, she moved to King’s to run a DoH-​funded policy research unit and continues to work there full-​time. Jill’s research career has ranged widely around social policy, social care and social administration. While the unit isn’t just concerned with older people, she herself is recognised for her expertise on social care; on risk assessment and risk management, particularly in relation to people living with dementia; and on elder abuse, both its prevalence and developments around law and practice. A key part of her current role is engaging directly with policy makers and highlighting where there is, or isn’t, good research evidence. Although she always liked teaching, her time these days is spent mostly on research and PhD supervision. She is a Senior Investigator Emeritus for the National Institutes of Health Research; a trustee of the CPA and of the Order of St John Care Trust; Patron of the Greater London Forum of Older People; and a Visiting Professor at Melbourne University in Australia. Jill joined the BSG in 1985 and has been a long-​term supporter of the organisation, going to the annual conference almost every year since. She was a member of the society’s Publications Committee in the 1990s and chairs the Editorial Board of Ageing & Society. When she retires, Jill says she will “get off the treadmill” as far as academia is concerned, but that she will probably still do some voluntary sector and/​or public service type roles. She feels the best things about her current situation are being able to do the research she wants, and the freedom and discretion she has to manage that research as she sees fit. She advises career-​young colleagues to “go to conferences”, “read widely” and be prepared to “talk to people” because she firmly believes that “you learn more from them and from the front end of practice than you do from most textbooks”. Manthorpe, J. and Iliffe, S. (2005) Depression in later life, London: Jessica Kingsley. Manthorpe, J. et al (2007) ‘Four years on: the impact of the National Service Framework for Older People on the experiences, expectations and views of older people’, Age and Ageing, 36 (5): 501–​7. Stanley, N. and Manthorpe, J. (eds) (2004) The age of the inquiry: Learning and blaming in health and social care, London: Routledge.

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Mary Marshall Known especially for her work around design for people with dementia and for setting up and directing the UK’s first Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC), Mary is adamant that her skills lie in “understanding, interpreting and using research” rather than in doing it. She also says, “the one thing I’m really proud of is how far I’ve got on an ordinary degree” –​a degree she undertook in the mid-​1960s in her home city of Edinburgh before taking a Diploma in social administration at LSE. It was here that she was sent on a placement to Lambeth Central Social Services, subsequently working as a childcare officer in Brixton for two years. A move to Liverpool followed, first as a GP-​attached social worker, then on a hospital discharge research project for Age Concern Liverpool, before a post teaching social work at the University of Liverpool. During this time, Mary was very active in the BSG, becoming its Chair in the late 1980s; she is also a BSG Founding Fellow. After eight years in academia, Mary wanted to return to frontline social work and took a sabbatical to Melbourne, Australia. Here, she worked in “the most indescribably dreadful psycho-​geriatric unit”, but also ended up reviewing dementia services for the state of Victoria’s Health Commission. This was 1982, and Australia was devolving mental healthcare out of institutions into the community. Mary discovered the social model of disability in action, visiting innovative dementia projects and describing this as “just the most exciting life-​changing experience”. Resolving to find some way of applying what she had seen back in the UK, she applied for –​and was appointed as –​Director of Age Concern Scotland in 1983. Once there, she initiated an annual theme, the first of which was dementia. The upsurge of interest led to the formation of Scottish Action on Dementia, a lobbying organisation that was subsequently instrumental in securing funding from the Scottish Office to establish the DSDC at Stirling University –​the first of what is now a network around the UK. Mary took up post as Director in 1989 –​on the day her own father was (mis)diagnosed with dementia –​and remained there until she retired in 2005. Under Mary’s directorship, the DSDC forged a national and international reputation for its information and advice, training, and support services. Mary herself was a member of the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for Older People in the late 1990s; she became involved in European projects as well as maintaining her links with Australia. She still works for a major Australian charitable

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dementia provider; is writing a guide on thinking about dementia for faith communities; and is involved with dementia design projects at Edinburgh University. The rest of her retirement, she says, is “things like bird watching”, alongside interests such as auctions, Scottish pottery, theatre and the book group she belongs to, and spending time with her partner’s children and six grandchildren. For Mary, the best thing about retirement is “being in charge of it” and she says “I’ll retire when I feel less useful”. Hunt, l., Marshall, M.  and Rowlings, C.  (eds) (1977) Past trauma in late life:  European perspectives on therapeutic work with older people, London: Jessica Kingsley. Marshall, M. (1983) Social work with old people (1st edn), London: The Macmillan Press. Marshall, M.  (ed) (2005) Perspectives on rehabilitation and dementia, London: Jessica Kingsley.

Robin Means Now on the cusp of full retirement, Robin continues to work at the University of the West of England (UWE) for two days a week, having stepped down in 2012 from his full-​time role as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. He leads the evaluation of the Bristol Ageing Better project, one of 14 national sites supported by the Big Lottery Fund, and has also agreed to become Chair of West of England Care and Repair, which delivers home adaptations and handyperson schemes to older people across Bristol and the surrounding area. These roles are in keeping with Robin’s lifetime commitment to “getting it right for older people”: a commitment that, unusually, saw him train as a social worker at the University of Warwick after gaining his PhD from the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Birmingham in the mid-​1970s. As part of his PhD, he undertook observations at a lunch club, which was what really sparked his interest in working with older people, such that “it became my passion”. After six years of living, studying and working in Birmingham, 1979 saw Robin move to a research post in the School for Advanced Urban Studies (SAUS) at the University of Bristol. Here, he worked as “a jobbing contract researcher”, winning an early contract from the then Social Sciences Research Council to do a piece of historical research on how social work and welfare services for older people had developed. Robin describes this as “my first piece of proper gerontological research”

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and it informed a lot of his subsequent work. Gradually, he built up a portfolio of ageing research, often with a housing focus and, subsequently, around the new community care changes that occurred in the early 1990s. With SAUS colleague Randall Smith, he wrote Community care: Policy and practice (1994), now in its fourth edition. Robin says this “is probably one of the things I’m most proud of having done” because it has supported many people undertaking professional courses over the years. His work on housing has also been important and, in 1997, led to the publication of a major guide for practitioners in housing, health and social services. The following year, he moved to UWE where he has been instrumental in developing an institutional research culture and in encouraging colleagues to become engaged with ageing research. Throughout his career, Robin has been closely involved with the BSG: he served two consecutive terms on the Executive in the 1990s on the Membership Services Sub-​Committee; hosted the 1997 annual conference at Bristol; helped organise two others at UWE in 2008 and 2009; and was President and Past-​President of the society from 2012 to 2016. He describes retirement as “a very privileged time really” and plans to stay intellectually engaged by supporting research and mentoring colleagues, as well as pursuing his interests in gardening, rambling and local history alongside having more time for his “ridiculously large family” of six children and 12 grandchildren. Means, R. (1987) ‘Older people in British housing studies’, Housing Studies, 2 (2): 82–​98. Means, R. and Smith, R. (1994) Community care: Policy and practice (1st edn), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Means, R. and Smith, R. (1998) From poor law to community care: The development of welfare services for elderly people, 1939–​1971 (2nd edn), Bristol: Policy Press.

Eric Midwinter Describing himself as “granny reared”, Eric grew up in a working-​class home in the Manchester area, winning a grammar school scholarship and then a place at Cambridge to read history in the 1950s. He was always aware of ageing issues, his doctoral research having included an examination of the Poor Law system. Eric worked initially in Liverpool, directing one of the Education Priority Area Projects (1968–​75) exploring the needs of families in socially deprived circumstances. This brought him into contact with Michael Young, Chairman of

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the national scheme, and, through him, with Peter Laslett, who was beginning to publish his ideas around the third age. A move to London followed in 1975, to work under Michael Young’s aegis at the National Consumer Council (NCC), before he became Director of the CPA in 1980. This was a crucial time for what was previously known as the National Corporation for the Care of Old People. Eric’s role was to transform it into “a think tank on social policy for older age” and –​as “the disciple” of Michael Young and Peter Laslett –​the phrase he uses to describe this transformation is “the idea of shifting the image of the older person from being a passive social casualty to being an active, participating citizen”. Eric’s 11 years at CPA saw the organisation tackle a wide range of topics, with Eric himself doing work on pensions (including arguing for a social wage), ageism and age discrimination, education, crime and consumerism. The connection with the BSG has always been important professionally and personally and, in 1981, CPA –​in partnership with the BSG –​originated the journal Ageing & Society. A year later, Eric, Michael Young and Peter Laslett founded the University of the Third Age (U3A) with CPA managing its first, small Nuffield Foundation grant of £9,000. Eric acted as General Secretary and Dianne Norton –​then coordinator of the Forum on the Rights of Elderly People to Education –​helped develop the organisation and its newsletter. From these modest beginnings, there are now 1,000 local U3A groups with a membership of 400,000 people, and its Third Age Matters magazine has a circulation of 220,000. Not surprisingly, Eric describes U3A as “my finest hour”. Eric “relinquished” the CPA directorship in 1991 at the age of 60, not wanting to say he was retiring because he felt this was a negative concept. Instead, he served a further four years as Chair of the London Regional Passengers’ Committee (which he had been involved with since his time at the NCC), as well as taking on consultancies with, for example, the International Longevity Centre UK. Throughout his life, he has never let up on his other interests and is equally well known as a social historian, writer and broadcaster, having won critical acclaim for publications that include sport on the one hand –​cricket and football mainly –​and light entertainment and comedy on the other. Now in his mid-​eighties, Eric is adamant that he wants to carry on practising what he has preached in terms of leading a very active third age. Midwinter, E. (1985) The wage of retirement: The case for a new pensions policy, London: Centre for Policy on Ageing.

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Midwinter, E.  (1994) The development of social welfare in Britain, Buckingham: Open University Press. Midwinter, E.  (2004) 500 beacons:  The U3A story, London:  Third Age Press.

John Miles John hasn’t “had an orthodox career”, saying that his “attempts to operate as a gerontologist have not been within the academic field [but] in the practice field, either with small associations or with a local authority”. He has lived and worked for much of his adult life in London, starting out in the late 1970s as a part-​time volunteer organiser in Hackney for Task Force (the forerunner of Pensioners Link). His job was to organise school-​age volunteers to work with older people and to provide them with welfare rights advice. These first few years were a time when John “learnt how to be with older people”, subsequently moving from his volunteer organising role into a full-​time community work post. Here he was part of a dynamic team of four people, responsible, among other things, for founding Hackney Pensioners Press; devising the Worst Broken Pavement in Hackney Competition; setting up Hackney Pensioners Film Club; running Hackney Pensioners Tribunal on Community Care; setting up Coldline (an emergency advice and intervention service) and Hackney Asian Elders; and, with Anchor Housing, the council and the Community Health Council, turning Hackney Old People’s Welfare Association into Age Concern Hackney. In 1984, John returned to study, having, in his words, “resigned after two years at university in 1971”. Now in his thirties and wanting to see if he could do something he had “made a mess of first time around”, he undertook the four-​year, part-​time Diploma in ageing run by the former Centre for Extra-​Mural Studies at London University. This brought him into contact with gerontologists such as Tony Warnes and Anthea Tinker, with radical geriatricians of the time, and with his mentor, the late Peter Shea –​an advocate of lifelong learning and active member of the cooperative movement. John followed this by being one of the first cohort on the new MSc in gerontology at King’s College London between 1988 and 1990. He worked in Hackney for the council throughout this time and, in the 1990s, became their Carer Support and Development Worker. Just before the millennium, John moved boroughs to a post as Development Officer with Camden Council where he spent the next five years.

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For the past decade, John has reverted to working with his “small associations”, continuing to support Kilburn Older Voices Exchange, which he set up when in Camden, as well as having a long-​term connection with an aphasia group in Newham. Throughout his career, he has also been active in the BSG, regularly attending and contributing to the conferences and, most recently, serving on the Executive for six years, supporting Emerging Researchers in Ageing developments in particular. Awarded his PhD from Keele University in 2014, and now in his mid-​sixties, he feels freer to take on and do “my bits of work”, enjoys “thinking and writing constructively” and spending time with his partner and grandchildren. John recognises a need to “address what my life might be like when I’m 85” and feels strongly that gerontology needs “to nourish the public conversation” about this latter period of our lives. Miles, J. (1994) ‘Slow progress: why a political framework is necessary for the evaluation of pensioners campaigns’, Generations Review, 4 (1): 4–​7. Miles, J. (2009) ‘Independent advocacy with older people: what will be the impact of personalisation?’, Working with Older People, 13 (2): 38–​41. Miles, J. (2019) ‘Work, work, work and full steam ahead: Ian McKay and the conserving radicalism of the Gorton Visual Arts Group, public artists in later life’, in D. Amigoni and G. McMullan (eds) Creativity in later life: Beyond late style, London: Routledge, pp 223–​41.

Ann Netten Ann first got interested in ageing research while surveying care home residents in Cheshire on a student placement in 1974. This formed part of her undergraduate social science degree, after which she worked as a research officer for Wandsworth Social Services Department, and then as a trainee social worker. A career break when her children were small was followed by her securing a grant in the mid-​1980s to do her PhD at PSSRU at the University of Kent. Here, she re-​engaged with her interests in residential care, doing her doctorate on care homes for older people and people with dementia. She stayed on at PSSRU where Director Bleddyn Davies was her first “boss” and a key influence. Ann’s career then focused primarily on social care and she worked her way through junior research posts to become Assistant Director, and then Director, of the Kent unit when PSSRU divided up its work across

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Manchester, the London School of Economics and Kent at the turn of the millennium. Ann’s early work was around the costs of health and social care, although she went on to research a range of topics that contributed to PSSRU’s reputation for originating what came to be known as the ‘production of welfare’ approach. She says she feels it “is very important to do good quality work and to make a difference to people’s lives”, and, in this respect, she is most proud of having led the development of the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit, ASCOT. Work began on this in 2000 when Ann and her colleagues were looking to develop a measure that would accurately reflect the outcomes for people in care homes and “could stand up to the kind of measures you got in health services research”. Based on a mixed-​methods approach, rather than a single instrument, it has since been picked up and used by practitioners as well as academics, by local authorities, as part of the Adult Social Care Survey, and internationally by colleagues in Austria, Finland and, most recently, in Australia. A long-​time member of the BSG, Ann was elected to the Executive in the late 1990s, taking up the post of Treasurer. During this period, she was also a member of the editorial board of the journal Ageing & Society. Now only working one day a week, Ann says this time of her life is “absolutely wonderful” because “when you’re working full-​time it just dominates your life”. Academically and professionally, she relishes “being able to do a little bit of work”, saying that “there’s nothing more exciting than seeing your colleagues get excited by ideas and taking up things which you had a role in”. Personally and domestically she cares for her mother, has time to enjoy her grandchildren, and to become part of the new community they have recently moved to “in a way that I just never did when I was working”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she advises career-​young colleagues to “find that thing that excites you, and then keep going at it”. Netten, A. and Davies, B. (1990) ‘The social production of welfare and consumption of social services’, Journal of Public Policy, 10 (3): 331–​47. Netten, A.  et  al (2012a) ‘Personalisation through individual budgets: does it work and for whom?’, British Journal of Social Work, 42 (8): 1556–​73. Netten, A. et al (2012b) Outcomes of social care for adults: Developing a preference-​weighted measure, Southampton:  Health Technology Assessment.

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Mike Nolan The UK’s first Professor of Gerontological Nursing, Mike trained originally as a teacher at Bangor Normal College. Qualifying in the mid-​1970s and with few posts available for him and his soon-​to-​be wife to teach in the same area, they both retrained as nurses. Although “people thought we’d totally lost the plot”, Mike gravitated towards older patients as “they always seemed to be people I could relate to”. Then, while on placement in a large psychiatric hospital and doing a project improving continence in older men, Mike realised this was a profession where he might be able to make a real difference. After post-​registration training, he became a staff nurse, then a charge nurse, opened a new day hospital and, while working full-​time, went to Bangor University to do a Master’s degree. With no further clinical career path open to him, Mike moved into nurse education before taking a risk and going back to Bangor on a two-​year, fixed-​ term research contract in the Centre for Social Policy Research and Development. Here, he began his PhD under the supervision of Gordon Grant, a partnership that has endured for 35 years. His PhD is where Mike’s interest in family caregiving really started: in it, he explored the benefits and disadvantages of respite care for older people while carrying out a large national survey looking at carer stress that included, at the very end, a question about the positive aspects of the role. “We were literally blown away” by the response, says Mike; people were sending in lengthy, handwritten comments and, as a consequence, he and Gordon went on to develop an array of methods for working with family carers that, while acknowledging the difficulties and stresses, looked at how it was possible to support the pleasures people also got from caring. His first lecturing post in applied community studies at Bangor was followed by a senior lectureship in nursing before Mike moved to the Chair at Sheffield in 1995. Here, he developed the Senses Framework. Designed initially for working in long-​term care settings, Senses provides the underpinning framework for My Home Life (a UK-​wide initiative improving practice in care homes); has been adapted and applied to acute and community-​based settings and for work with other client groups; and has been taken up in Scandinavia, Australia and Southeast Asian countries. A member of the BSG since the late 1980s, Mike served on the Executive in the mid-​1990s and on the editorial board of Ageing & Society. He has also been active with a range of other organisations, including the British Association for Services to the Elderly, the Alzheimer’s Society and the Stroke Association. Not quite fully

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retired and still seeing through some PhD students, he has “been quite delighted at how relatively easy I’ve found it to disengage”. Mike now values “the freedom from the pressure of institutional expectations” and he and his wife plan to do things “we really want to do”, including working their way round the UK visiting historical places they’ve only ever read about. Nolan, M.R., Grant, G. and Keady, J. (1996) Understanding family care, Buckingham: Open University Press. Nolan, M.R. et al (2006) The Senses framework: Improving care for older people through a relationship-​centred approach, Getting Research into Practice Report No 2, Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Nolan, M.R.  et  al (eds) (2007) User participation in health and social care research:  Voices, values and evaluation, Buckingham:  Open University Press.

Alison Norman (13 January 1934 –​17 June 2018) Alison first recalls being interested in ageing having watched her mother look after her grandmother throughout the years she had dementia. Later on, after three years spent abroad, she returned home to London and, via her local Age Concern, began visiting an old lady of whom she became very fond. She says, “her life and death in that geriatric hospital was appalling”, and, although it was a while before she went on to be a mental health social worker, these early experiences “really affected me”. Alison worked initially for The Economist and “always enjoyed writing”, but, throughout much of the 1960s, practised as a mental health social worker before taking a couple of years out to look after a friend. It was after she came back, and while retraining with Camden council , that she took a phone call out of the blue from the then Secretary of the National Corporation for the Care of Old People (NCCOP) asking if she might be interested in the post of Assistant Secretary. By this time, she says, “I’d really had enough of social workers and social work”, so responded very positively. She was interviewed and “within a week” found herself at NCCOP, which, in 1980, was to become the CPA under the directorship of Eric Midwinter. As Deputy Director, Alison was a key figure in the CPA’s transformation away from a grant-​g iving organisation –​primarily in the field of day and residential care –​into a policy think tank. Alison’s first job at the NCCOP was to write a book on transport and elderly people, but, once she had done this, she was granted free rein as to what she did next. Given her previous history, she was keen

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to write about “this rights and risks concept”, a ground-​breaking area for which she became extremely well known. She also authored many of CPA’s Policy Studies in Ageing series, including work on growing old in a second homeland, on the provision of long-​stay care for people living with dementia, on mental illness in old age, and on ageism. While she never regarded herself as a researcher, “discovering that I really could write and that people liked what I’d written” was one of Alison’s key achievements. After leaving CPA in 1987, she undertook a variety of freelance work; she also moved back to Tower Hamlets, where she had lived originally, and became Chair of Age Concern as well as being involved with the Community Health Council, the local psychiatric hospital, and Crossroads Care. From first living with a group of friends in a “very experimental”, lay Christian community in the 1960s, Alison’s profound religious faith always played a major part in her life. In later years, she “went back to academic work again”, starting with evening courses at Birkbeck and then studying for an MA in Renaissance studies. Three further MAs followed: one on Christian spirituality, one on philosophy and religion, and one on Christianity and other religions, the last of which was completed the year before we interviewed her. Norman, A. (1980) Rights and risk: A discussion document on civil liberty in old age, London: Centre for Policy on Ageing. Norman, A. (1985) Triple jeopardy: Growing old in a second homeland, London: Centre for Policy on Ageing. Norman, A.  (1987a) Severe dementia:  The provision of long stay care, London: Centre for Policy on Ageing.

Sheila Peace At the time of interview, Sheila was President of the BSG and had recently taken “slightly early retirement” from the OU where she was Associate Dean (Research) and Professor of Social Gerontology. As someone who was always “programmed to get up and get on with it”, she now describes herself as having to negotiate the transition between “work and maybe having more control of time”. A human geographer by original discipline, a concern with ‘place’ –​attachment to place and the meaning of home –​have been interests ever since her doctoral studies at Swansea in the mid-​1970s exploring the community lives of older people, including those in residential care. As a sixth-​former and an undergraduate student, Sheila had also worked as a ward orderly and as a care assistant in a residential home not far from where she lived.

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Back in London after her PhD, Sheila was a contract researcher at the then North London Polytechnic (NLP), developing quality of life measures for care home residents. A job as Research Officer at MIND (the National Association for Mental Health) followed, during which time she came across an advert for a one-​year international internship. In 1980, having “hardly left the country” before, she flew to the US to join the International Federation on Ageing in Washington DC. Her first assignment, for a United Nations meeting, was a report on the status and needs of older women around the world. Later that year, she met the psychologist M. Powell Lawton –​who had “always been a hero of mine” –​at the Philadelphia Geriatric Centre, and Maggie Kuhn –​leader of the Gray Panthers’ movement –​who was living in an intergenerational shared housing scheme in Baltimore. These encounters cemented Sheila’s lifelong interest in alternative models of living. Back in London, she rejoined colleagues at NLP where they established CESSA and embarked on a major DoH-​funded study of 100 local authority care homes. Other projects followed throughout the 1980s and, in 1990, Sheila moved to her first permanent post at the OU where she worked on its new course, An Ageing Society; co-​ founded the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies; and extended her research into studies of environment and identity, intergenerational interactions in public spaces, and, latterly, on kitchens and older people’s use of domestic space. A member of the BSG since completing her PhD, Sheila was on the Executive for six years in the 1980s, and again in the mid-​2000s before becoming President in 2014. She co-​edited the third, and now much-​expanded, European edition of Ageing in society (2007) and, in retirement, plans to bring her own lifetime’s work together into a book titled The environments of ageing: Space, place and materiality. Having had to manage some major health issues since the mid-​1980s, she also intends to keep up her swimming and continue singing with the community choir she belongs to. She is also determined to have piano lessons again, learn tai chi and “explore some places that I’ve always wanted to see”. Peace, S., Holland, C. and Kellaher, L. (2006) Environment and identity in later life, Maidenhead:  Open University Press/​McGraw-​Hill Education. Peace, S. et al. (2018) ‘Transitions in kitchen living: past experiences and present use’, in A. Walker (ed) The new dynamics of ageing, Volume 1, Bristol: Policy Press, pp 257–​76.

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Willcocks, D., Peace, S. and Kellaher, L. (1987) Private lives in public places: A research-​based critique of residential life in local authority old people’s homes, London: Tavistock Publications.

Judith Phillips Judith says, “If anyone asks ‘what do you do?’, I  will say ‘I’m a gerontologist’; that is where my identity is”. The only child of “quite old” parents, Judith grew up “in a really deprived area of South Wales”. While at secondary school, she also worked as a care assistant in residential care, an experience that influenced her later career. A human geographer by original discipline, Judith went on to study and qualify as a social worker in the early 1980s –​initially in Sweden and then at Oxford –​before undertaking a PhD on private residential care at the University of East Anglia (UEA). This marked the start of Judith’s research interests in ageing and older people, and set her on an academic career path. Staying on at UEA as a contract researcher and then lecturer, she moved from there to Keele University in 1993 as Lecturer in Social Work and Gerontology, where she worked for 11 years. She describes this time as “very exciting”, saying, “we were all working as a team, and that was great fun … pushing the boundaries out on a variety of issues”. She had already begun to forge international links and acquire an interest in working carers, both of which she was able to further at Keele through a major European grant and then the first-​ever UK research project on the topic. As well as being known for her studies of carers who juggle work and family life, the other main thread to her research has been in environmental gerontology. In 2004, Judith returned home to South Wales to take up the post of Professor of Social Work at Swansea University. In Wales, she could see the opportunity to make a difference in terms of having a more direct impact on policy and practice. With core funding from the Welsh Government, she set up what became known as the Centre for Innovative Ageing, building a team of inter-​and multidisciplinary gerontologists across Wales and being awarded an OBE for Services to Older People in 2013. While at Swansea, she moved into more senior university management roles that led, in 2016, to her current appointment as Deputy Principal (Research) at the University of Stirling. This university-​wide role is in research strategy, planning and policy, but she also keeps up her research portfolio as Professor of Gerontology. Throughout her career, the BSG has “been really important” to Judith. She was a Regional Coordinator in the early 1990s and the

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society’s International Liaison Officer and Chair of External Relations Committee from 1994 to 1999. Between 2006 and 2010, she served as the BSG’s President-​Elect and President and then as Chair of the British Council for Ageing. She regards her time as President as her most substantive contribution, establishing a robust strategy for the first time, cementing links with international associations (notably the Canadian Association on Gerontology and the Gerontological Society of America), and strengthening UK gerontology. When asked about retirement, she says she would “like to be part of BSG and mentor early-​career researchers” in the future: “I would love that”. Phillips, J., Bernard, M. and Chittenden, M. (2002) Juggling work and care: The experience of working carers of older adults, Bristol: Policy Press. Phillips, J., Walford, N. and Hockey, A. (2011) ‘How do unfamiliar environments convey meaning to older people? Urban dimensions of placelessness and attachment’, International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 6 (2): 73–​102. Phillipson, C., Bernard, M., Phillips, J. and Ogg, J. (2000) The family and community life of older people: Social networks and social support in three urban areas, London: Routledge.

Chris Phillipson Chris’s interest in ageing dates from his teenage years as a community service volunteer in a very large psychogeriatric hospital: “it did get me interested in how older people were treated and the whole business of institutionalisation”. Then, in the early 1970s, he did a degree in sociology with community work at Birmingham Polytechnic  –​ including a dissertation on life in a geriatric hospital –​before securing a PhD studentship at Durham University exploring men’s experience of retirement. This was destined to become his landmark book Capitalism and the construction of old age (1982). As a postgraduate, Chris “didn’t know anybody else who was studying ageing” and, although Durham was encouraging and had a political economy group he was involved with, it was at the BSG that he discovered a supportive peer group. A  research post at the University of Birmingham followed  –​on a project studying twins –​before he became Senior Research Fellow at Keele University doing a longitudinal evaluation of pre-​retirement education. Although this was “above my pay grade”, Chris confesses to being “extremely ambitious and very competitive” and was aware that he was the only applicant with a PhD on retirement. This project was

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followed by a grant from the Health Education Council, a lectureship and then, within only a couple of years, a Chair. Establishing Keele’s Centre for Social Gerontology in 1987, and creating “probably the strongest group [of gerontologists] in the country” at the time, was Chris’s “attempt to really influence how social gerontology was developing”. A vocal advocate of the need for theory, he is particularly proud of his own and the group’s contributions to critical gerontology, and of the BSG conferences hosted at Keele, notably the first one, in 1985, which broke away from the very “domestic” orientation of earlier ones and included Maggie Kuhn (the charismatic leader of the Gray Panthers) and prominent international speakers. International connections, especially with North America and then with European colleagues, have continued to be important to Chris. Likewise, his involvement with BSG saw him serve on the editorial board of Ageing & Society in its early days; as editor of Generations, the BSG’s first newsletter; and as President from 2004 to 2006. A BSG Founding Fellow, he was also the recipient of the society’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2011. Throughout his career, Chris has been “passionate about inequality, and ageing as a dimension of inequality”, an orientation that underpins all his research whether on work and retirement, social exclusion, urban ageing, globalisation, or the study of migrant women from Bangladesh, which, he says, is the publication he is most proud of. Over his years at Keele, Chris also took on more senior university management roles before moving, in 2012, to Manchester where he has been instrumental in developing the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing. He stepped down from the directorship in 2016 and continues to research, write and support career-young colleagues for whom he is now equally ambitious. He says he has “probably become more work-​obsessed” than ever, but that “I’d like to get to 70 and perhaps scale down then”. Baars, J., Dannefer, D., Phillipson, C. and Walker, A. (eds) (2006) Aging, globalization and inequality:  The new critical gerontology, New  York, NY: Baywood Publishing Co. Phillipson, C.  (1982) Capitalism and the construction of old age, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Phillipson, C. (1998) Reconstructing old age: New agendas in social theory and practice, London: Sage Publications.

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Ian Philp Ian says “I discovered my passion age 19” when he was a medical student at the University of Edinburgh. Tutored by the “hugely inspiring’ ” and “deeply humanistic” Jimmy Williamson –​one of the pioneers of geriatric medicine –​Ian’s first job was as his House Officer. These early experiences of “trying to respond to what patients needed” and “connecting to people’s real lives” rather than “trying to make patients fit your service” have underpinned his whole career. Medical posts in England and Scotland followed throughout the 1980s, including time spent as a Research Fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Here, Ian began to develop a programme designed to assess and respond to the needs of older people in primary care, which was later to become the EASY-​Care programme. Unusually for a medical practitioner, he also discovered the BSG and “was exposed to this fantastic body of knowledge”, saying he “tried to then blend that thinking into the work I was doing”. Back in the UK, he was appointed Senior Lecturer in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Southampton before moving to Sheffield in 1994 as Professor of Health Care for Elderly People. Instead of an academic department of geriatric medicine as was common to other medical schools, Sheffield decided to create a multidisciplinary group –​combining social science and medicine –​ that would try to influence the way healthcare was delivered to older people. This appealed to Ian and, as Foundation Head of Department, he worked alongside Alan Walker and got funding for posts such as the first Chair of Gerontological Nursing in the country. Before very long, this initiative developed into the university-​wide Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing. In his own words, Ian “then got pulled off to do national work”, and, at the turn of the millennium, found himself leading the development of the National Service Framework for Older People in England. He subsequently became the National Clinical Director charged with implementing the framework and with “rooting out age discrimination in the NHS”. The job occupied his “every waking moment” for eight years and, although he kept some clinical work going, he feels he neglected his academic work. The job also had its frustrations, not least when political decisions downgraded older people as a priority and health and social care were split apart rather than being integrated. He did, however, succeed in getting age discrimination in healthcare for older people into legislation.

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Since then, he has returned to medical director posts in the Midlands and Yorkshire, was Professor of Health Care for Older People at the University of Warwick, and is currently Professor in Global Ageing at the University of Stirling. He has also picked up the EASY-​Care project again and, with the backing of bodies such as the World Health Organization, extended it around the world, including in China, India, Uganda, Iran, Turkey, Europe, Brazil, Mexico and the US, as well as the UK. The international dimension remains important to Ian as does his continuing desire “to make a difference to older people’s lives”. Philp, I. (1997) ‘Can a medical and social assessment be combined?’, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 90 (Suppl. 32): 11–​13. Philp, I.  et  al. (2014) ‘Development of EASY-​C are, for brief standardized assessment of the health and care needs of older people; with latest information about cross-​national acceptability’, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 15 (1): 42–​6. Philp, I.  et  al. (2017) Personalised assessment to integrate care for older people, Geneva: WHO.

Randall Smith Although he technically retired in 2001, Randall continues to research and write at the University of Bristol where he has worked for “over half my life now”. Unusually, he was promoted in his retirement and is now a Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of Social Gerontology. However, for much of his career, he pursued two parallel strands of work: one in policy analysis, with a focus on policy process, and the other around ageing. Randall started out in research in the early 1960s –​straight after his Oxford degree –​working in London for the Acton Society Trust. With the expansion of higher education, he got his first academic post as Temporary Lecturer in Applied Sociology at Glasgow University, working with the post-​war urban planner and public policy analyst Barry Cullingworth. Together, they conducted a project on planning local authority services for elderly people funded by the then National Corporation for the Care of Old People. After three years, Randall followed Cullingworth to Birmingham where he had just set up the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies. As a research associate and then lecturer, Randall undertook a variety of policy studies, only a few of which focused on older people. He was also seconded to the Civil Service College, which he describes as “a very important phase because I  got a chance to look at Whitehall from a semi-​insider position”. Then, in 1974, he applied successfully

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for a post in the newly created School for Advanced Urban Studies (SAUS) at Bristol. SAUS wasn’t a conventional university department; instead, it ran short courses for people in local and central government, only later starting graduate programmes and providing service teaching on the social policy and social work courses. Randall also got involved in a series of research projects with European countries that related directly to his policy process interests. As the staff group expanded, other opportunities opened up and, with Robin Means, he became involved in studies of welfare services for older people, which later led to the publication of Community care: Policy and practice (1994). Director of SAUS from 1987 to 1990 and, in the year before he retired, acting head of what had become the School for Policy Studies, retirement has seen Randall focus increasingly on gerontology. He chaired the advisory board of the multi-​institutional School of Social Care Research; served as a trustee of Age UK Bristol; and, in 2011, won the British Academy’s Peter Townsend Prize with Julia Johnson and Sheena Rolph for Residential care transformed (2010). A long-​time member of the BSG, Randall was appointed to the Executive post-​ retirement, was the society’s representative on AGE Platform Europe, and has co-​organised three of the annual conferences. Randall feels he has an awareness he might not have had “if I had not been a professional gerontologist”, and, not having immediate family, has put in place key documentation as well as physical alterations to his house, “to make it possible for me to live in it when I am much more frail”. Johnson, J., Rolph, S.  and Smith, R.  (2010) Residential care transformed: Revisiting ‘The Last Refuge’ (1st edn), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Means, R. and Smith, R. (1985) The development of welfare services for elderly people, London: Croom Helm. Sumner, G. and Smith, R. (1969) Planning local authority services for the elderly, London: Allen & Unwin.

Anthea Tinker After four decades in gerontology, following a decade working for the Department of the Environment (DOE) and multiple part-​time jobs when her children were small, Anthea is adamant that she “will never ever stop of my own volition”. She observes wryly that while “there are not many advantages in being a widow, one of them is that you can do what you like, when you like; so that means I work

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even harder, which I  enjoy”. She works at home on Fridays but goes into her King’s College London office on four days a week to supervise “lots of PhDs and dissertations”, see her personal tutees and work on five research grants with colleagues. Her notable work ethic means she has “never had a day out of the workforce” since graduating, although, as the wife of a vicar, she moved around a great deal. This, combined with her “peripatetic childhood” and time spent living with her grandparents, contributed to her lifelong passion for housing and home. Graduating from the University of Birmingham in economics, politics and sociology, Anthea went straight into industry. From there, she moved to research at the Board of Trade and then spent two years training in law and science to become “one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Factories”. Concluding that “going up ladders on building sites” wasn’t a good idea when pregnant, she returned to Birmingham as a research assistant to one of her former tutors. A move to London followed, teaching social administration at Birkbeck and working for a Royal Commission. Then, feeling she ought to get further qualifications, Anthea decided to do a PhD and “literally tossed a coin between two things” she was interested in: children and babies in hospital, and older people living with younger people: “it came down older people and housing”. “Quite out of the blue”, the DOE heard about her research –​which was on “granny flats” –​and offered to provide funding. She completed it very quickly, becoming a full-​time civil servant in the DOE where she remained for ten years, researching and advising ministers on housing for all groups. In the late 1980s, she was appointed as the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology’s first Director, was quickly made Professor of Social Gerontology, and oversaw the establishment of the first MSc in gerontology and the growth of the institute’s research. In addition to housing, Anthea has researched and written extensively on a range of topics  –​notably technology and ethics  –​and is an enthusiast for involving older people themselves in projects. She says “I’ve become interested in almost everything you can think of ” and “if there’s a grant there, I’ll go for it”. She likes working interdisciplinarily within the social sciences, but particularly likes working in multidisciplinary teams with doctors, engineers and architects, even though “it has challenges”. A staunch supporter of the BSG, she has made presentations at the annual conference every year bar one since 1976; chaired the Publications Committee for six years; was made a Founding Fellow in 2008; and, in 2010, was awarded the society’s Outstanding Achievement Award.

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Tinker, A.  (1997) Older people in modern society (4th edn), London: Routledge. Tinker, A. and Ginn, J. (2015) An age friendly city –​how far has London come?, London: King’s College London. Tinker, A.  et  al. (1999) Alternative models of care for older people (for the Royal Commission on Long-​Term Care:  With respect to old age: Long term care –​rights and responsibilities), Research Volume 2, London: HMSO.

Jim Traynor Jim retired in 2010 after spending most of his working life as a social work practitioner and manager in Leeds. A Glaswegian by birth, he left school for London where, after a year as an Assistant Examiner in Death Duties, he decided “the civil service wasn’t for me”. He then applied to become a community service volunteer and, much to his surprise, was placed back in Edinburgh in a children’s home. From there, he went to Lancaster University in 1970 to study sociology and politics and, towards the end of his degree, began to consider social work because “I had ideals that I thought I’d be able to help people from a similar background to myself ”. A  move to Bradford as an unqualified social worker followed, before he gained his Certificate of Qualification in Social Work and an MA at Bangor University. It was a shift to mental health, and a post in a district general hospital working for a psychiatrist who specialised in old age, that “really got me interested in ageing”. In Bradford, Jim set up an early relative support group that he ran for a year or two before being offered a job in Leeds to which he moved in 1978. As an adviser on ‘services for the elderly’ as it was then termed, Jim enthusiastically embraced the role. He set up an innovative family placement scheme which, when he left, had become the largest service of its kind in the country, as well as the blueprint for many other such schemes at home and abroad. Alongside this, he initiated the award-​ winning An A to Z of services for older people (1984), which is still in print, and developed a training package for working with older people funded by Help the Aged. He quickly became involved with the wider world of gerontology too, speaking about his work at the first BSG conference he attended in Hull in 1981. Here, he found himself elected to the BSG Committee, subsequently serving three times and getting to know many gerontology researchers and academics over the years. With colleagues, he hosted the 1984 BSG annual conference; was on the editorial board of Ageing & Society; became a member of the CPA

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Advisory Council; and was a consultant to The Open University for its early courses on ageing. Jim is still concerned that even today “how you get a more equitable and just society” is a continuing challenge facing gerontology, along with “how you get policy makers to take notice of the research”. He is also conscious that not having children means he and his wife need to consider “the options … if we’re lucky enough to get to advanced old age”. In the meantime, he goes regularly to the gym –​“day centres for the middle class who can afford it”, as he calls them –​plays crown green bowls; and, every six weeks or so, goes with friends on the “ale train” (to stations with pubs selling real ale). He says the best thing about being retired “is the freedom to enjoy life”. Crosby, I. and Traynor, J. (1985) In our care, London: Help the Aged. Traynor, J. (1984) An A to Z of services for older people, Leeds: Leeds City Council. Traynor, J.  (1994) ‘Lifting the lid on elder abuse:  questions and doubts’, in M.  Eastman (ed) Old age abuse:  A new perspective (2nd edn), Boston: Springer, pp 199–​211.

Julia Twigg Now Professor of Social Policy and Sociology at the University of Kent, Julia came to gerontology indirectly. After a first degree in history, she worked as a junior editor in publishing. Although she enjoyed this period, she describes it as “not very intellectually stimulating” and decided to change tack. A conversion course, before an MSc in sociology at the LSE, was followed by her PhD on the vegetarian movement in Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries. By now it was the early 1980s: universities were in crisis; academic jobs were few and far between; and Julia “lost confidence in the whole enterprise of being an academic”. She joined the national management training scheme for the NHS at the King’s Fund, but, pretty soon, knew “it just wasn’t for me”. By good fortune, she was sent to the US to study new developments for older people, an experience that allowed her to apply for her first research post at the PSSRU at the University of Kent. At Kent, she worked with Bleddyn Davies on a project evaluating the effectiveness of domiciliary care. Though very different to what she does now, Julia regards that time as crucial to her development, saying that exploring the problems faced by frail older people stimulated her interest in “the everyday and the experience of life”. This focus has been at the heart of her subsequent research and has found expression

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in different, but related, studies. From PSSRU, she moved to the more policy-​focused and qualitatively oriented Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York. Here, she forged a reputation for research on informal and home-​based care. A brief move to the University of Hull, followed by a return to the University of Kent, allowed her to develop her interests in embodiment and in the seemingly mundane activities of washing, bathing and dressing. Her more recent focus on developing cultural gerontology and, in particular her research on clothing and age, was a natural progression, and one that also drew on her interests in history and materiality. When she started doing research on age, Julia was in her forties, but now reflects that “I’m my subject as it were … I’m now in the category that I used to study, and still study”. She enjoys research immensely, saying “I just love starting a new project, reading about new things”, and thinks if she were to stop, she would miss it terribly. A long-​established member of the BSG, Julia has served on the Executive, sat on the editorial board of Ageing & Society, and co-​edited the major BSG-​linked Routledge handbook of cultural gerontology (2015). In 2016, she was awarded the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award. As she contemplates retirement, she reflects that now, in later life, “there’s a sense in which things are not as bad as you think they’re going to be … there’s a process of adjustment that occurs, and that’s what protects us all, as we get older, from the culture of denigration”. Twigg, J. (2006) The body in health and social care, Basingstoke: Palgrave Twigg, J.  (2013) Fashion and age:  Dress, the body and later life, London: Bloomsbury. Twigg, J. and Martin, W. (eds) (2015a) Routledge handbook of cultural gerontology, London: Routledge.

Christina Victor Christina describes her career as one of “serendipitous” moves in which she has “always been able to keep the interest in ageing embedded in what I’ve done”, even though most of her appointments have been in health-​related research and teaching. A  geographer by original discipline, she moved from Swansea to Nottingham where she did an MPhil in medical geography before returning to Wales in the 1980s, to a research post in a specialist research group at the Welsh National School of Medicine in Cardiff focused on older people. It was here that she first got interested in ageing, completed her PhD, and developed her career-​long concerns with loneliness, isolation and social exclusion, as well as quality of life and wellbeing. After six years, personal reasons took

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her to Guildford and a job at the University of Surrey as a postdoctoral research fellow evaluating the welfare benefits campaign instigated by the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Again serendipitously, albeit nothing to do with ageing, Christina was also able to work with Sara Arber and a growing group of colleagues interested in ageing. A two-​year lectureship  –​ and commute  –​teaching public and community health back at Nottingham Medical School followed, before a five-​year, fixed-​term post as Senior Lecturer in Public Health at St Mary’s in London, and then ten years at St George’s running its MSc in public health. Once again, Christina was able to pursue a “dual track” and combine her main job with doing research with other gerontology colleagues. It was at St George’s that she was also awarded her first Chair. From here, she was recruited to the University of Reading, which was making a major investment in ageing research. This was not only a Chair in Gerontology, but, as Christina says, “it was the first time I’d had a permanent job and I was 50”. Restructuring at Reading saw the closure of the school of which she was head, but Christina relocated with several colleagues to work with the ageing group at Brunel University London where she has been Professor of Gerontology and Public Health since 2009. As well as being actively engaged in research and teaching, Christina has been editor of Ageing & Society since 2015 and is proud of having overseen its development from six to 12 editions a year. She served on the BSG’s Executive in the 1990s, co-​organised three annual conferences, and, in 2017, was a recipient of the society’s Outstanding Achievement Award. “A lifelong swimmer”, Christina is acutely aware of ensuring that her identity isn’t solely bound up with academia and research, so, in addition to belonging to the masters’ group of her local swimming club, she says “I do quite a lot of volunteering and officiating at swim meets” as a way of giving something back to the sport that changed her life. Although concerned that social gerontology may be “going to get absorbed back into sociology, social policy and medical schools”, she would still encourage career-​young colleagues to undertake research in ageing because “it’s the most intellectually interesting topic”. Victor, C.R. (1994) Old age in modern society:  A textbook of social gerontology (2nd edn), Dordrecht: Springer. Victor, C.R. (2010) Ageing, health and care, Bristol: Policy Press. Victor, C., Scambler, S.  and Bond, J.  (2009) The social world of older people:  Understanding loneliness and social isolation in later life, Maidenhead: Open University Press.

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John Vincent John, who retired completely from Exeter University in 2009, says “I just left academic life behind”. Since then, he’s been following his “passions for all sorts of things”, observing that “before I retired I was doing the theory and now I’m doing the practical”. The ‘practical’ includes being as self-​sufficient as possible:  tending an allotment; managing a wood; and keeping bees. Despite a number of health conditions, he and his partner participate in ceilidhs, which they’ve done ever since they met over 20 years ago, and sing with a folk choir. John’s newest retirement hobby is learning to play the banjo. With hindsight, John can trace his interest in ageing back to his first degree in anthropology at the University of Sussex in the late 1960s and, in particular, to his subsequent doctoral studies. He says, “I didn’t know I was doing gerontological research at the time, but I was”, because he was studying life in the Val d’Aosta in the Italian Alps where he “spent a wonderful year-​and-​a-​half talking to … the old people left behind in the village” after most of the young people had moved away. This cemented his concerns with developmental issues, and a return to comparative studies and globalisation feature in his later academic career. But, it was after a brief spell as a social worker, then a community development officer, that John was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Exeter in 1974. As he settled into life there, he also became more politically active: in the early 1980s, he was Labour lead on social services and, in 1987, a parliamentary candidate for Exeter. This was a period of rapid expansion in private residential care; John was acutely aware that the council knew very little about what was happening, so he and a colleague in the Department of Geography conducted an early project on the issue. His anthropological background and his political involvements also led to him trying to understand ageism and the politics of identity in old age. In the final part of his career, he turned his attention to researching anti-​ageing, the power of medical knowledge and “the way in which ageism was framed by science, biology and the biology of ageing”. John sums up his career as “’80s was politics, ’90s was running the sociology department … and the decade after that was much more research”. As he was “ever the only gerontologist” at Exeter, the BSG and its annual conferences were especially important for being able to share his work. He served two terms on the Executive and, as Publications Officer, tried “to give a platform to members of BSG to publish their work”. He also enjoyed working with students, and his interest in, and understanding of, generations now finds resonance in his own life

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because as “the oldest of four generations” he not only has “children and grandchildren but great-​g randchildren”. As well as producing his own food and “living as gently on the land” as he can, John says, “I live for them as much as anything”. Vincent, J.A. (1995) Inequality and old age, London: UCL Press. Vincent, J.A. (2003) Old age, London: Routledge. Vincent, J.A. (2006) ‘Ageing contested: anti-​ageing science and the cultural construction of old age’, Sociology, 40 (4): 681–​98.

Alan Walker In 2007, the BSG recognised Alan’s contributions to ageing when he was the recipient of its first-​ever Outstanding Achievement Award some 30 years after being appointed to a lectureship in social policy at the University of Sheffield in 1977. Remaining at Sheffield ever since, he was awarded a Chair in 1985, although it is only in recent years that he has had the title Professor of Social Gerontology alongside Social Policy. He says he is “very happy to have one foot in one camp and one foot in the other … it’s basically who I am”. Alan traces his interest in ageing back to both personal and professional experiences, having been brought up in a household that included two grandparents as well as his sister and parents. While at school, he also “did some voluntary work … that mostly involved older people: decorating, visiting”. But it was working with sociologist Peter Townsend on the 1968/​69 Poverty in the UK survey after graduating from Essex University with a degree in sociology and politics “that had the major influence on me”. This fuelled his growing concern with social justice, and his “outrage at the continuance in poverty and deprivation … was the primary pull into the field of gerontology”. After two years at the National Children’s Bureau, Alan’s early work at Sheffield on the political economy of ageing and the social construction of poverty in old age was followed by pioneering research on employers’ attitudes to older workers, older people with learning disabilities and, most recently, the invention of the concept of “social quality”. What is now called ‘unequal ageing’ remains at the heart of his concerns and he is adamant that research “must have some possible policy-​directed output”, a strand that runs throughout the national Growing Older and New Dynamics of Ageing research programmes that he led from the late 1990s up until 2015. Proud to have directed these major programmes, Alan also became the ESRC’s first Impact Champion of the Year in 2013. In parallel, he has been instrumental in

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developing European research, including the FUTURAGE Roadmap Project and the European Research Area in Ageing programme, which ran for eight years. By his own admission, he loves comparative research and has been engaged in such projects since the late 1980s, seeing “the European continent as my main intellectual base”. At the time of interview, Alan had just seen his 50th doctoral student through to successful completion. Many of his students have come from China, Korea and Japan, and learning about ageing in these countries “has been magic: just a constant revelation”. He encourages career-​young researchers “to reach back to the original sources” and, in addition, to the “need for us as social scientists to continue work on theories of ageing”, adding that he would like to see “much more fusion of social science and bio-​gerontological approaches”. Alan has no intention of retiring any time soon, saying “there’s stuff to be done and I’ve still got a couple of books I want to write about age and ageing … and I want to write a biography of Peter Townsend”. Walker, A.  (ed) (1996) The new generational contract:  Intergenerational relations, old age and welfare, London: UCL Press. Walker, A. (ed) (2019) The future of ageing in Europe: Making an asset of longevity, London: Palgrave Macmillan. Qureshi, H. and Walker, H. (1989) The caring relationship: Elderly people and their families, Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Tony Warnes Brought up in a three-​generation household “with my grandmother as much involved as my mother in raising my sister and I”, and insisting that he accompany her to visit the “frail old ladies who she kept an eye on”, Tony “picked up an interest in helping, supporting and caring for older people” that continues to this day. After school in Kent, he studied geography at the University of Hull and regards himself as fortunate to have been “offered a research assistantship at … the Royal College of Advanced Technology in Salford” a year before it became the University of Salford. Here, he was able to fashion his own doctoral project (an historical study of the separation of homes from workplaces in Chorley), and, in 1969, he was appointed to a lectureship in geography. Away on fieldtrips in Morecambe and Llandudno, he and his colleague Chris Law organised their undergraduate students to carry out questionnaire surveys of retired people who had moved to these resorts. In 1973, they published their first article on retirement migration based on this data.

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Nothing had been published on this topic in the UK at that time, and, as Tony comments, this “was my pathway into social gerontology”. Invitations to gerontology meetings followed, including very early meetings of the BSG and, in 1974, Tony moved to London to become a lecturer in geography at King’s College, where he spent the next 20 years “getting more and more involved in BSG and ageing research”. His research expanded into studies of older people’s housing choices and “a fascinating period” spent at the University of South Florida saw him forge international links that he consolidated considerably over subsequent years. With the establishment of the Age Concern Institute of Gerontology in 1986, Tony’s “main initial contribution was to set up one of the first Master’s in gerontology courses in the UK”. He also organised early cross-​disciplinary meetings of the BSG, the British Geriatrics Society and the British Society for Research on Ageing. A couple of years after becoming Professor of Human Geography, Tony moved to Sheffield in 1993 to take up the newly created Non-​Clinical Chair in Social Gerontology in what was to become the Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing (SISA). At SISA, Tony’s research “took new directions” and he became involved in social services resource allocation, care home research, homelessness among older people, and assistive technology and support for people living with dementia. He also expanded his work on retirement migration to international studies in Southern Europe. In 2005, he became Emeritus Professor. Tony feels his main contribution has been “to the institutional growth of social gerontology in the UK, particularly the British Society of Gerontology”, of which he was Secretary in the late 1970s. He served as BSG’s President, is one of its Founding Fellows, and, in 2011, was the co-​recipient of its Outstanding Achievement Award. For nearly 30  years, he was also closely involved with the journal Ageing & Society: first on the editorial board, then as review editor, and, from 2001–​09, as editor. King, R., Warnes, T.  and Williams, A.  (2000) Sunset lives:  British retirement migration to the Mediterranean, Oxford: Berg. Warnes, A.M. (ed) (1982) Geographical perspectives on the elderly, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Warnes, A.M. (1993) ‘Being old, old people and the burdens of burden’, Ageing & Society, 13 (3): 297–​338.

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G. Clare Wenger By the time Clare became interested in research, as a mature student of anthropology, she was a single mother of three young boys and living in California. Having left school after her GCEs (General Certificate of Education)  –​her parents and teachers deciding that she “wasn’t cut out for an academic career” –​she ended up in the US in 1958 staying with family friends. Clare worked as a legal secretary, first in Alabama  –​where she took a University Extension course at night school –​and then in Beverly Hills. She got married there, went to the University of California, Los Angeles and graduated summa cum laude (with distinction) with a double major in anthropology and sociology. Encouraged by her professors to go to graduate school, Clare applied and got accepted at the University of California at Berkeley, was awarded a fellowship and then had to choose a language to learn and somewhere outside the US to do her fieldwork. This was how she found herself enrolled on Welsh courses and, in 1972, back in North Wales living next door to her parents. After completing her PhD on ethnicity and social organisation, a research job at the University of Wales in Aberystwyth was followed by a post at Bangor, which she describes as “my baptism into gerontology”. Clare was to do a study of older people in the community but had to first write the proposal and then devise a series of questions that, in addition to the use of formal services, explored family relationships, who was looking after whom, and the extent to which people felt socially isolated or lonely. Serendipitously, this was the basis of her DoH-​funded longitudinal study (1978–​99) of the ageing process and informal support in rural Wales, and of the acclaimed Support Network Typology that bears her name. She credits the development of the typology to a chance conversation over breakfast with her second husband Roger Hadley (Professor of Social Policy at Lancaster University). An algorithm was developed for analytical use with a big sample and the first cross-​sample comparison found that support network correlated with a very large percentage of variables. The typology has since been used widely in research in the UK and abroad. From the end of the 1970s, Clare also began going to the annual conferences of the BSG. Initially feeling “an outsider”, she got to know more people over the years and, in 2017, was the co-​recipient of the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award. During her long career at Bangor, Clare expanded her ageing research into multinational and comparative studies across Europe and the Indian sub-​continent, became Director of the Centre for Social Policy and

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Development, and was the university’s first female professor. She retired in 2002, but continued to travel abroad to speak at conferences, advise on provisions for older people, and write academic papers. Eventually deciding she “wasn’t going to keep being involved in gerontology”, she now enjoys meeting up with “women of a certain age” at village coffee mornings, playing bridge, singing in a community choir and working on family genealogy. Burholt, V. and Wenger, G.C. (2004) ‘Migration from South Asia to the United Kingdom and the maintenance of transnational intergenerational relationships’, in Silverstein, M. (ed) Annual review of gerontology and geriatrics, Volume 24, New York, NY: Springer, pp 153–​76. Wenger, G.C. (1984) The supportive network:  Coping with old age, New York, NY: Harper Collins. Wenger, G.C. (2001) ‘Introduction: intergenerational relationships in rural areas’, Ageing & Society, 21 (5): 537–​45.

Bob Woods Throughout his career, Bob has always defined himself as an “older adult clinical psychologist” rather than a “clinical psychologist with an interest in older adults”. Before training at Newcastle University in the early 1970s, he spent time in a psychiatric hospital and knew then that he wanted to work with people with dementia. Once qualified, he worked in the old-​age mental health unit at the local general hospital, describing these as “exciting times” when “everything we were doing was new”. In Newcastle, he collaborated with Age Concern, developing support groups for carers; worked with the local authority in its care homes; and carried out small-​scale research studies. Research “captured my interest and imagination”, and, despite discouragement from some psychology colleagues who felt there was “no future in working with older people”, Bob pressed on determinedly for five years. Encouraged by a leading old-​age psychiatrist he had worked with, he then applied for a newly created post at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, the premier training institution and pioneer of psychological treatments at the time. Bob spent 12  years there before moving to University College London (UCL). In addition to continuing to be involved in clinical psychology training, new research opportunities opened up at UCL that led, in 1996, to “the big one-​way move” to a Chair at Bangor University where he has been ever since. In Bangor, Bob was instrumental in setting up the Dementia Services

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Development Centre. He became academic director for the clinical psychology training programme, taught on the Master’s in gerontology, and, over the years, engaged in joint research projects with Clare Wenger and colleagues. Latterly, he became project lead for Cognitive Function and Ageing (CFAS) Wales, a longitudinal epidemiological study complementing the multicentre CFAS studies carried out from the mid-​1990s in England. Bob continues to lead this project as well as remaining involved with INTERDEM, a group of researchers across Europe who collaborate in research on, and dissemination of, psychosocial interventions in dementia. Bob says he feels as if he’s “been a member of BSG all my life”. From the late 1970s, he helped organise parallel streams of the Psychologists’ Special Interest Group for the Elderly at BSG conferences until it began having its own annual meetings. He was part of the organising group for the 2006 BSG conference at Bangor, and was a member of the editorial board of Ageing & Society. He comments wryly that having taken flexible retirement and working only three days a week, means “I don’t work weekends now”. While his work-​life balance has improved immeasurably, he is still not quite sure “what’s the best time” or how he will transition out –​if ever –​from the research he’s “held on to”. He thinks his “most significant contribution has been bringing other people on”, and his current ambitions are to make Bangor “a dementia-​friendly university” and to ensure that good services are available so that older people are able to get the most out of living in Anglesey, this “beautiful place” he has made his home. Bergmann, K., Manchee, V. and Woods, R.T. (1984) ‘Effect of family relationships on psychogeriatric patients’, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 77 (10): 840–​44. Woods, R.T. (2001) ‘Discovering the person with Alzheimer’s disease: cognitive, emotional and behavioural aspects’, Aging & Mental Health, 5 (Suppl. 1): S7–​S16. Woods, R.T. and Britton, P.G. (1985) Clinical psychology with the elderly, Beckenham: Croom Helm.

Conclusion Our biographies undoubtedly shape who we are and, to a greater or lesser extent, what paths in life we follow. By drawing on what people say about themselves and their careers, our hope is that these portraits convey a flavour of the personalities and contributions each participant has made. Moreover, encouraging participants to reflect

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a little on their own ageing is, as Simone de Beauvoir (1972) argued cogently many years ago, an essential part of being fully human. It is also an orientation that informs, in particular, Part III of this book. Eagle-​eyed readers will discover that while there are 50 pen portraits, there are only 47 photographs. For various reasons, three people were not photographed. The opening dedication of the book also records the deaths of two participants: Ken Blakemore and Alison Norman. We are grateful to their families for permission to include their pen portraits as part of this chapter, as well as excerpts from their interviews in the chapters that follow.

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PART II

Learning from the past

3

The development of gerontology Introduction Following the introduction to the project and the participants in Part I, this chapter continues the sociohistorical exploration of the evolution of British gerontology begun in Chapter 1. We consider first the political and policy environment out of which gerontology arose and show how it developed across the 20th century and into the current millennium. Paralleling and underlying these developments has been the rapid growth of national and international research and knowledge about ageing and old age. Second, using testimony from the interviews, we examine advances in research and education, noting in particular some of the milestones in gerontology’s evolution in the UK. The chapter draws to a close by assessing the role and contribution made by the British Society of Gerontology (BSG), the professional organisation representing gerontologists in Britain. These discussions are aided by –​and can be cross-​referenced with –​the research and policy timeline in Appendix 1.

Politics, policies and practices Inevitably, the evolution of British gerontology is closely interwoven with the political climate of the time. This has been particularly true over the period we were completing the project and beginning to write this book, endeavours undertaken in the shadow of the upheavals and uncertainties that followed in the wake of the June 2016 referendum in favour of taking the UK out of the European Union after more than 40 years of membership. We reflect further on the consequences and implications of such political changes in the concluding chapter. For the time being, we turn our attention to sketching in the political and policy context to gerontology’s evolution during the 20th century and into the first decades of the new millennium. The timeline in Appendix 1 provides a framework for these discussions, noting major policy documents and changes of government. In the narrative which follows, we put a little flesh on these bare bones. Readers wanting more detailed historical accounts are invited to follow up the references

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cited in this chapter. We are mindful too of project participant Alan Walker’s observation that summary accounts such as these are ‘prone to sweeping generalisations’ but are necessary ‘to convey the important broad transformations that have taken place in the public policy discourses accompanying population ageing’ (Walker, 2014b: 245). By the start of the Second World War, and of our timeline, there were already policies and provisions in place that underpinned the creation of the welfare state. These included public health measures, housing legislation and illness insurance, in addition to a means-​tested pension of up to five shillings per week (equivalent to 25 pence today) for those over the age of 70 (Bernard and Phillips, 1998b: 3). The Beveridge Report (Beveridge, 1942)  then provided the blueprint for the major reforms that were to follow, notably the passing of the National Health Services Act in 1946, and the National Assistance Act in 1948, and, on 5 July 1948, the founding of the National Health Service. Although there was growing awareness of population ageing, the Labour government –​following its landslide victory in 1945 –​was preoccupied with the work of post-​war reconstruction and the focus of policy and practice remained on residential care (Means and Smith, 1985). Even with the publication of ground-​breaking reports and policy critiques from prominent social reformers and researchers, the negative legacies of the Poor Law system persisted and older people continued to be regarded as social casualties (Townsend, 1957, 1962; Titmuss, 1958; Wedderburn, 1962; Townsend and Wedderburn, 1965; Robb, 1967). Despite the desire from many quarters to develop community-​based alternatives, structural incentives to maintain the status quo meant that residential care would dominate welfare provision and social policy for the rest of the 20th century (Means and Smith, 1985; Bernard and Phillips, 1998a). The oil crisis of 1973–​74, global recession, the election of a Conservative government in 1979 with a neoliberalist agenda, and increasing panic about the ‘rising tide’ of older people, fuelled a turbulent period in which the ‘welfare compact’ between the generations was broken. With the introduction of what the government termed ‘a mixed economy of welfare’, privatisation, competition and the decentralisation of services became the order of the day. As what was to become 18 years of Conservative government unfolded, the unregulated private and independent sectors expanded rapidly, public pensions were reduced, and policy and provision moved inexorably towards more selective, targeted and accountable services (Bernard and Phillips, 1998b: 12).

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Alongside the portrayal of older people as an increasing drain on the economy and society, there were calls too about how best to support them to remain independent and how their autonomy, dignity and privacy could be preserved, especially in institutional settings. Challenging negative stereotypes of older people and old age went hand-in-hand with these developments from the 1980s onwards. As Eric Midwinter, by then Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) remarked to us, the stage was set for “the idea of shifting the image of the older person from being a passive social casualty, to being an active participating citizen”. The 1980s was thus a key decade, with many project participants publishing important critiques, commentaries and texts examining ageing and social policy (Tinker, 1980; Davies and Knapp, 1981; Walker, 1982; Bornat et al, 1985; Means and Smith, 1985; Phillipson and Walker, 1986; Victor, 1987; Willcocks et  al, 1987; Warnes, 1989). Then, at the close of the decade, the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 came into being. Widely regarded as the most influential piece of post-​war social policy legislation, it effectively –​if inadvertently –​led to a widening of the health and social care divide that has continued to shape services for older people up to the present day. As the 1990s progressed, the ‘new community care’ brought with it a new language of internal markets, consumerism, care management, care packages and user involvement. It also came to be seen as primarily about cost containment and an explicit recognition that, in a situation of limited public finances and constrained resources, difficult decisions needed to be made between competing groups in the population. This period represented a fundamental shift from care in the community to care by the community, and a clear intention to refocus the public sector as a safety net for those in most need. While Beveridge (1942: 92) himself had argued that ‘it is dangerous to be in any way lavish to old age’, it was increasingly evident that, 50 years on, the opposite was in fact true and certain sectors of the older population (for example, black and minority elders, and women) were considerably disadvantaged and impoverished (Arber and Ginn, 1991; Walker, 1992, 1993, 1996; Blakemore and Boneham, 1994). Moreover, the root-​and-​branch changes to adult social care tended to reinforce the view of older people as dependent, frail, at risk, in crisis and a continuing burden on the state (Hughes, 1995; Ray et al, 2009). The 1990s also witnessed an evolving discourse on citizenship and consumerism, as older people themselves began to demand a greater say in the provisions and decisions that affect their lives (Gilleard and Higgs, 1998; Vincent et al, 2001; Jones et al, 2008; Higgs et al, 2009). The

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notion of ‘active ageing’, an orientation that underpins much current policy development in the UK and across Europe (Walker, 2014b), has its roots in the functionalist perspectives of the mid-​20th century (Havighurst, 1953, 1963). In North America, the policy focus has been very much on ‘successful ageing’ (Rowe and Kahn, 1987, 1997); in Europe, on ‘healthy ageing’ (WHO, 1994). Notwithstanding the different terminology, these concepts are now underlain by a desire to extend productivity and prolong working lives in the face of predicted increases in the costs of health and social care, and continuing concerns about the affordability of pensions (Foster and Walker, 2015). This shift occurred even as the newly elected Labour government of 1997 was beginning more directly to address issues around the discrimination and social exclusion experienced by older people, leading, eventually, to the publication of key documents such as the first cross-​government strategy on ageing (DWP, 2005) and the Marmot Review on health inequalities (Marmot et al, 2010). In addition, the new Labour government committed itself to seeing through the long-​standing calls for devolution. Referendums in Scotland and Wales in 1997, and in Northern Ireland in 1998 (as part of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement), led to Acts establishing the devolved legislatures that, in turn, have resulted in somewhat different systems of provision for older people and other vulnerable groups. While moves to greater integration of health and social care are common across the devolved administrations, this was underpinned –​in the first decade of the 21st century –​by notions of citizenship and cooperation in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales in contrast to a continuing emphasis on consumerism, competition and cost containment in England (Ray et al, 2009: 4). The devolved administrations also led the way in developing strategies for older people and appointing Commissioners to advocate for, and promote their interests (Welsh Assembly Government, 2003; Office of the First Minister, 2005; Scottish Executive, 2007). Meanwhile, the Labour government’s programme of reforms saw the publication of a series of what were called National Service Frameworks. The one for older people set out an ambitious, ten-​ year programme aimed at integrating health and social care services, tackling age discrimination, providing specialised services for key conditions (for example, stroke, falls, mental health), and ensuring ‘culture change so that all older people and their carers are always treated with fairness, dignity and respect’ (DoH, 2001:  i). Project participant Ian Philp led these developments in England for eight years as National Clinical Director. Although Ian succeeded in getting

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age discrimination in healthcare for older people into legislation, political decisions eventually downgraded older people as a priority, and health and social care in England continued to be split apart rather than being integrated, in stark contrast to provisions in some of the devolved nations. Running alongside a growing public debate about the ethical and socioeconomic issues surrounding later life, was a persistent neoliberalist thread that, in the 21st century, has continued to elevate productivity and keeping older people in the labour market above other concerns (Phillipson, 2013). Allied to this, major changes were introduced to both public and private pension schemes in the wake of a number of high-​profile pension scandals in the 1990s. Under the chairmanship of Adair Turner, the Pensions Commission went on to publish a series of reports between 2002 and 2006 looking at the likely evolution of the UK pension system and making recommendations for new –​and often controversial  –​changes to existing pensions policy (Pensions Commission, 2004, 2005). Key proposals from the Commission included the raising of the state pension age and auto-​enrolment in a new workplace pensions scheme, both of which were subsequently introduced by the coalition and then Conservative governments from 2010 onwards. State pension age for women has risen to 65 to come into line with men, and both are to continue to rise to 68 by 2046. The ‘triple lock’ was introduced in 2011 whereby the state pension would rise by whichever was higher:  2.5%, average earnings, or inflation. Auto-​enrolment began in 2012 and, in the March budget of 2014, a further raft of changes were announced around income drawdown, lump sums and death taxes, plus, in theory, free guidance being available to everyone approaching retirement. Then, in the midst of these changes, the huge American investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in September 2008, triggering a global recession and ushering in what has now become a decade and more of austerity measures in the UK. Conservative fiscal policy –​ostensibly about reducing the government budget deficit –​has seen major cuts to public spending and social welfare programmes; reductions to local government budgets, policing, schools, and health and social care; and profound changes to housing subsidies and the benefits system. Yet, as the timeline shows, there has been no let-​up in the continuing stream of reports, policy documents and Commissions on aspects of ageing. Some set out long overdue strategies in areas such as dementia; others revisit perennial issues such as the funding of long-​ term care and the UK’s preparedness –​or not –​for an increasingly aged society (Foresight, 2016).

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The policies, politics and practices that provide the context for later life –​and our exploration of the evolution of gerontology –​are undoubtedly complex and challenging. In what remains one of the world’s richest countries, it is ironic that as the population ages we still struggle to tackle lifelong inequalities and respond comprehensively and creatively to the possibilities that later life presents (Walker, 2018a). We shall return to these themes in the concluding chapter when we reflect, with our project participants, on lessons learnt and consider what future directions British gerontology might take in a global context. For now, having sketched in the broad policy transformations that have taken place since the Second World War, we turn our attention to the ways in which gerontological research and knowledge has evolved over the same period.

Advances in gerontology research and education The post-​war landscape Most of our participants came into gerontology and forged their early career paths against a broader background of an explosion in gerontological research and knowledge, particularly from the US where the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) had been founded in 1945 (although it was to be 1961 before its own journal –​ The Gerontologist –​was launched). In Britain, by contrast, post-​war research was more limited and dominated by applied work on the developing welfare state and social policy on the one hand and, on the other, by the biomedical and quantitative approaches associated with the foundational disciplines discussed in Chapter 1 (Coleman, 1975; Bernard and Phillips, 2000; Phillipson, 2013). Laying claim to being the world’s oldest scientific society devoted to research into the biology of ageing, the British Society for Research on Ageing was well established by this time. Its origins lie in the pre-​war period but its founder, the Russian-​born clinician Vladimir Korenchevsky, went on to set up the Nuffield Unit for Gerontological Research in Oxford in 1945, after he retired from the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine in London (Achenbaum, 1995). Indeed, it was the Nuffield Foundation, established by the car manufacturer William Morris  –​ aka Lord Nuffield  –​ that was responsible for providing the first major charitable funding for applied social research in gerontology in the UK (Warnes and Phillips, 2007:  142), the projects it funded at Oxford (and Cambridge) focusing on age and work performance (Welford et al, 1951). Not long after the creation

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of the Oxford Unit, the Nuffield Foundation also set up the National Corporation for the Care of Old People (NCCOP) in 1947, later to become the CPA in 1980. CPA has always played a key role in British gerontology. Early grant-​g iving and publishing activities are combined with research and policy analysis and –​through its extensive library, online databases and international reference collection –​it provides a unique and vital information service for national and local government, practitioners, the academic community, voluntary groups and older people. The year 1947 also saw the birth of the Medical Society for the Care of the Elderly, which, in 1959, was renamed as the British Geriatrics Society. During the 1950s and into the 1960s, gerontological research continued to be influenced by the positivist tradition and by theoretical perspectives that problematised the situations of older people. Social research was predominantly directed at addressing ‘the burden’ of old age; biological and medical research at understanding illness and disease processes. Yet, research expanded sufficiently over this period for substantive North American handbooks to appear containing overviews of, and guides to, the psychology and biology of ageing (Birren, 1959); the effects of retirement (Burgess, 1960); and the field of social gerontology (Tibbitts, 1960). Indeed, a review at the time asserted that together, the Birren and Tibbitts’ handbooks ‘make[s]‌a pair of volumes that would be essential for any gerontological research’ (Waldman, 1961: 126). Since then, a steady stream of such handbooks charting progress in gerontological research has been published, including later volumes edited by senior gerontologists from the UK and Europe, some of whom were interviewed for our project (Johnson, 2005; Dannefer and Phillipson, 2010; Harper and Hamblin, 2014; Twigg and Martin, 2015b). Despite this expansion, the marginalisation of gerontology that pertained in the pre-​war years persisted into the 1960s and 1970s in the UK –​including in the foundational disciplines –​a time when many project participants were starting out. Psychologist Peter Coleman, sociologist Chris Phillipson and biologist Tom Kirkwood all recall aspects of this situation. After Peter finished his PhD on reminiscence, he wanted to carry on with a career in this field but was advised by his supervisor that if he applied for a lectureship in psychology, he “would never be able to specialise in ageing research”. Instead, he looked abroad: ‘At that time, I think people interested in ageing in the UK went to America or Australia…. I’ve always been a

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Europhile … and I thought about possibilities of working in Europe…. Joep Munnichs actually offered me a job, like a permanent job … in 1972, in his gerontological research and training centre associated with the University of Nijmegen. And so I worked there for five years doing mainly research, a little training: obtained my first research project, learnt to write in Dutch and report in Dutch.’ For his part, Chris observes that “sociology in the UK has never embraced issues about ageing terrifically strongly”. Although “there were some great sociologists” who supported him at Durham where he studied for his PhD in the mid-​1970s (on men’s experience of retirement), he says, “I produced this thesis which was drawing on American work, a bit of British work, but I was operating in isolation”. Tom too describes working in the 1970s at the National Institute for Medical Research in London as a time when he “kind of moonlighted on ageing research, still being paid for the day job”. He eventually did his PhD on the biology of ageing, but, even after he moved to become the UK’s first Professor of Biological Gerontology at the University of Manchester in the 1990s, he encountered negative attitudes from some colleagues. One cardiologist with whom he wanted to collaborate told him: “Tom, there’s nothing interesting about the ageing of the cardiovascular system –​it just rots”. Similarly challenging experiences seem to have cemented the determination of other participants to pursue their research into ageing, sometimes surreptitiously and sometimes by following parallel career paths. Christina Victor, Ken Blakemore and Randall Smith all spoke about this. Christina observed that while her career has largely been in the field of health and public health, she has “always been able to keep the interest in ageing embedded in what I’ve done, but a bit under the wire sometimes”. Ken recalled how he had had to downplay his research interests in gerontology when on interview for a job in Swansea, because of the politics in the newly created social policy department. This meant that when he got the job in the mid-​1990s, he then “tended to sort of ring-​fence my interest in gerontology into research and writing, and teaching tended to be broader, sort of, social policy and comparative studies and that kind of thing”. Likewise, Randall describes his primary career concerns as being about the “policy process”, and, while also interested in ageing, notes “there was a bit of a lapse mid-​career in gerontological endeavour, but I came back to it”.

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The expansion of research and education Although there were challenges to being and identifying as a gerontologist, the rapid expansion of UK universities from the mid-​ 1960s, and an emerging awareness of the need for teaching and courses, provided the impetus for real growth (Warnes and Phillips, 2007: 143). While the foundational disciplines remained important to gerontology, and much research continued to be oriented towards health and social care as well as predominantly survey-​based or evaluative, other disciplines began to exert an impact, including economics, demography, history, geography and social policy. This helped open the door, as we saw in Chapter 1, for the development of a more critical perspective from the 1980s onwards, led, in the UK, by sociologists of ageing such as project participants Alan Walker and Chris Phillipson (Phillipson, 1982; Walker, 1982; Phillipson and Walker, 1986, 1987). Espousing the political economy perspective, critical gerontologists argued that community care and the long-​term care system were bolstering, rather than reducing, the power inequities between professionals and lay people, creating what Caroll Estes (1979) in the US had tellingly called ‘an ageing enterprise’: a system in which public policies, and health and social services, were primarily about controlling and managing older people rather than supporting them to participate fully in society. As important a milestone as the emergence of the political economy perspective was, early research on this side of the Atlantic concentrated largely on social class as the main source of disadvantage. Paradoxically, given the preponderance of women in later life, a gender focus was largely absent. Sara Arber remembers this situation vividly: ‘Both Jay [Ginn] and I were sociologists. So we were then presenting papers at sociology conferences and various things like that. And we kept saying, “Well, where’s the sociology of ageing?”. Because there was gerontology, but there wasn’t at the time in England, unlike in America, there really wasn’t a sociology of ageing…. And then we thought, “Well, where’s gender in ageing research?”. We thought it’s just crazy … there was lots of work on ageing, but it was very … policy-​related and … looking at the old and the poor and dependent, all that sort of thing. And there were two gaps: one was that sociological analysis was much lacking within ageing research … and a gender focus was really very absent then as well.’

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As noted in Chapter  1, it was only when feminist ideas began to gain a foothold towards the end of the 20th century that the political economy perspective was reinvigorated by research that increasingly evidenced and made visible the gendered nature of ageing. As Alan Walker commented in his interview, “the coming on board of a critical feminist analysis was really important to gerontology, and invigorating and elevating”. The appearance of educational courses alongside and underpinned by research were also important gerontological milestones of the 1980s and 1990s. Tony Warnes feels this was a time when: ‘Social gerontology blossomed in the UK, with the new clusters of researchers and teachers in Keele, KCL, the OU [Open University], Southampton, Bristol, the Polytechnic of North London … and Liverpool Institute of Human Ageing…. Many people did take note.’ The close link between research and education in a British context, allied to the potential markets for students, meant that most courses were developed as post-​qualifying/​postgraduate Certificates, Diplomas or Master’s degrees. The one exception was The Open University’s An Ageing Population course, which began in 1979 and was an undergraduate-​level module run by the then Faculty of Health and Social Care. At the same time, in Southampton, Peter Coleman was developing a post-​qualifying training course for social workers specialising in work with older people. Also beginning in 1979 and running for 13  years, Peter recalls that it attracted not only “quite mature” social workers but “a good mixture of ages”, including “younger people with strong career ambitions: some of whom became researchers in social gerontology”. At the start of the 1980s, Sheila Peace and her colleagues at the then Polytechnic of North London put on some of the first evening classes on ageing; and, in 1981, the BSG ran its inaugural Summer School at Wye College in Kent. Ken Blakemore remembers this well because it was his introduction to gerontology: ‘I really enjoyed that week, and I  went as a student because this was the point where I  was in my job in Coventry and I just felt I needed a quick, fast-​track route to getting an overview of the field. Because I hadn’t really done any research … I just needed to know, well, what are gerontologists talking about? You can go to endless

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conferences, but if you go to a course and learn about it…. So that was what I did, and it was very successful, I thought.’ Then, in 1984, the Department of Extra-​Mural Studies at the University of London (later, in 1988, being incorporated into Birkbeck) began to offer part-​time multidisciplinary Certificate and Diploma courses in the processes and dynamics of ageing. Community worker John Miles, one of the first cohort of students, recalls that it enabled him to “become self-​conscious about [my] practice that was already quite politically focused with older people, and taking that self-​consciousness into … study, lifelong learning”. In the autumn of 1988, as the decade drew to a close, King’s College London and Keele University both launched the UK’s first postgraduate programmes: the former a multidisciplinary MSc led by Tony Warnes and colleagues with support from biologists and from geriatricians at King’s College Hospital; the latter an MA developed by Frank Glendenning and Chris Phillipson out of the research projects and short training programmes they were running in Keele’s then Adult Education Department. It is important to note too that geriatricians played a key role in a number of these early educational developments: working with social gerontologists and teaching sessions and modules on biological and health aspects of ageing. Indeed, geriatric medicine had itself expanded considerably during the 1960s and 1970s: the first Chair was established in Glasgow in 1965; academic departments appeared in many medical schools around the country (Barton and Mulley, 2003); and there was a rapid increase in the numbers of geriatricians, many of whom had come from overseas (Bornat et al, 2012). Unfortunately, there is not space here to go into the detailed history of geriatric medicine, old-​ age psychiatry, or allied health and social care professions in addition to gerontology. For further information, readers are again referred to the various texts and research cited in this and other chapters. Alongside these educational developments in the academy, 1981 also saw the establishment of FREE:  the Forum on the Rights of Elderly People to Education. Supported by a number of academics and voluntary organisations, it was chiefly an information exchange and was closely followed, in 1982, by the creation of the British version of the University of the Third Age (U3A) (Midwinter, 1998). The concept of the ‘third age’ had been introduced into Britain by Peter Laslett (1987, 1989), who, as Eric Midwinter told us, “was arguing the case that older people should have the opportunity to use the third age in a life enhancing, positive manner”. Inspired though it was by the original French movement of a decade earlier, the British U3A model

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differed markedly in laying emphasis on mutual help, communitarian ideals and self-​organisation. Established by Peter Laslett, Michael Young and Eric Midwinter (who acted as its General Secretary), the U3A movement has grown considerably. At the time of his interview with us in 2016, Eric remarked: ‘And here we are today. We are expecting, sometime over the next couple of months, the 1,000th U3A will be starting. Our membership is about 400,000…. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in. I’m still very closely involved. I’m very involved at the moment. I’m trying to sort out my local U3A, which had been a bit in the doldrums compared with … some of the great front runners…. I  reckon I’ve spoken at 700 U3A meetings, conferences, workshops, whatever, over the last 34 years.’ Further milestones of the late 20th century Project participants also drew attention to a variety of other milestones in the latter decades of the 20th century. Some of these relate to attitudinal, conceptual and theoretical shifts; others are linked to the founding of key journals and the beginnings of publicly funded research. For example, as Margaret Boneham observed, gerontological research of the 1980s and 1990s had begun to “raise awareness of older people as a resource and not just a problem”, thus challenging ageist attitudes as well as some of the received wisdom about later life. At the same time, committed activists like Tessa Harding and John Miles were energetically contesting ageist and negative stereotypes, striving to involve older people in all the work they were doing: Tessa at the National Institute for Social Work (NISW) and then at Help the Aged, John in the London boroughs of Hackney and Camden. Other participants emphasised conceptual and theoretical milestones, including the important role played by critical gerontology, life-​course perspectives and lifespan developmental psychology. The conceptualisation of, and continuing debates around, the third and fourth age were also highlighted. As illustration, Eric Midwinter and others contend that the ‘successful ageing’ narrative of the third age, versus the decline narrative of the fourth age, is problematic, not least because of the seeming inevitably of these phases and the confusion about how long they do or do not last. Meanwhile, Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard (2015) argue that they are in fact valid lenses through which to view ageing and later life now that many

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more people are living to advanced old age. In his interview, Paul reflects on this, saying: ‘What has been quite interesting to us is to use, I suppose, a grand narrative to understand both the third age and, more recently, the fourth age, and say, “Well, this is the terrain in which ageing occurs: you can at least use these as lenses to view them” … so, if you look at our work, we use different conceptual starting points: the third age is very much about generational habitus and about the dispositions of people growing into older people, who have lived through the transformations of the ’60s and ’70s and ’80s; whereas the fourth age is seen very much more, almost historically, located in our fear of old age…. The fourth age … is starting to emerge as a concept, but it’s not only under-​theorised, it’s under-​recognised…. There’s a kind of fear, I think, among some gerontologists to actually go into the fourth age.’ More practical milestones include, in 1981, the launch of the journal Ageing & Society under the editorship of Malcolm Johnson. Many people drew attention to the influential role of what is now the UK’s leading interdisciplinary and international journal devoted to the understanding of human ageing and the circumstances of older people. As Maria Evandrou highlights in the following extract, even today, seminal papers in the first issue are still used with students on a variety of courses: ‘I certainly think that the establishment of Ageing & Society in 1981 has been an important milestone in the discipline’s evolution. The first volume contained papers by Peter Townsend on structured dependency and also, it included a paper on the political economy of older age by Alan Walker. And those two papers, we still use every year in our reading list for our MSc students. Not just those two … there was also … Mary Gilhooly on the contribution of psychology and psychiatry; contributions by John Bond on sociology and social policy. And what these papers did was expose readers to the latest research in those disciplines and, I think, contributing to the interdisciplinarity of gerontology.’ A joint venture between the CPA and the BSG, the journal’s growth reflects the huge expansion in research that has taken place over the

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past 40 years. Beginning with three issues a year (and some 400–​450 pages), it subsequently increased to four issues in 1984; six in 1997; and, by the time it reached eight issues in 2008, it was already nearly 1,000 pages in extent. By the end of 2013, it was close to 1,500 pages long and, in 2014, it increased again to 10 issues. Now at over 2,000 pages and published monthly, it has expanded five-​fold since 1981. As part of the project, we were fortunate to interview all the journal’s (joint) editors: Malcolm Johnson, Peter Coleman, Bill Bytheway, Ken Blakemore, Tony Warnes and, currently, Christina Victor. Christina speaks for many of them when she says: ‘When I look back on my career, [one of the things I’m most proud of] is … Ageing & Society…. I think we’ve been able to position Ageing & Society as a good high-​quality journal, and I would like to think that that will continue.’ On the other side of the Atlantic, Ageing & Society had been preceded, in 1980, by the appearance of the first Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics. However, these two publications were only the tip of the publishing iceberg, with 30 new English-​language gerontology journals having been founded in the 1970s and 1980s, and 20 more appearing during the 1990s (Warnes and Phillips, 2007: 145–​6). The growth of research and education as reflected in the increasing numbers of journals also happened in response to key funding initiatives, some of which are considered further in the following sections. Programmes of ageing research It is perhaps no surprise that many project participants single out programmes of research funding as crucial milestones in gerontology’s evolution. Between them, they have substantially altered the gerontological landscape and, in Christina Victor’s words, have been “important for legitimising in the wider academic community … that ageing is not just for demographers … [and] for giving our subject credibility”. The timeline in Appendix 1 identifies the major national programmes beginning with the then Social Science Research Council’s first initiative in the 1980s. Directed by the late Professor Margot Jefferys  –​one of the founders of medical sociology  –​the eventual programme (1984–​87) was an eclectic mix, including historical and demographic research on the social construction of old age, on the emerging political power of older people, and on life histories; social-​ anthropological work on age relations, and on retired rural workers in

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England and France; and projects exploring employment and ageing. Some of these would subsequently feature in a landmark collection (Jefferys, 1989) and associated seminar series. A  then career-​young Maria Evandrou recalls how Margot Jefferys: ‘[B]‌rought together researchers interested in ageing across a range of disciplines. She had Pat Thane from history; she invited Alan Walker from social policy; Sara Arber from sociology; Peter Coleman from psychology; and Paul Johnson from economic history; and that … for me, was so enthusing. I was so excited; I was enthusiastic; I thought, look at these wonderful people talking about these really important issues, but from different perspectives, different disciplines, different approaches.’ This was followed by the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Growing Older (GO) programme in 1999. Project participant Alan Walker directed this £3.5  million investment over a five-​year period; other participants were successful in getting their research funded as part of the 24 projects, or were members of teams led by colleagues. The programme and its projects produced an array of publications (Walker, 2004, 2005; Walker and Hagan Hennessy, 2004) before, in 2005, GO was succeeded by the much-​expanded New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) programme. Also led by Alan Walker, NDA was unique:  for the first time ever, five UK research councils came together to fund a ten-​year multidisciplinary programme. Led by the ESRC with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Medical Research Council (MRC) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), £20  million was committed to five, large, collaborative research projects and 30 smaller research projects. More than 300 researchers were involved, including, again, many of our project participants. The programme also fostered international collaborations, most notably with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research–​Institute of Aging, which funded ten partner projects on topics ranging from the functioning of the immune system to theatre and ageing. In addition to hundreds of academic papers, a book series showcases the programme’s research (Hagan Hennessy et al, 2014; Walker, 2014a, 2018b, 2018c), complemented by a report from the Older People’s Reference Group (2013), a summary handbook (Harding, 2015) and evaluation reports (NDTi, 2015; Holland et al, 2017). As Alan himself says, GO and

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NDA “were really huge investments in ageing research” and he regards them as his “main contributions” to the development of gerontology in the UK and beyond. The late 1990s was also when Peter Lansley first became involved with ageing research, chairing the EPSRC’s Extending Quality Life (EQUAL) initiative. Focused on ageing and disability in the built environment, Peter remembers how “absolutely amazed” they were “when they had 60 applications involving 45 distinct disciplines from right across the board”. He recalled too that a lot of awards went to people who had never received EPSRC funding before, including “quite a few social gerontologists”. Two further calls followed: one on inclusive design; the other on rehabilitation. Thirty-​four interdisciplinary projects were funded in total, together with the EQUAL Research Network (Lansley, 2001). Between 2005 and 2008, Peter then directed the Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (SPARC) project, funded jointly by EPSRC and BBSRC. This four-​year programme made pump-​priming awards to new researchers; showcased the latest research findings from design, engineering and biology to stakeholders; and lobbied policy makers (Lansley, 2010). When funding finished, the decade of investment through EQUAL was brought together with SPARC into the Knowledge Transfer for Extending Quality Life (KT-​ EQUAL) initiative, which ran from 2009 to 2013 (Bangar et al, 2015). The other main domestic programme of ageing research since the turn of the millennium has been Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHW). Like NDA, LLHW was a partnership between the same five research councils, led, this time, by the MRC. Between 2008 and 2015, £51 million was committed to multidisciplinary, cross-​sector ageing research, beginning with the establishment of three LLHW Centres at the Universities of Edinburgh, Newcastle and University College London (UCL). These were followed by a series of pilot studies, grants and awards on a variety of topics, as well as the development of guidance on Biomarkers of Healthy Ageing and, latterly, the establishment of three Hearing Aid Networks hosted by UCL, Cardiff and Manchester Universities. ​ Since their launch in 1984, European Framework Programmes have also been important sources of funding for researchers in Britain, in gerontology as in other fields. They have been of particular interest and concern to Alan Walker, who directed the European Forum on Population Ageing Research (2002–​04) and the European Research Area in Ageing (ERA-​AGE) (2004–​12), as well as the European FUTURAGE Roadmap Project (2009–​11). In 2011, ERA-​AGE launched Europe’s first joint research programme in the ageing field,

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with nine funders in seven countries committing over €4 million to 20 different partners. In 2012, this funded researchers from Europe and North America to undertake six multinational, multidisciplinary projects, all aimed at assisting European and other countries to achieve the goal of increasing healthy life expectancy by two years by 2020. In addition, the current Horizon 2020 programme –​the EU’s biggest research and innovation initiative yet –​runs from 2014–​20. Alongside these major programmes, charities, charitable trusts and foundations have funded other projects and programmes of relevance to our concerns with ageing. Indeed, that was how people like Randall Smith first became involved in the field when, in 1964, he began work at the University of Birmingham on a housing project funded by the then National Corporation for the Care of Old People (now the CPA). The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Nuffield Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, Wellcome, Dunhill and Age UK, have also been important funders for many project participants, along with the Department of Health, the National Institute for Health Research and other condition-​specific funders such as the Alzheimer’s Society. Recently too, the arts and humanities have begun to feature more, the Baring Foundation having been instrumental in helping advance this growing field by funding a programme focusing on participatory arts with older people since 2010. Together with Arts Council England, it launched a new £3  million partnership fund in 2016 entitled Celebrating Age: Arts and Cultural Organisations Leading Change. Heavily oversubscribed in the first round, 16 awards were made in February 2017, followed by a further 16 in April 2018. All the projects are based on collaborative working, are led by an arts institution and are part of a national evaluation. Into the new millennium If the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s was when British gerontology “blossomed” in Tony Warnes’ terms, then, in addition to the educational and research developments already discussed, the new millennium has witnessed both continuing growth and considerable upheaval. Growing internationalisation of the field, further paradigmatic and theoretical developments, greater collaboration, and the drive towards increasing the visibility and involvement of older people, have been hallmarks of recent decades. Major national research programmes have also brought more people into gerontology. At the same time, changes in the academy, in tandem with wider political and policy-​related forces, have seen the educational fulcrum shift to different institutions and

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to different modes of delivery. Project participants spoke about all of these issues as well as noting important additional milestones related to developments in cultures of ageing, and new techniques and advances in biological ageing. Discussing new developments in the biology of ageing with us, Tom Kirkwood observed that it has evolved from what he calls “a minority sport” in the pre-​and immediate post-​war period, to a recognition that “there are multiple mechanisms that play into the ageing process” and that increased collaboration between disciplines has got to be the way forward for gerontology. Tom has done much to convey the complexity of these biological ageing processes to a wider public beginning with his landmark 1999 book Time of our lives: The science of human ageing. Although it took him nearly a decade to write, much to his surprise it “got noticed by the regular mainstream daily papers” alongside receiving favourable reviews in major scientific journals. As a result, he was approached by the BBC to give the Reith Lectures (Kirkwood, 2001). Tom recalls these experiences –​and their subsequent impacts –​in these words: ‘I had not been long in Newcastle when I  was greatly surprised to get an approach from the BBC … and, in 2001, I had the opportunity –​a really fantastic opportunity –​to give a series of five Reith Lectures on the challenges of ageing … from the science to some of the societal issues. It was a fantastic process … what was also really good about it was the feedback and the discussion that it generated … also, it brought me into contact with groups of people … within society, institutions that are all an important part of our collective waking up to what is happening with changes in life expectancy and the many challenges of ageing…. Time of Our Lives has an epilogue, which is a work of fiction: a short story that I wrote … exploring some of the implications in science … was made into a play ten years ago…. It did very well, the play:  it won awards and things…. And it’s actually, at the moment, now, being made into a film…. I have enjoyed working with people in the creative arts, who bring a different, a complementary, perspective.’ Likewise, Julia Twigg and Wendy Martin (2015b) have now “brought culture into the mainstream in gerontology”, in Alan Walker’s words;

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while Chris Phillipson highlights their Routledge handbook of cultural gerontology (Twigg and Martin, 2015a) as an “innovation which I think has been very fruitful”. Julia herself describes its importance to gerontology in these terms: ‘With the coming of what we … can call cultural gerontology, there’s new work coming in from the arts and humanities. And I think there’s a shift away from old age as defined in social welfare terms, towards more of an understanding or looking at later years as a cultural, sociological phenomenon, and I  welcome that…. New themes and ideas come in. They partly come in, of course, from other intellectual areas. I mean, cultural gerontology, one thing that interested me about it is that it reflects the cultural turn that occurred in the social sciences, but the cultural turn occurred quite a long time ago. So, it’s part of the conservatism of the field that it’s taken 20 years, really, for those ideas to begin to impact.’ The time lag is one factor and, as Alan Walker observes, the other thing that happens in gerontology as in other fields is that “when you’re trying to change a paradigm, sometimes you have to ditch the previous one in order for the new paradigm to survive”.

The British Society of Gerontology In the midst of the developments discussed thus far, the one continuous presence in the background –​at least since 1971 –​has been the British Society of Gerontology. Finally then, we turn to a brief consideration of the role of the BSG, acknowledging that, in their interviews, many project participants reflected at length on the society’s contributions and on the part it has played in their own lives and careers. Founding members Bill Bytheway, Peter Coleman, Malcolm Johnson and others all recollect the very first meeting hosted by psychologist Sheila Chown at Bedford College London with the aim of setting up ‘a “learned society” for psychologists and sociologists interested in age’ (Bytheway, 2011: 135). This meeting established the British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology –​BSSBG for short, but affectionately known as BUZBUG. Chaired by psychologist Dennis Bromley, and with Arthur Bigot –​another psychologist –​as Secretary, the early years of the society revolved around organising one-​day conferences and seminars

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and trying to recruit members from voluntary organisations and local authorities as well as academia. Bill Bytheway recalls how it was: ‘Like a touring circus … we’d arrive at Hull or Bristol or somewhere and lay on a performance for local people who might be interested. And the performance involved four or five papers and so this continued twice a year for four or five years.’ Early committee meetings were held at Nuffield Lodge in Regent’s Park, London  –​the home of the NCCOP (later the CPA)  –​and marked the beginnings of what has been a long and fruitful relationship. Jonathan Barker remembers too how prominent psychology was before some members “thought we could move it in a rather more social and maybe economic sort of direction without alienating the psychologists, we hoped”. BSSBG did in fact move increasingly in social and policy-​ oriented directions and, in 1979, was renamed the British Society of Gerontology despite concerns from some quarters that this did not adequately reflect the membership. At around the same time, psychologists with a special interest in working with older people had begun to meet (Woods and Burley, 2015). Scotland-​based psychologists, including project participants Mary Gilhooly and Chris Gilleard, formed the group Psychology Applied to the Care of the Elderly, which, in 1981, became the Psychologists’ Special Interest Group for the Elderly (PSIGE) before being incorporated into the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology two years later. Although PSIGE streams featured at a number of BSG conferences, Peter Coleman, like others, thinks “there should have been more attempts to keep the cognitive psychologists of ageing involved”, especially given their prominent role in its instigation. In addition to psychologists, medical and social work practitioners, together with voluntary sector personnel, were key to the BSG’s early development. Archival materials reveal that some members were adamant in wanting the BSG to remain as open as possible to practitioners. Notably, a substantive proportion of project participants were not working in academia when they first joined, but have supported the BSG for many years (for example, Jim Traynor, Anthea Tinker, Ian Philp, John Miles, Eric Midwinter, Tessa Harding, Gilly Crosby, Simon Biggs and Miriam Bernard). Social worker Jim Traynor recalls the value of membership, saying that it gave practitioners opportunities for “cross-​fertilisation” and access to the latest research and those doing it:

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‘I was young and enthusiastic and keen … and BSG was integral to that because I organised weekly or fortnightly or monthly sessions on ageing, and different aspects of it. And because of the contacts I had, I was able to get other people to come to Leeds to give talks, like Sheila Peace and Dianne Willcocks or Leonie Kellaher.’ Being small, the BSG also functioned as “a mutual support system”, in Bill Bytheway’s words, “because we were all pretty vulnerable and marginal in various ways”. Tony Warnes, who was the society’s Secretary in the late 1970s, spoke passionately about this, saying: ‘One of the reasons why BSG in its very early days was stimulating was that the people who came together from different backgrounds in the Society had a shared perception that older people were getting a bad deal … one of the things that joined them was irritation about the treatment of older people: economically, by clinicians, in the media, and culturally. There was still the widespread notion, much worse than today, of treating older people as something different: “the elderly”, not like us who are able, responsible adults…. So, that was in our mind set and was a shared understanding.’ For researchers and academics, the BSG provided a group of peers interested in ageing, as well as opportunities to present one’s research in a critically constructive and supportive environment. This helped establish professional and personal networks, as Chris Phillipson indicates: ‘I am fantastically grateful to the BSG because, certainly, when I was developing, being able to give papers to the BSG was terribly important…. I  didn’t know anybody doing work on old age so finding this society of people who actually were interested in old age, it was quite useful to say the least … fantastic group! And a remarkable group in many ways.’ Gilly Crosby too speaks for many when she sums up what it has meant for her in this succinct phrase: “BSG became an important part of my professional life as well as making some lifelong contacts and friends”.

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Two further hallmarks of BSG’s contributions are its role in facilitating collaborations and connections, and its support for early career colleagues. From its earliest days, the Executive Committee included practitioners, members of other organisations such as NCCOP, Age Concern and the Beth Johnson Foundation, and co-​optees from the British Geriatrics Society (BGS) and the British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA). The archives also record that at the 1971 meeting, the BGS and BSRA co-​optees proposed founding a Council of Ageing between the three organisations. It was 1976 before this proposal became a reality, the British Council for Ageing holding its first one-​ day conference in London on Research in Gerontology: Problems and Prospects. The publicity for the first conference also indicates that the Council was ‘set up to bring together all the main disciplines involved in the study of ageing –​biological, medical, psychological, social and environmental’. Although not without its problems, a number of joint conferences and events followed over the years. Here is Tony Warnes again recalling how: ‘BSG worked closely with the British Geriatrics Society and the British Society for Research on Ageing…. In July 1987 we collectively put on, at the Brighton Conference Centre, the first European Region Congress of the International Association of Gerontology…. I worked quite closely then with John Brocklehurst and John Grimley Evans of BGS and Tom Kirkwood, Brian Merry and Ioan Davies of BSRA. I also organised a number of cross-​disciplinary day meetings of the three societies.’ Links with international societies were also important, as Judith Phillips, the BSG’s first International Officer, highlights: ‘Part of the role when I was with BSG and serving on one committee or another, was to link with other societies…. Several of us went over, over several years, to link in with the Canadian Association … that’s been hugely important. And, I think, encouraging BSG and GSA: we had a joint symposium for a number of years running, and that was a huge link as well…. I’ve got lots of individual links through gerontology, but I think the ones I’m most proud of are those where we link Societies and we really [enhance] the presence.’

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For career-​young researchers, the BSG has been especially significant. Staff supporting students on the gerontology courses discussed earlier encouraged them to join the BSG. As the courses grew throughout the 1990s and doctoral numbers also increased, there was a sufficient body of students for special events to be put on at the annual conferences where they could meet fellow students from around the country. At the BSG’s annual conference in September 2000, this informal network was formally constituted and named the Network of Gerontology Students (NOGS) (Eyers, 2007). Always run by enthusiastic and highly committed students, NOGS organised additional events between conferences where members could present their work and hear keynote speakers from the host institution. These, in turn, evolved into annual pre-​conference events. Now titled Emerging Researchers in Ageing, BSG-​ERA has a place on the Executive, has had an elected committee since 2009 and has links with sister organisations in the US and Australia. Through its annual conference, mentorship scheme and associated events, BSG-​ERA plays a key role in capacity building by providing postgraduate, doctoral and postdoctoral researchers and practitioners with opportunities for continued learning, networking and career guidance. None of this is to suggest that the BSG’s history and its contributions to British gerontology has always been plain sailing. Indeed, over the years there have been tussles and disagreements over the BSG’s role, the directions it has and is going in, and what its priorities should or should not be. A number of project participants spoke about its chequered history with other societies and the attempts, in particular, to rekindle and reinvigorate the British Council for Ageing (Phillipson, 2007). Notwithstanding these ups and downs, there is consensus that while the BSG needs to maintain its identity, the inter-​and multidisciplinary nature of ageing, and the pressures in terms of research funding in particular, mean that it is increasingly important that it actively links with other societies and disciplines, both nationally and internationally (Victor, 2011). To this end, the BSG is represented on various international committees such as the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, while Memoranda of Understanding have been established with key organisations including Cambridge University Press (for Ageing & Society), the Centre for Policy on Ageing, Age UK, the International Longevity Centre UK and, most recently, the Centre for Ageing Better. At heart, the BSG is, in the words of former President Robin Means, about “enabling gerontologists to have good careers in ageing studies”.

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Conclusion The advances, milestones and paradigm shifts presented in this chapter and highlighted by project participants have all played a part in gerontology’s development since the Second World War. While certain key developments stood out for many people, overwhelmingly, gerontology is still viewed as an evolving field. As Sally Greengross put it, “for me, it seems evolutionary”; Tom Kirkwood also reflected that:  “There are lots of contributions:  I don’t think there’s any fundamental single transformative change”. That said, we would reiterate that developments in British gerontology have also to be viewed in the context of the political and policy environment of the time, and against a background of unparalleled growth in international research and scholarship on ageing and later life. Quite what the future might hold –​and the kinds of research and educational developments project participants would like to see –​are concerns we come back to in the concluding chapter. Before that, we turn, in the next chapter, to our analyses of the archival materials, using them to focus more specifically on how gerontological research has evolved in Britain.

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Key themes in gerontology’s evolution Introduction Drawing on our analyses of archival materials, conference documentation and publications, this chapter discusses the evolution of British gerontology as reflected through the research presented at the annual conferences of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) between 1971 and 2018. The society’s annual conferences have, over nearly 50 years, showcased a diverse and extensive corpus of UK and international research, as well as contributions from policy makers and practitioners. Marshalling nearly five decades of conference materials into a single chapter is clearly unrealistic and we have, therefore, made decisions as to how best to convey a flavour of such a varied body of research. As a first step, the information from our data extraction templates has been used to compile the detailed table found in Appendix 2. This table is subdivided into 25 major conference themes, over 100 sub-​themes and more than 600 topics. Between them, these themes, sub-​themes and topics illustrate the diversity and continuity of gerontological research over the course of conference history. Although not highlighted separately, it should be noted that there are, or have been, international dimensions and contributions to many of the themes and topics listed in Appendix 2. Our analyses also suggested three pragmatic categories within which to group examples of how gerontological research has evolved, reflecting both the journey and the potential of gerontology as an expanding field of interest. First, we identify those themes that have had a continuous presence throughout the history of British gerontology conferences; second is a strand of themes that have waxed and waned over the past five decades; and third, there are themes that may be classed as ‘new’ or emerging. Within this framework, the chapter illustrates the contributions BSG conferences have made by focusing on a particular theme in each of the three categories. As Appendix 2 shows, there were many themes in each of the categories that we might have discussed here and, as we have already highlighted, it would be difficult to do justice

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to the diversity of research represented in the conference materials. Instead, we have opted to focus on themes that, in a number of ways, have been highlighted by our research participants as important. First, we discuss the theme of place and space as an example of research that has had a continuous presence and is regarded by many gerontologists as fundamental to the experience of ageing. Second, while a number of participants were concerned that ageism and age-​based discrimination had not had a more consistent presence at conference as a theme in its own right, we highlight age discrimination, ageism and human rights as a theme that has waxed and waned over the history of BSG conferences. Finally, as a ‘new’ and emerging research theme, we consider the increasing importance of participatory research. This merits attention not least because it is a growing expectation that research proposals consider how they will include the participation of older citizens. To contextualise our discussions of these themes, we provide a brief account of how the conferences have developed since the formation of the British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology (BSSBG, or, as it was affectionately known, BUZBUG) in 1971.

Conference overview Ever since they started, BSG conferences have moved around the UK and, like the BSG itself, have always relied on members giving their time to host and organise them on a voluntary basis, although all aspects of the society’s work –​including the annual conference –​have become more professionalised since the start of the new millennium. The contrast between now and the “touring circus” of one-​day events described by Bill Bytheway in Chapter 3, could not be starker. Between 1971 and 1976, these single-​day events revolved around a number of keynote speakers whose presentations were intended to reflect the conference theme or aims. This was the case with the jointly organised British Council on Ageing (BSSBG/​BGS/​BSRA) conference in the spring of 1976. As we saw in Chapter 3, this focused on the ‘problems and prospects’ for research in gerontology. By the autumn of 1976, the three-​day BSG conference –​held first at the University of Bristol –​was born. Taking place over a weekend in September for the next 25 years or so, conferences moved to run from Thursdays to Saturdays in 2003 and, with one or two exceptions, to the current Wednesday to Friday format in 2009. Then, in 2010, they began to be held in July. However, the structure of keynote speakers and thematically organised (parallel) streams, although initially small in number, has been consistent and has grown year-​on-​year. From the

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early days, international delegates have also contributed and presented papers with archival material recording, for example, that the 1980 conference in Aberdeen attracted participants from France, Belgium, Norway and Canada. International keynote speakers have been another valued and valuable element in conference programmes. Although the number of keynote speakers varies, there are usually three and sometimes four, with at least one coming from overseas. Speakers have come primarily from North America and Europe, although, on occasion, conference has invited colleagues from as far afield as Japan and Australia. In addition, over a quarter of our project participants have made keynote presentations. BSG Executive Committee minutes from 1988 affirm too the importance of every conference trying something new. For example, at Exeter in 1982, this included a film event focusing –​in the terminology of the time  –​on ‘elderly mentally ill’ people; and a literary event with author Ronald Blythe discussing his acclaimed book The view in winter. Film screenings, exhibitions, theatre and drama productions, experiential workshops, poetry readings and special events of different kinds, have continued to be an integral part of many conference programmes. Likewise, politicians, community activists, campaigners, actors, novelists and cultural commentators, frequently gave after-​dinner speeches. An included field visit also featured at certain conferences throughout the 1980s and 1990s. This aspect has also evolved over the years, with delegates now often having to pre-​book the various tours and visits on offer online. The same Executive Committee minutes from 1988 also suggest that  –​given the society’s experience of the first European Region Congress in Brighton in 1987 (collectively organised by BSG, BGS and BSRA) –​a poster exhibition should be included at future annual conferences. This new form of dissemination was not just about research but also about initiatives in service provision. In addition, although early conferences had special ‘workshops’ or roundtable discussions based on particular topics, it was to be 1996 (at Liverpool) before symposia appeared regularly on conference programmes. These innovations were, of course, responses to the growing numbers of delegates and students wanting to present their work. And, as we saw in Chapter 3, the increasing numbers of events organised for and by students evolved into the annual Emerging Researchers in Ageing event which, since the 2010 conference at Brunel, has been put on in tandem with (just ahead of, or just after) the main conference. While the conferences of today maintain many of the features evident in the early years, the three-​day format has had to evolve

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further to accommodate the ever-​increasing numbers of submissions and delegates. Although patchy, the archival information shows, for example, that at the 1978 Edinburgh conference titled The Living Environments of Older People, the 20 or so papers were divided into three streams: institutional, home and external environments. Over the course of the 1980s, the numbers of papers increased to between 40 and 50, increasing again in the 1990s and early years of the new millennium to 70–​100. By 2010, almost 160 papers were presented and, by 2015, nearly 200. Three years later, at the record-​breaking Manchester conference in 2018, over 600 delegates from 27 countries around the world could choose between 400+ papers, organised into eight parallel streams around ten themes incorporating three flagship symposia, nearly 60 symposia, some 45 paper sessions, and over 50 posters. A pop-​up cinema screened films throughout the three days and delegates navigated their way around the conference’s ‘places and spaces’ with the help of a 356-​page interactive and online programme.

Continuous presence: place and space As noted earlier, we have chosen to focus first on place and space. While we could have discussed one of the other themes in this category (for example, health and illness or work and retirement), the environmental context –​and the role of environmental gerontology in understanding the settings in which people age  –​is key to understanding ageing and encapsulates important developments in theory, research and practice. Moreover, many project participants have made notable contributions to the evolution of this theme, conducting research on all of the topics considered in the following sections and captured in the table in Appendix 2. As we will see, early conference papers tended to focus predominantly on the problems associated with where older people lived (for example, in residential care), but, by the 1980s, were more influenced by questions about how living arrangements and care could be improved. Echoing the sociohistorical evolution of gerontology discussed in Chapter 3, subsequent topics reflect growing interests in the cultural, social, political, policy and practice contexts of place and space (for example, the built environment for people living with dementia). Yet others concentrate on advances in theoretical or conceptual frameworks (for example, the development of the age-​friendly cities movement) and in research methods (for example, participatory methods). Within this theme, we also note that, after a brief appearance, some topics effectively disappeared from conference altogether; others were ‘one-​offs’. For example, presentations on the

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role of ‘geriatric’ wards were evident at the first British Council on Ageing event in London in 1976 and at subsequent conferences, before disappearing in the wake of changing approaches and terminology associated with the continuing care of older people with complex needs. An intriguing example of a ‘one-​off’ paper was presented at the 1979 Glasgow conference by British doctor Anne Merrimen, and titled ‘The elderly and disabled in contemplative convents for women’. Care home research Given the sustained dominance of residential provision as the major post-​war policy and practice response to older people in need of care and support (see Chapter 3), it is perhaps unsurprising that early conferences, especially during the 1970s, featured research on care homes. For example, the 1971 one-​day conference in Nottingham included a paper on the role of physical design and interpersonal behaviour by architect Alan Lipman (who was also Chair of the BSSBG, then BSG, between 1976 and 1980)  and another on the role of the physical environment in the maintenance of ‘social order’ among so-​called ‘confused’ residents, presented by Howard Harris, a psychologist from the Welsh School of Architecture who worked with Lipman (Johnson, 2013: 4). Other practitioners, including geriatrician Colin Powell and residential services organiser Eric Spence, presented papers on life in care homes and on ways to improve care at the 1978 Edinburgh conference. At this same conference, project participant Eileen Fairhurst reported on her innovative ethno-​methodological approach –​employing participant observation –​to examine the role of ‘talk’ in institutions. She highlighted, among other things, how talk was seen as an optional activity for care staff once the main duties associated with running the home were completed. Over the course of the 1980s, the expansion in care home research is perhaps best personified by the work of project participants Sheila Peace and Leonie Kellaher, with their then colleague Dianne Willcocks. Their major research project, exploring life in 100 local authority care homes, was first presented at the 1982 conference in Exeter. The study highlighted the relationship between resident satisfaction and opportunities for activities and social engagement, as well as the importance of access to, and control of, personal and private space. It included, crucially, a recommendation that older people should have single occupancy bedrooms since it was commonplace, at the time, for residents to share a room with two, three or four other people (Willcocks et al, 1987). During her interview for our project, Sheila

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recalled how this recommendation subsequently found its way into both the published code of practice, My home life (CPA, 1984), and the Wagner report (NISW, 1988). Related areas of growth in the 1980s included an increase in the numbers of papers that looked at care homes in the independent sector, an interest fuelled, at least in part, by favourable funding arrangements by the then Department of Health and Social Security, and political commitment to extending the care market (see Chapter 3 and Appendix 1). Three decades after Peter Townsend (1962) first drew attention to the lack of choice, and the absence of involvement by older people in their move to residential care, these concerns continued to trouble researchers throughout the 1990s and, arguably, right up to the present day. At the 1994 conference at Royal Holloway in London, both Jan Reed and project participant Mike Nolan examined older people’s experiences of moving to a care home. Mike presented a research-​based typology of ‘admission to care’ that demonstrated overwhelmingly that, for most older people, moving into residential care was experienced as a fait accompli rather than a process involving their active participation and decision making. The threat that residential care may pose to an older person’s sense of self, and how best to construct and support residential environments that are geared towards maintenance of self, were also highlighted in this and other papers during the 1990s. In the new millennium, research on the experience of living in a care home, on quality of life, and on person-​centred care, has been joined by renewed interest in the role of the built environment. Papers presented at conference consistently point to its relationship with quality of life, while explorations of more nuanced aspects of care home living have also been reported, including: sleep and sleep quality; practice development for support workers; the use of dementia care mapping; and end-​of-​life care. Project participant Mary Marshall’s keynote paper in 2001 (at Stirling) looked, for example, at the part food plays in supporting person-​centred care. In addition, the continuing challenges associated with care homes, and their possible future role in the social care landscape, are topics examined in a number of symposia. One such symposium, at the Roehampton conference in 2004, included papers asking questions about future funding, sustainable staffing models, and regulation and standards. A symposium led by the International Longevity Centre UK at Keele in 2012 –​and the report that accompanied it (Mason, 2012) –​also proposed that care homes could usefully develop as community hubs and should be recast as a model for delivering specialist and integrated services within the

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wider community. This proposal chimes with contemporary policy imperatives highlighted in Chapter 3, urging the better integration and provision of services closer to home, especially for citizens deemed to be ‘frail’ or at risk of becoming frail. Dementia Mental frailty, and mental ill health in the form of dementia, has been another topic explored since the earliest conferences. However, in relation to our focus on place and space, and in keeping with the emphasis on care home research, the papers appearing throughout the 1970s and 1980s tended to focus on institutional environments –​ notably residential care and ‘geriatric’ wards –​and on ‘management’. They also came, predominantly, from a biomedical perspective, with very little attention being paid to people with dementia living at home. In 1990, at King’s College London, the BSG, together with the BGS and the BSRA, hosted a one-​day scientific meeting on new research and understandings about dementia, although many of the papers were still underpinned by biomedical and epidemiological perspectives. Later that same year though –​at the BSG conference in Durham –​project participant John Bond presented a paper challenging the too-​ready acceptance of biomedical perspectives, strongly arguing the need to consider neglected social perspectives. Different approaches to housing and caring for people living with dementia also started to appear at conference in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At the 1988 Swansea conference, Andrew Sixsmith reported on an evaluation of three experimental homes for the ‘elderly mentally ill’ and, at the 1994 conference at Royal Holloway, Kate Foster reported on the development of specialist small group homes. By the end of the 1990s, dementia care was very much on the conference map, stimulated, in no small part, by Tom Kitwood’s (1997) landmark publication Dementia reconsidered. Kitwood highlighted the gross and systematic inequalities experienced by people living with dementia and proposed a fundamental rethink of traditional definitions of personhood and approaches to care. In 1998, he gave one of the keynote papers at the Sheffield BSG conference in which he proposed a number of essential changes if the care of people with dementia was to be improved. Among other things, this included moving away from biomedical explanations of so-​called ‘challenging behaviour’. Interest in the ways that good design can enhance positive care, in how wellbeing and quality of life can be improved for people with dementia in whatever setting they live, and in the practice of citizenship

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by people living with dementia, has resulted in a proliferation of papers and symposia extending right up to the present day. Home, homelessness and specialist housing Even with the dominant focus on residential care at early conferences, some gerontologists were interested in other living environments, including people’s own homes, and in the growth of age-​segregated or ‘specialist housing’. Conference materials document only a small kernel of papers in the 1980s on the meaning of home, with other research exploring and reporting on ways and means of enabling older people to remain in their own homes and ‘age in place’. This has included what were termed ‘staying put’ and ‘care and repair’ schemes, as well as the use of assistive technologies –​a topic we consider later in the chapter. A symposium at the 2004 Roehampton conference, chaired by project participant Malcolm Johnson, also made the case for engaging in a UK cost-​benefit study of the Homeshare scheme, which, by then, had been established for some 20 years. Essentially an exchange of housing for help, younger people were matched with, and provided accommodation in, the home of an older person in exchange for practical help of various kinds. Older people’s use of space in and surrounding their homes has also received attention, with, for example, papers by Rose Gilroy on images and objects in the home, Sally Richards on garden maintenance, and Sheila Peace on liminal space, at the 2006 conference in Bangor. Earlier, Sheila, along with her colleague Caroline Holland, had also presented a paper on women’s housing histories at the Royal Holloway conference in 1994. Using findings from biographical interviews, they drew attention to the gendered assumptions surrounding older women’s place in the home and wider environment, as well as to the inequalities in housing that older women systematically experienced. At the same conference, Maureen Crane and project participant Tony Warnes painted a picture of older homeless people with complex and unmet health and care needs –​often living long-​term on the streets. This was the first time the topic of older homeless people had received research attention, although there is a passing reference in the archives to a paper on ‘crime and vagrancy’ at the 1982 Exeter conference. Then, at the 2004 Roehampton conference, they reported on a recently completed three-​nation study of the causes of homelessness among older people in Boston, in Melbourne and in four English cities. Alongside the interest in people living in their own homes, the early conferences also provided an important platform to debate the role,

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purpose and suitability of age-​segregated or ‘specialist’ housing: most commonly defined as purpose-​built, warden controlled, ‘sheltered’ housing. Many papers were presented looking at its impact on numbers of older people moving into care homes and, more broadly, at national developments in older people’s housing policy. At a 1976 BGS/​BSSBG spring conference at Keele, project participant Peter Coleman cautioned against overestimating the capacity of sheltered housing and argued, instead, for a more flexible range of housing and service provisions (Coleman, 1976). Later that same year, at BSG’s first three-​day conference in Bristol, Yvonne Neville presented a local authority perspective, contending that giving older people access to newly built, smaller homes would enable councils to move older tenants out from their large houses to make way for families. Neville also argued that provision of small, purpose-​built housing would address the problem of older people’s overrepresentation in sub-​standard and decaying housing they could ill afford to maintain and refurbish. Then, at the 1977 Manchester conference –​and reflecting her long-​standing expertise and presence in housing research, policy and practice –​project participant Anthea Tinker called for an urgent reappraisal of policies for housing ‘the elderly’. As these and similar critiques began to take hold, BSG conferences during the 1980s witnessed increasing numbers of papers and keynote presentations on aspects of housing beyond residential care. The persistent lack of a coherent housing policy for older people, combined with poor community care provision, continued to be an important contextual backdrop to this growing research interest (Means and Smith, 1985; Wheeler, 1986). For her part, Anthea Tinker’s studies were beginning to show that sheltered housing provided services to a small group of older people with health and care profiles that were often no different from those of older people who lived in their own homes. What was most valued about sheltered housing was that it was warm, manageable, decent housing. At the 1986 Glasgow conference, Anthea and Bill Bytheway also expressed concerns about the brake that sheltered housing was placing on developing a coherent and diverse range of housing provision; the implications of housing that reinforced age-​segregation; and the role that sheltered housing –​and the continued dominance of residential care –​might play in stultifying the development of resources and services to enable people to stay at home. Research on the development of sheltered housing into ‘very sheltered’ schemes also featured during the 1980s before evolving –​as we see later in the c­ hapter –​into work on extra care sheltered housing and retirement communities. Again, Anthea’s work was important

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here and she presented an evaluation of just such a ‘very sheltered’ scheme at the Nottingham conference in 1989. The evaluation called into question the scheme’s ability to serve as protection against future admission to residential care, or to be suitably responsive to older people with complex needs. While sheltered and very sheltered housing could, in theory, provide a place for support, prevention and rehabilitation, its piecemeal provision and its use as a default option in the absence of more suitable housing, were increasingly criticised. Rather than being viewed as the solution to older people’s housing needs, Anthea’s view –​shared by many others –​was that it should be seen as but one element in a wider range of provision and that, in addition, more resources were needed to enable people to remain comfortably and securely in their own homes should they wish to. During this same period, there was a concomitant growth of interest in the different housing needs of specific populations of older people. For example, alongside the persistent thread, noted previously, of research on the living environments of people with dementia, an early paper by Ruth Hubbard at the 1995 Keele conference considered the housing needs of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) men and women. This paper highlighted both a lack of interest and antipathy among sheltered housing wardens and care home managers, drawing attention to the heterosexist orientation of sheltered housing and care home policy at the time. In the new millennium, other papers have reported on how older LGBT people cope with life in residential homes, and their future hopes and aspirations should they require residential or nursing care in the future. Alternative housing for older women also featured at the 2017 conference in Swansea, when Karen West presented a paper looking at the UK’s first purpose-​built, co-​housing facility in North London. Following an 18-​year campaign by the Older Women’s Co-​Housing Network, the scheme opened in December 2016. While research on alternative living environments now features regularly at conferences, it also has links back with much earlier work on retirement migration and with the evolution of research on sheltered housing into work on extra care sheltered housing and on retirement communities. Retirement migration, housing-​with-​care and retirement villages What appears to have been the first paper on retirement migration was presented in 1975 at the BSG’s one-​day conference in Glasgow. The archival record is incomplete and does not cite an author, but the paper concerned older people’s retirement to the seaside resort of Largs

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on the west coast of Scotland and was given, we believe, by Yvonne Neville. Then, at the Manchester conference in 1977, Tony Warnes presented research examining the characteristics of long-​distance retirement migrants, identifying a number of motivations to move, including age at retirement, dislike of pre-​retirement housing/​area, and limited connections with children. This was the same year in which Valerie Karn’s seminal study, Retiring to the seaside, was published. Based on a questionnaire survey of 1,000 people in Clacton and Bexhill, it looked at the retirement move and at life in the two resorts (Karn, 1977). However, it was to be the 1990s before more concerted work emerged, with studies of British retirement communities in both the UK and abroad. Tony returned to his earlier interests in retirement migration and, with colleagues, carried out research on retiring to the Mediterranean, presenting it at the 1997 conference in Bristol (see King et al, 2000). Over the same period, a broader interest in the new retirement communities being developed across the UK, and in different forms of housing and care for later life, began to take hold. In 1995, the Keele conference included an optional field visit to the newly opened Bradeley retirement village in Stoke-​on-​Trent. The visit prompted vigorous debate among conference delegates and, in a subsequent article in Generations Review, Margot Jefferys (1996) summarised her views and those of two friends/​colleagues who had accompanied her. The article highlighted questions concerning the legitimacy of a scheme of this kind being developed by a housing association rather than by the for-​profit sector. Issues about its design, about age and spatial segregation, about the facilities provided, and about the ‘culture’ of the scheme, also came under close inspection. Jefferys (1996: 4) records that when discussing these issues with her friends, they had to consider: … whether we are all aware of the possibly underexplored assumptions that underlie our views on what policies and practices should be pursued in promoting a better old age in the country as a whole? For example, in our friendly arguments we all made charges and counter-​charges of elitism in challenging each other’s reactions to the Bradeley scheme. Although retirement communities had existed –​and been researched –​ for much longer in North America and in Europe than in the UK, the visit to Bradeley prefigured considerable developments in British research on extra care housing schemes and retirement villages

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(Croucher et al, 2006; Tinker et al, 2007). During the first decade of the new millennium, BSG conferences addressed topics such as the remodelling of sheltered housing and residential care to extra care housing; its suitability for specific populations; the physical design of such communities and its impact on quality of life; scheme cultures and facilities; the introduction of ‘smart’ technologies; and continuing debates around the relationship between policy and practice. However, while the knowledge base was developing rapidly, Miriam Bernard’s keynote presentation at the 2008 conference in Bristol observed that between 1999 and 2006, only 11 UK papers were published reporting primary research on housing-​with-​care schemes, with only two focusing on larger retirement villages:  Berryhill in Stoke-​on-​Trent (Bernard et al, 2007) and Hartrigg Oaks in York (Croucher et al, 2003). In addition to the work on Berryhill and Hartrigg Oaks, the Personal Social Services Research Unit was also evaluating extra care housing schemes and shared its research at several conferences over the same decade. In 2011, project participant Ann Netten then presented its overall findings at the Plymouth conference. Her paper highlighted that outcomes for tenants were good, and costs for extra care housing were no higher than those for residential care. Simon Evans and project participant Robin Means had also regularly presented their studies on the role of housing-​with-​care in promoting quality of life. Taken together, these research projects were beginning to show that retirement communities with on-​site care and other facilities could provide a positive environment in which to age well and achieve a good quality of life. However, a number of critical challenges were also raised that continue to be pertinent today. These include: the extent to which housing-​with-​care meets its aspirations to function as a community; the importance of attracting a wide range of people including those without care needs; the issue of age segregation as a barrier to community engagement; and how to respond to the changing needs and profiles of residents and tenants as they age in place (Bernard et al, 2004; Evans and Vallelly, 2007; Netten et al, 2011). Examining ageing in place in such communities raises, in turn, the need for longitudinal research. While there is still a paucity of longitudinal work, Jennifer Liddle and colleagues presented findings from the Longitudinal study of Ageing in a Retirement Community at the 2012 Keele conference. They concluded that while the design, the physical environment and the social activities were valued, the greater involvement of residents, and stronger connections with local communities, would enhance the potential of such developments to become more age-​friendly (Liddle et al, 2014).

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Urban and rural contexts ‘Age friendliness’ is a comparatively recent inclusion to work on place and space and was associated, initially, with ageing in urban environments. While the development of the Age-​Friendly Cities movement provides a fulcrum for the critical examination of urban ageing, interest in what it is like to age in the city extends back to, and includes, some of the classic studies mentioned in Chapter  3. Project participant Chris Phillipson has long-​standing interests in this area and, at the 1999 Bournemouth conference, chaired a symposium on urbanisation and ageing. The resurgence of interest in environmental issues and in environmental gerontology has also been reflected in presentations by, for example, Sheila Peace and Leonie Kellaher. With their colleague Caroline Holland, Sheila and Leonie presented a paper in 2000 –​at the Oxford conference –​looking at environmental wellbeing in later life and at the relationship between the built environment and identity maintenance and construction. A couple of years later, at the 2002 Birmingham conference, architect Julienne Hanson considered what active ageing might now mean for the design of cities. Then, with the publication of the World Health Organization’s (2007) guide to global age-​friendly cities, research on this topic accelerated. At the 2008 Bristol conference, project participants Simon Biggs and Anthea Tinker –​in partnership with Help the Aged –​presented findings from the London Age-​Friendly Cities research project (Biggs and Tinker, 2007). This was one of the original 33 projects under the WHO initiative, conceived originally in 2005 at the XVIII World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Rio de Janeiro (see Appendix 1). The paper on the London project highlighted a number of recommendations including the importance of paying attention to the involvement and participation of older people; enabling older people to remain in their own homes; and ensuring they are able to enjoy an accessible community that supports social connectivity and provides easy access to information. These recommendations were picked up in subsequent UK developments and, by 2011, the age-​ friendly movement was firmly on the BSG conference agenda. The UK Urban Ageing Consortium was launched at the 2012 Keele conference, while subsequent conferences have focused on progress in the development of age-​friendly environments and the extent to which age-​friendly policies and practices are being implemented in the UK and internationally. This has included symposia co-​chaired by Chris Phillipson and Tom Scharf, at both the 2013 (Oxford) and

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2014 (Southampton) conferences. The former considered critical perspectives on age-​friendly communities; the latter debated future directions for environmental gerontology with particular reference to urban environments. These symposia highlighted the continued marginalisation of older people in regeneration policies and practice, raising questions about older people’s rights to the city and its impact on those citizens who find themselves distanced from the urban economy (see for example, Buffel et al, 2012). This research group has gone on to argue for a ‘manifesto’ for the age-​friendly movement, which, while acknowledging the challenges associated with austerity and the growth of inequality, highlights the importance of challenging inequalities, engaging deeply with participatory methods (see the next section on research), encouraging collaboration and partnerships between multiple partners and sectors, and integrating the emerging evidence base with policy and practice developments (Buffel, 2015; Buffel and Phillipson, 2018). The age-​friendly movement has not been confined just to urban environments but extends to rural contexts too. However, research interest in rural ageing per se has had a consistent presence at conference, as has the associated topic of transport and transport infrastructure. Back in 1980, at the Aberdeen conference, project participant Clare Wenger presented her research on social aspects of rural ageing, marking the beginnings of what was to become her seminal work on supportive networks and laying the foundations for subsequent research by both Clare and other gerontologists (Wenger, 1984). More recently, conferences over the past decade have included papers by Norah Keating and other Canadian colleagues in 2010 at Brunel, emanating from a cross-​national research collaboration between England, Wales and Canada, and a symposium at Plymouth in 2011, reporting on the major ‘grey and pleasant land’ project investigating the extent to which older people living in rural England and Wales were involved in community life (Hennessy et al, 2012). Transport and transport infrastructure is key to older people’s experiences of living in both rural and urban environments, and is an essential element of contemporary age-​friendly policies and practice. However, interest in transport and ageing has waxed and waned since an early presentation by project participant Alison Norman at the 1976 Bristol conference. Alison identified a number of problems facing older people in accessing all forms of transport and went on to argue strongly for changes in the law, to administrative procedures, and to attitudes to older people (Norman, 1977). Although transportation issues were notable by their absence at conferences during the 1980s and 1990s,

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arguably, the barriers of availability, accessibility and affordability identified by Alison remain pertinent today. A resurgence of interest is evident from the early 2000s when transport and mobility streams featured at the 2001, 2002 and 2003 conferences. Then, at the 2006 conference in Bangor, Vanessa Burholt chaired a symposium reporting on a participatory project that aimed to encourage the voluntary involvement of older people living in isolated rural settings. The symposium ended with a drama performance examining transport arrangements in rural areas. Later, a tranche of symposia and papers led by Charles Musselwhite considered a range of issues associated with driving, mobility and transport, including the implications of over-​reliance on cars in rural areas and of driving cessation, and the potential hazards associated with shared space for people with mobility difficulties and visual impairment (Hammond and Musselwhite, 2013; Musselwhite and Shergold, 2013). Alongside this renewed interest in the transport problems experienced by older people, BSG conferences have charted other place and space-​related issues, including the growth of research on the use of assistive technology. Assistive technology Unsurprisingly, assistive technology and its relationship with housing, transport and mobility was scarcely visible at BSG conferences until the mid-​1990s. That said, at the 1989 conference at Nottingham, Anthea Tinker presented an early study assessing the impact of alarms/​care systems in supporting older people to remain at home. The study concluded that, as an alternative to residential care and sheltered housing, older people could remain safely at home with such innovative services in place. However, it was not until the 1996 Liverpool conference that dedicated symposia on the role of SMART housing and technology appeared. Assistive technology, as it became known, began to feature more regularly from the 2000s onwards, with a number of papers between 2006 and 2009 considering its role in self-​management and its potential to contribute to quality of life, as well as some of its associated problems. In more recent years, research has moved on from a focus on the barriers to technology, to consider how technology can support people to age well in place, and its role in enhancing quality of life and independence. At the 2013 Oxford conference, Susan Yeandle chaired three linked symposia on the role of technology in promoting wellbeing and independence in later life. One set of papers focused on a large-​scale project funded by the Technology Strategy Board and the

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Economic and Social Research Council, examining the ways in which telecare could be developed to help older people continue to lead full and independent lives, as well as helping carers to carry on caring and, for example, continue to work (Yeandle, 2014). The role of digital technology in supporting people living with dementia has also been important, with papers at the same and subsequent conferences on the use of accessible devices and apps. The rapid growth in this topic meant that, by 2015 in Newcastle, a symposium chaired by Louise Robinson was considering the future role of assistive technology and consciously debating ‘lessons learnt’ from the current knowledge base. Newer topics like assistive technology demonstrate that the theme of place and space continues to evolve. The long-​standing familiar topics and debates around living environments, retirement communities, and urban and rural ageing will doubtless retain a presence at BSG conferences, but will, and are, increasingly embracing questions associated with issues such as sustainability, climate change, weather-​ related disasters, food security, the implications of large-​scale movement of populations, and the place of older people within these changes. Having considered a theme with a continuous presence at conference, we now turn our attention to a theme that has had a waxing and waning presence at conference over the past 40–​50 years.

Waxing and waning: ageism, age discrimination and human rights Here, we focus on ageism, age discrimination and human rights. As the table in Appendix 2 shows, there are many themes that have waxed and waned over the years. However, we chose this theme partly because it seems to us to be fundamental to the evolution of gerontology, but also because, as we shall see in later chapters, it is an issue that features in varying ways across the lives and careers of all our participants. Yet, while ageism and age discrimination are integral to many of the topics presented at conference, surprisingly few presentations have focused specifically on these issues. The archives reveal an early paper by social psychologist Robert Slater at the 1971 Nottingham conference, questioning what needed to be done to reduce or eliminate work-​based discrimination (among men). A few other papers during the 1970s also made reference to ‘attitudes to ageing’, most notably in relation to the attitudes of professionals such as nurses working with older people, and to what were referred to as ‘attitudinal obstacles’ in healthcare practice. Then, at the 1976 British Council on Ageing conference in London, Dennis Bromley –​BUZBUG’s first Chair (see Chapter 3) and another

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psychologist –​presented a paper that alluded to the low social value placed on ageing, commenting too on the slow growth and small size of social, psychological and behavioural gerontological research. As the 1970s moved into the 1980s, questions about age-​based discrimination and ageism began to emerge as more of a concern, but, at least initially, papers about attitudes towards older people persisted as the dominant topic at conference. For example, at the 1980 Aberdeen conference, there were two workshops exploring professional attitudes to ageing that included discussion about attitudes to a career in ‘geriatric nursing’. By the time of the 1983 conference in Liverpool, a broader view of attitudes to ageing was emerging, including presentations exploring the construction of older people in the media, and the presence of ageism in advice books and on television. The existence of ageism and age discrimination was also evident in research and debates about retirement and pensions, captured most clearly in Peter Townsend’s (1981) paper on structured dependency in the inaugural volume of Ageing & Society. Townsend illustrated how the management of the economy, and the maintenance of social institutions, both governed and reinforced the marginalised position of older people. Later, in 1987, Alison Norman presented a paper at the Brighton conference that reflected many of the concerns raised by Townsend, including manifestations of ageism in the poor provision of community services for older people; poor standards in residential care; and the lack of value placed on older people and those who might be providing care to them (see Norman, 1987b). However, with one or two notable exceptions such as Cathy Itzin’s workshops on ageism at conferences in 1985 (Keele) and 1986 (Glasgow), ageism as a conference topic appears to have remained relatively marginal during the 1980s, a point picked up by Bill Bytheway in his book Ageism. He writes: ‘I collaborated with Julia Johnson on the organisation of the 1988 conference of the BSG in Swansea and, through this, it became apparent to us that there was a continuing neglect of the concept of ageism’ (Bytheway, 1995: 14). Moreover, he argued strongly in the book’s opening pages that ‘gerontology had reinforced rather than challenged ageism’ and that ‘the conceptual frameworks and the terminology of such research are often wholly compatible with ageism’ (Bytheway, 1995: 1). Conference papers and debate applying a civil liberties/​human rights lens also began to appear in the 1980s. At the 1980 Aberdeen conference, Alison Norman chaired a debate asking if there was a case to be made for the abolition of Section 47 of the National Assistance Act 1948, which provided the legal right to forcibly remove older

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people from their home and convey them to a ‘place of safety’. She also highlighted the myriad ways in which an older person deemed vulnerable or ‘in need’ could be removed without recourse to Section 47, including use of the Mental Health Act 1983, sedation, authority and lies. In the accompanying discussion document, Norman (1980: 240) persuasively argued that ‘… we should be working towards the achievement of a system in which people never give up their homes unless either they themselves genuinely wish to do so or it is physically impossible for them or their relatives to cope, using a full range of statutory and voluntary domiciliary services’. A later paper given by Christina Victor at the 1988 Swansea conference, presented research examining which older people were most likely to be subjected to Section 47 orders, highlighting the vulnerability of people living alone without visible or close relatives, and with a ‘reputation’ for refusing offers of help. The ‘rights and risk’ debate was furthered at other conferences with papers in 1991 at Manchester, from Deirdre Wynne Harley and Counsel and Care, both of which highlighted older people’s rights to take risks, including in care home settings. In the first decade of the new millennium, legislation was proposed to tackle age-​based discrimination at work that would make it illegal to discriminate, harass or victimise job applicants, employees or trainees on the grounds of their age (subsequently enforced by the Equalities Act 2010; see Appendix 1). Ahead of legislation, a number of papers and symposia appeared at conference, including at the 2003 conference in Newcastle when the BSG’s Executive Committee convened a session to discuss the implications of the Department of Trade and Industry’s consultation document. This event, coordinated by Kerry Platman and chaired by Tony Maltby, paid particular attention to the exceptional circumstances in which age discrimination at work could be justified, and to the proposed change to the default retirement age to age 70. In a subsequent article in Generations Review, Platman and Maltby (2004) contended, among other things, that the proposal to raise the mandatory retirement age to 70 would not in itself end age discrimination. Later symposia and papers also considered the passage of the Equality Bill and debated the extent to which it constituted progress in eradicating age discrimination. Some years later at the 2011 Plymouth conference, Hanna Swift, a member of the European Research Group on Attitudes to Age, reported on findings from the European Social Survey –​including data from 55,000 people representing 28 countries –​exploring different aspects of ageism and age discrimination. The main purpose of this research was to support policy work pressing for age discrimination

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measures in the UK and the EU, including the Equalities Act 2010. At the time of Swift’s BSG presentation and the accompanying report (Age UK, 2011), steps to address age discrimination in the provision of goods and services –​including a duty on public bodies to promote equality –​had not been made law. The report was thus intended to highlight some of the ways in which age prejudice could be challenged by this new duty. The new millennium has also seen other papers and symposia focusing on making the experience and consequences of ageism –​from older people’s perspectives –​more visible. Notable contributions have included: Help the Aged’s campaign on age discrimination with project participant Tessa Harding chairing symposia in 2002 (at Birmingham) and 2004 (at Roehampton) exploring the impact of ageism and of negative stereotyping as threats to older people’s identity; the late Professor Peter Townsend delivering a keynote presentation at the 2005 Keele conference on the use of human rights legislation to defeat ageism; and Bill Bytheway presenting findings from the Research on Age Discrimination (RoAD) study at the 2006 Bangor conference. This two-​year participatory project explored everyday aspects of ageism in the UK, including, for example, in relation to access to public spaces, in the market place, in appearance and fashion, and in terms of care and vulnerability (Bytheway et al, 2007). As a participatory project, it also overlaps with our final ‘new and emerging’ theme.

New and emerging: participatory research In one sense, every topic presented at BSG conferences has, at one time or another, been a ‘new’ or emerging topic. However, in recent years, important developments in gerontological research methods and approaches are now enabling more complex, cross-​disciplinary and multi-​method research to be conducted, leading to the emergence of new kinds of data and more nuanced understandings of the experience of ageing. Here, as the final theme to be discussed in this chapter, we focus on participatory approaches. We have chosen to do so because of the considerable growth in participatory research methods –​especially over the past two decades –​and the growing expectation among funders that research will include the involvement of end users, as well as having an active strategy to promote public engagement. That said, there were some early pioneers in this area such as the late Averil Osborn. Averil was one of the first gerontologists to highlight the importance of older people being involved in research, as well as pioneering participatory approaches in her own research. After her death, the BSG set up the

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Averil Osborn Fund in 1994 with the specific aim of funding small-​ scale participatory research projects. Since 1994, funded projects have presented their findings at appropriate BSG conferences. One example is the 1998 conference in Sheffield, where Dianne Willcocks convened a symposium in which academics Lorna Warren and Tony Maltby reported on their pilot lifestory project on older women’s lives and voices; Margaret Gilbert, from Age Concern Cookstown in Northern Ireland, spoke about training older people to undertake community needs assessments as the basis for a rural community development project; and Pam Senior, from Greater Manchester’s Council of Voluntary Organisations, presented their multi-​agency action research programme, which included a drama project with older people participating as researchers, playwrights and performers to explore the evolution of housing in their local communities. On the occasion of the fund’s 20th anniversary in 2014, Sue Venn, the fund’s Secretary, made a special presentation at the Southampton conference, while an associated exhibition highlighted the many projects that had been supported since its inception. Most recently, the 2018 conference in Manchester featured the Inaugural Biennial Age UK Averil Osborn Symposium. Over the course of the 1990s and early 2000s, other researchers were presenting papers with an emphasis on ‘hearing the voice’ of older people, and on user participation in policy and service development. This included, for example, a symposium at the 2001 conference in Stirling where three older people from the Black and Minority Ethnic Elders Group Scotland reflected on their experiences of coming to the UK. In 2003 at Newcastle, Julienne Meyer presented her work on the methodological implications of hearing and attending to the voice of older people in continuing care; and Anthea Tinker reported on her research on ‘hearing the voice’ of older people in three empirical studies on housing provision and policy. These projects and presentations were not necessarily badged as participatory, but they were important in highlighting that older people’s direct voices –​and the experiences they reflected –​had been substantially overlooked in gerontological research. An interest in user participation was also gathering pace and was reflected at the 2002 conference in Birmingham where Marian Barnes gave a keynote presentation emphasising the risks associated with involvement. She drew attention to: the risk of tokenism; expectations of involvement without training and support; and involving older people in narrow, predetermined elements rather than the whole policy and service development process. At the same conference, another

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keynote presentation, by project participant Ian Philp, introduced the National Service Framework for Older People and outlined the role of older people in shaping its development (DoH, 2001; see also Appendix 1). Later in the same decade, Karen Windle chaired symposia at the 2008 and 2009 conferences (both in Bristol) assessing the outcomes of the Partnerships for Older People Projects (see Appendix 1). These projects were also underpinned by the involvement of older people in their design and implementation. The national evaluation concluded that, in the main, the projects had made an effort to go beyond tokenism, and had achieved most success in involving older people in the design and governance of projects, but were much less successful in involving them in direct volunteering (Windle et al, 2009). From the early 2000s, the participation of older people as co-​ researchers became much more visible at conference, with various papers at, for example, the 2003 Newcastle conference, considering the complexities, opportunities and challenges associated with participatory approaches. At the 2005 Keele conference, Mo Ray chaired a symposium debating critical issues in participatory research and, for the first time, a significant number of conference places for older people were provided with support from Age Concern England and Help the Aged as they then were. Following his initial paper on the RoAD study at the 2006 Bangor conference, Bill Bytheway presented further findings at the 2007 Sheffield conference, showing how older people had been involved at every stage of the project as co-​researchers, including undertaking fieldwork and analysis, and discussing and presenting findings. Older people were also involved in a project advisory group and as informants in the different settings, using a variety of means to collect people’s lived experience and perceptions of age-​based discrimination and ageism. This kind of participatory and co-​produced research has been extended and developed by researchers such as Tine Buffel, with colleagues and stakeholders in Manchester. Symposia and papers in 2012 (Keele) and 2015 (Newcastle) considered the implications and impact of working with older people as co-​researchers in the age-​ friendly Manchester initiative. Key findings generated by working with co-​researchers have revealed the desire of older people to age in place; the impact of declines in local amenities and loss of transport; the value of spaces for social connectivity; and the importance of safe outdoor spaces and resources. Supporting and documenting the experience of co-​researchers throughout the research has also been a fundamental element of both the research process and the published findings (Buffel, 2015).

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Likewise, the involvement of older people was a crucial element of the national New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) research programme (see Chapter 3). At the 2012 Keele conference, a symposium chaired by Programme Director and project participant Alan Walker shared and discussed experiences of involving older people in a number of the funded research projects, and as members of the NDA Older People’s Reference Group (OPRG). Presentations considered the value and importance of involving older people in each element of the research process, the role of the OPRG, and ethical issues in participatory research. The OPRG (2013: 3) had itself published a report in which it observed how: New ideas are often resisted, even after acceptance of the principle. Implementation brings further delays. So it has been with the idea that older people have real and full contributions to make to the direction, focus and the potential theoretical and practical outcomes of research. And, a few years later, the commissioned evaluation of the NDA initiative endorsed this view, concluding that: The inclusion of older adults in research on ageing was only beginning to develop during this period and provides significant insights from their experiences (some of them quite negative) of the NDA OPRG. Importantly though, their call for full valued involvement from the planning stages of a call, of a project and of applications, should be heard, and researchers in 2017 may now have more evidence to respect the value of this process. (Holland et al, 2017: 4) In response to the continuing challenges around participatory and co-​ created research –​and in recognition that older people often have little knowledge about the range of ageing research taking place –​the past decade has seen far greater attention directed at finding appropriate ways to communicate about research and share the outcomes and findings with diverse audiences. At the 2011 Plymouth conference, project participant John Miles presented on the Kilburn Debates. These debates are organised by John and  –​with support from the local authority –​they discuss and challenge the delivery of all kinds of public services, but especially those affecting older citizens. The annual debate is an important means by which research from gerontology is shared and debated with a mixed audience. This echoes former social

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worker and project participant Jim Traynor’s comment in Chapter 3 about the value of bringing gerontological research together with older people, practitioners and policy makers, and seems a fitting observation on which to draw this archival exploration of the evolution of British gerontology to a close.

Conclusion This chapter has shown that the conference documentation contained in the BSG archives, along with associated relevant publications and other archival materials, provides a rich source of data to help us chart some of the ways in which gerontological research in the UK has evolved over the past five decades. Between them, conference papers, keynote presentations and symposia anticipate, mirror, or respond to, many of the developments outlined in Chapters 1 and 3, and in the research and policy timeline (see Appendix 1). However, the sheer volume of material means that we have had to be selective in what we have presented. Indeed, it would have been possible to produce a book based on the archive alone. Instead, drawing on the vast array of themes and topics captured in the table in Appendix 2, we identified three main categories of research presented at the annual conferences. We then chose to illustrate each category by discussing a key theme: place and space; age discrimination, ageism and human rights; and participatory research. It is evident from our analyses that while progress has been made in each of these themes, there remain significant areas for further and new investigation. We develop some of these areas in the final chapter of the book. We would also encourage interested readers to explore the archival and conference materials for themselves. For now, we turn to our analyses of the 50 interviews and consider the nature of people’s lives and careers in gerontology.

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PART III

Lives and careers in gerontology

5

Becoming and being a gerontologist Introduction This chapter marks the start of our more detailed exploration of participants’ lives and careers in gerontology. Unlike the next two chapters that make up this part of the book, it does not begin with a consideration of other literature. Instead, it expands on the themes highlighted in Chapter  1 when we introduced participants  –​and on the pen portraits in Chapter 2 –​and is designed to contextualise what follows. First, it explores some of the factors that led people to become gerontologists: their childhood and family experiences; how early professional/​voluntary work has exerted an influence; important people and places; and the serendipitousness of many people’s entry into ageing. Next, we examine what has shaped people’s pathways into and through gerontology, encompassing both their ‘becoming’ and ‘being’ gerontologists. We identify four pathways: research –​and then practitioner –​routes into academia, knowledge exchange routes, and what we have termed ‘hybrid’ routes, whereby people’s careers incorporate both academia and practice. The wide range of perspectives and experiences evidenced in these analyses demonstrate that becoming and being a gerontologist is a far more complex and diverse undertaking than its traditional foundations in biology, psychology and sociology might suggest. Given the challenges this poses for how we think about gerontology and what gerontologists do, we go on to examine what can be learnt about the field through the motivations of those who have led it. Our participants were effectively pioneers, developing and sustaining their involvement in what was seen widely as an unpopular area of work and often as a poor choice in terms of career development. We also contend that whether or not people feel willing and able to define as gerontologists –​and the reasons for this –​is absolutely critical. Here, we explore the significance of people’s disciplinary backgrounds, the extent to which they identify as gerontologists, and what they believe qualifies them to use the title.

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Becoming a gerontologist: early influences Childhood, family and early work experiences As Chapter  1 indicated, in retrospect, early family and work or volunteering experiences were influential in some people becoming gerontologists. Many participants referred, in particular, to the influence of grandparents with whom they often enjoyed a close relationship, or even lived with, as in Alan Walker’s case: ‘I was brought up in a household with two grandparents. So, a small, semi-​detached house had not only my sister and myself and my parents, but also grandparents…. It was really cheek by jowl. So I guess I was rubbing shoulders with older people from a very young age … and they had a significant influence on my early life.’ Peter Coleman’s relationship with his grandmothers was important for his doctoral study and his desire to continue with a career in gerontology, while for Ken Blakemore and Judith Phillips, it was having older parents that was influential. Ken recalls: ‘My mum was 47 when I was born, and my dad was … just 51, I think…. I’m sure that’s had an impact, in a way…. And also, in a way, realising the value of having older parents and having that, just, longer perspective on history and I’m quite proud of the fact I had a 19th-​century Dad: 1897.’ While family experiences could help shape positive attitudes towards older people, a small number of participants were motivated by witnessing the poor treatment of family members in later life. Jonathan Barker, for example, undertook a Master’s dissertation on older people being discharged from hospital after feeling that his grandfather had been uncaringly treated in those circumstances. For others, early work or volunteering experiences were significant in directing them towards gerontology. Chris Phillipson volunteered in a geriatric hospital as a student and then wrote his undergraduate dissertation on ageing issues; Gilly Crosby was strongly influenced by her experiences of running a housebound reader service when she was in her twenties; and Sheila Peace worked as a care assistant and as a hospital ward orderly when a student, sowing the seeds of academic interests that she pursued throughout her career:

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‘I got used to that environment and it began my interest in that setting, and issues around how individuals could develop an alternative lifestyle within the environment that wasn’t their domestic home. And I was able to pick that up much later at university.’ However, as the pen portraits in Chapter 2 reveal, other participants worked in jobs as varied as retail and secretarial work, in factories, or as civil servants, before becoming gerontologists. Some began work with children, adolescents or young offenders  –​either in research roles or in practice as, for example, teachers, social workers, health or community workers. While the stressful nature of child protection work influenced Mary Marshall and Jim Traynor to move to work with older people, such prior experiences offered valuable transferable skills and knowledge that could later be drawn on. In addition, many participants spoke about the influence of particular people and places, both in terms of becoming a gerontologist and in relation to the continued connections that have endured throughout people’s careers. Influential people and places When asked, many participants readily named their intellectual influences:  individuals who had inspired and stimulated their early thinking. In some cases, people cited a specific text, with several examples having been authored by gerontologists in North America. Sheila Peace discussed the influence of Graham Rowles on her thinking, singling out his 1978 book Prisoners of space? as “very, very inspirational”, while Chris Phillipson cites Carroll Estes’ 1979 publication The aging enterprise as “a big influence” on his work. British work featured too, with Alison Norman’s 1980 discussion document Rights and risk influencing Jim Traynor among others. Bill Bytheway also highlighted half a dozen female authors from both sides of the Atlantic –​some gerontologists, some not –​who had written poignantly about their own experiences of ageing. As noted in Chapter  1, discussions about intellectual influences prompted us to ask participants to recommend up to three key texts each. Although happy to name intellectual influences, people were more reluctant to single out particular individuals as wider influences on their careers, feeling, understandably, that it would be invidious to do so. That said, it was evident from participants’ accounts that mentors and supporters early in people’s careers were especially important. As we saw in their pen portraits in Chapter 2, both John Bond and Alan

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Walker recall the profound and lasting influence of Peter Townsend on their respective careers. Ian Philp made similar comments about Jimmy Williamson –​“one of the pioneers of geriatrics” –​while Jay Ginn and Kate Davidson talked about the guidance and encouragement Sara Arber gave them at the start of, as well as later in, their careers. Given people’s varied early-​career experiences, not all of those named as mentors or supporters were academics. Tessa Harding’s influences, for example, reflect her background as a social worker and community activist; John Miles identified particular community and youth workers; and, for Miriam Bernard, it was colleagues at the Beth Johnson Foundation who were influential. In Miriam’s case it was both the people and the place that were important. For many others, important places included well-​known centres of gerontology or pioneering institutions. Malcolm Johnson, for example, recalled his formative experiences of working in a new social research unit headed by Margot Jefferys: ‘I was Margot’s junior colleague, doing my first piece of research…. And it was a tremendous start. The social research unit at Bedford College was one of the two locations in Britain for the growth of medical sociology. So, in that study, there were two words that marked out much of the rest of my life: one was medical, and the other was older people.’ Important connections were also forged through involvement in the BSG. In its early days, people could find themselves very quickly nominated and elected on to its committee as Sarah Harper was when attending her first conference in 1986. Robin Means also recounts how Chris Phillipson –​whom he describes as a “huge influence” –​ encouraged him to join the BSG, commenting how “that early sense of being given legitimacy by Chris was really quite important”. The interconnectedness of the British gerontology community meant that people identified as early influences often went on to become collaborators and/​or colleagues. Indeed, it was not unusual for project participants to name each other, particularly where close working relationships –​and enduring friendships –​had been established, and where people were linked with particular institutions and gerontology centres. Nor was it simply the case that the most senior colleagues influenced their junior counterparts; rather, people spoke about the importance of reciprocal relationships at all stages in their careers.

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Becoming a gerontologist: the role of serendipity As we shall see, participants followed a range of different pathways into gerontology, often with no distinct starting point and frequently with significant changes in direction along the way. Many participants acknowledged the ‘messiness’ of their careers, frequently referring to serendipity as a key element of their early experiences. An extreme example of this was Anthea Tinker who, as her pen portrait records, flipped a coin to decide which topic to pursue for her doctoral studies. Serendipity was also significant, even for those like Malcolm Johnson who followed a seemingly coherent and well-​planned career path. On being asked how he came to ageing research, Malcolm replied: ‘My answer might be very common:  serendipity, by chance; like many things in my life and, as I know from my own research, like many things in other people’s lives. So, if somebody had told me five years before I started to do research on what was then old age, I  wouldn’t have believed them.’ Several participants also recounted how a chance meeting or conversation with key people in the field had had a lasting impact. Mary Gilhooly’s chance encounter with James Birren, “the greatest gerontologist … in the world”, led her, through his encouragement, to apply for a place on the prestigious Fellowship programme at the Andrus Gerontology Centre in Los Angeles. She describes her subsequent time there as “a defining point in my career”. Eric Midwinter too recalls the point at which his pathway turned towards gerontology, influenced by Peter Laslett: ‘I can actually date the precise moment when I got that much more directly involved with social gerontology:  a visit; Peter Laslett to see me in my office at the National Consumer Council. And he’s very forthright, where he told me to cut all this nonsense about youth and education and so on. But the really important issue was older age. And he went on to detail the kind of findings that he produced about the ageing process in the United Kingdom.’ Similarly, Jonathan Barker spoke about a chance meeting with David Hobman (then Director of Age Concern England) which set in motion

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a series of events that launched his gerontology career and led to him eventually becoming Co-​Director of the Age Concern Research Unit. Of course, as we saw in a number of the pen portraits, what Malcolm Johnson refers to as “a dollop of good fortune” also depended on the ability and willingness of participants to identify particular opportunities and pursue them. This varied from responding to unexpected job opportunities to the availability of funding. Miriam Bernard’s entry into gerontology was “pure, kind of, serendipity”, having seen a job advert in the local unemployment office, which led to her appointment as a researcher at the Beth Johnson Foundation. Likewise, with no experience in ageing, Paul Higgs saw –​and applied for –​a research assistant post at St George’s Hospital in London, which introduced him to gerontology and to research on long-​term care, and Sara Arber recalls “how I got into ageing was one of the serendipities of this world: the reason I got into it was grant money”. The important role that serendipity plays is perhaps best summed up by John Bond, who suggested that: ‘Anybody who tells you that you plan your career is only what they do in textbooks. It doesn’t happen that way anymore. It’s serendipitous and contingent on what’s going on around.’

Becoming and being a gerontologist: multiple pathways Whether or not serendipity played a part in people becoming gerontologists, it was possible  –​though analytically challenging  –​ to identify multiple, but overlapping, pathways into and through gerontology: academic pathways via research routes; academic pathways via practitioner routes; knowledge exchange pathways; and hybrid pathways. It should also be noted that while some participants clearly followed pathways that were primarily academic or practice-​based, many people’s careers were wide-​ranging, encompassing academic, political and professional aspects, especially social work and clinical practice, and in or with voluntary sector organisations. Moreover, those with practice-​based career paths often pursued academic study in addition to professional qualifications, while gerontologists teaching and researching in universities were rarely stereotypical ‘ivory tower’ academics. Rather, they tended to develop their work in outward-​ looking, impactful ways, involving partnerships and collaborations with external organisations. The complex interplay between these areas, both for individuals and within a community of practice, may

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be seen as one of the key strengths of gerontology. In addition, our discussion of people’s pathways includes elements of both becoming and being a gerontologist, reflecting the complex nature of life-​course experiences that include gradual transitions as well as twists and turns. These discussions should also be read alongside Chapter 2 for more detailed participant biographies. Academic pathways: research routes As we saw in Chapter  1, our participants cover 17 base disciplines and/​or professions between them, representing a far broader range of academic backgrounds than gerontology’s three founding disciplines of biology, psychology and sociology. Some participants identified with a single discipline; others, such as Sarah Harper and Anne Jamieson, studied more than one discipline and described how getting involved in gerontological research had built a bridge between their interests. For Judith Phillips, a first degree in geography was a valuable foundation for a career in gerontology because: ‘Geography is a bit of everything. It’s the sort of bricolage of the physical, the social, psychological … a whole range of things. And, gerontology is very similar to that.’ Whatever their first degree, it was evident that some participants took indirect research routes towards gerontology while others decided to focus on ageing at an early stage of their careers. Sheila Peace, for example, went straight from her undergraduate geography degree to being awarded a studentship to do a PhD looking at the lives of older people in the communities in which they lived, including in the care home sector. This focus on environmental gerontology continued throughout Sheila’s career. In similar vein, Chris Phillipson recalls that his very first seminar paper (in 1976) was on the political economy of old age, focusing on inequality and ageing. Along with his doctoral study on retirement, these are research interests that have been central to Chris’s entire academic career. Others, while coming to gerontology via research routes, have done so in more roundabout ways. Some, like Julia Twigg, found that their research interests changed over time; others like Ken Blakemore made decisions about research topics for pragmatic employment or funding reasons; and people like John Vincent and Sarah Harper found themselves engaged in research that unexpectedly involved them in interviewing older people. Nor did doing doctoral research necessarily

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mean that people stayed on in academia. After her PhD, Sarah had a period working for the BBC before deciding that she wanted to become an academic and securing a postdoctoral position on one of the Growing Older projects. Miriam Bernard’s temporary post at the Beth Johnson Foundation –​secured while writing up her PhD –​turned into six years of short-​term research contracts. Like Miriam, other participants spent considerable periods of time on precarious fixed-​term research contracts, and, as noted in Chapter 1 this was an experience shared by quite a few of the women we interviewed. Despite Maria Evandrou’s route into gerontology being a direct one involving a Master’s programme in research and a one-​year post as a contract researcher, this was followed by eight further years on short-​term contracts. Eileen Fairhurst also spent the first 11 years of her career this way, and Mary Gilhooly recalled that, by the age of 37, she had not yet had a permanent job. Likewise, Christina Victor’s appointment to a Chair in Gerontology at the University of Reading was her first permanent academic post after a long career, and at the age of 50. The precariousness of such employment experiences was (and still is) linked to the funding context for gerontological research, which often focused on the need to secure external grant income, especially where people were trying to establish research units and centres. Here, John Bond describes what it was like at Newcastle University: ‘For 25 years, we were all of us –​the whole department of 15, 20, 25 people –​were on short-​term funding. There was no central university funding. It was all:  “find your own money”. So we were entrepreneurs.’ However, unlike in the current climate, those in insecure employment circumstances could often be confident that more work would be forthcoming as each project ended. Leonie Kellaher was not alone in recalling that the variety and interest in such roles was what balanced out the precariousness: ‘I would really accept any job that did not entail a big interview and that I thought I could do. And in those days … you did the job and if you were all right at it you stayed. So that suited me fine…. I stayed at the same institution all along, but because the contracts changed it was like changing a job. And it’s just great when you get to the end of something and you’re about to start something new.’

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By contrast, other participants found that the continuous need to access funding could divert them from their gerontological path and into other research areas –​or even out of academia altogether –​for periods of time. Julia Twigg left academia after completing her PhD “as there were simply not jobs to apply for”. And, as we saw in Chapter 3, Christina Victor talked about funding her gerontological research interests “under the wire”, while in John Bond’s case, it was a question of doing so “on the back of health service research”. Some participants such as Sara Arber were clear that while ageing research was a big focus for them, they intentionally pursued other research interests too. Whatever the nature of these research routes, there was always something valuable to be learnt and gained from them as Robin Means observed: ‘You can’t always do your dream project, and therefore, any projects you do, you’ve got to find what you can take from it…. It might be a methodological skill. It might be how to deal with a difficult colleague. It might be … developing an understanding of a policy area like housing that you can then bring to a gerontological context later.’ Using and transferring research skills and gerontological interests was also evident when it came to discussions about teaching as a related element of people’s research pathways. Having already noted the lack of gerontological courses at undergraduate level in the UK (see Chapter 1), there was often a need to be creative in introducing ageing into one’s teaching. Jonathan Barker recalls how this could be done almost by stealth and by attaching it to other curricula: ‘I was teaching on a general set of degree courses and Master’s courses in deviancy, in social policy and things like that. So … somehow managing to incorporate studies of ageing and medical sociology into deviancy policy, into deviancy sociology which was a bit of a stretch but it was okay.’ John Vincent also observed that, at that time, “sociology itself was ignorant about age as a source of identity, none of the textbooks had anything in it, it was just a blank”. For John and others, bringing gerontological perspectives into the teaching of sociology was ground-​ breaking in itself. Consequently, research routes are many and varied: some participants have followed linear paths, others less so; some have focused on clearly defined gerontological issues; others have addressed a more eclectic range

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of topics; and many have had to be entrepreneurial as well as creative in their approaches, especially where teaching has been involved. Of course, becoming and being an ‘academic gerontologist’ incorporates many other activities in addition to research, including supervising PhD students, writing for publication, course development, training and consultancy, and, for many people, management responsibilities of varying kinds. Many participants thus experienced a wide range of working roles, in some cases amounting to what might now be termed a ‘portfolio career’ –​characteristics also shared by those whose lives and careers in gerontology began and developed along practitioner routes. Academic pathways: practitioner routes Chapter 1 highlighted the numbers of participants with professional qualifications and, while some continued to identify primarily as practitioners throughout their careers, others moved into academia from a practitioner base. This route was followed especially by people who trained as social workers, including Julia Johnson, Ann Netten, Judith Phillips and Robin Means (though Robin was unusual in that he completed a PhD before becoming a social worker). Leaving a secure and successful professional career for academia, as nurse Mike Nolan did, could be a difficult decision to make. Like Mike, Ian Philp articulated his feelings of ambivalence when moving from medical practice: ‘I knew I’d be just so happy just seeing patients. And there’s such a joy in medicine from being able to meet people’s needs, and to have people’s trust in their lives and their wellbeing in your hands. So it was very difficult to consciously give up that as being the major focus of work to do academic work, which is one stage back from it. And the academic rewards are on a different time frame … I didn’t do academic work because I wanted to be an academic. I wanted to be an academic in order to influence policy and practice in the care of older people, but with a longer-​term return on the effort that you put in.’ The focus of Ian’s work later shifted again (see Chapter 2) before he returned to academia. For others, transitions from practice to academia could sometimes be extended ones, as for Julia Johnson, who moved early in her career between social work and research roles –​the latter both in university settings and with voluntary sector organisations. Meanwhile, some people were following pathways that focused

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more on knowledge exchange dimensions rather than on research or practitioner pathways into academic gerontology. Knowledge exchange pathways Academics working in universities typically undertake knowledge exchange as part of their role but, for some of our participants not primarily employed in universities, knowledge exchange has always been a fundamental and enduring element of their pathway. For example, Tessa Harding, an activist and former policy adviser for Help the Aged, describes herself as a “doer” and as someone who translates academic work for wider audiences, including practitioners: ‘I’ve always felt that what I do is a process of translation. I started out as a linguist and I’ve been translating ever since, or enabling translation between people who speak very different languages, coming from very different places. So I think that’s been a continuing thread.’ Gilly Crosby, who has spent most of her career at the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA), also explained her pathway in terms of helping to coordinate knowledge exchange and identify future priorities for ageing research: ‘I just felt a very, very strong desire to try and disseminate in whatever way I could … it’s also being able to monitor the gaps, which is often forgotten…. So it’s not just working with researchers in the field, but it’s also working with funders when they’re looking at new programmes that they might want to put together.’ In similar ways to Tessa and Gilly, others like Sally Greengross, who became Director of Age Concern England, and Eric Midwinter and Alison Norman who were Director and Deputy Director of the CPA, all followed pathways focusing on dimensions of knowledge exchange. Social worker Jim Traynor and community worker John Miles also worked in these ways, often encouraging and supporting the active involvement of older people themselves. Highlighting knowledge exchange as a pathway recognises that those who have developed their roles in this way have done so while also engaging with academia. Indeed, they have made –​and continue to make –​critical contributions to academic debates; to synthesising

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and translating research; in the training of professionals; to engaging with older people through community development, activism and campaigning; by leading voluntary sector organisations; and by engaging with and influencing policy makers. In many ways, the hybrid pathway illustrated in the next section reflects similar concerns and motivations for becoming involved in gerontology, the main difference being that these people were employed both in universities and in practice/​other settings, either concurrently or for extended times in their careers. Hybrid pathways The idea of a hybrid pathway was introduced by Mary Marshall, who said very clearly, “I define myself as a hybrid”. The overlap with the knowledge exchange pathway was also evident in Mary’s account, as she felt –​like Tessa Harding –​that her skill was more in “understanding and interpreting and using research” than in doing it, even though her career has included a lengthy period in academia. Likewise, Eric Midwinter described his career pathway as “partly academic and partly professional”, although it has been consistently underpinned by principles of citizen participation. We suggest that participants like Eileen Fairhurst, Bob Woods and Joanna Bornat also illustrate hybrid pathways. In Eileen’s case, there has been a reciprocal relationship between her academic work and her work chairing NHS trusts. Far from being separate, parallel activities, she emphasises the strong interconnections: ‘The way in which my academic life, and that kind of public life, are interconnected, is that I  always say I’m doing ethnography all the time: that method of constant comparison, the asking of questions: in what way? How come? That ability to do reflexivity all the time: those two things intersect, they’re not separate.’ For Bob Woods, maintaining his practice as a clinical psychologist alongside academic research and teaching has been similarly important. He describes how, early in his career, he was able to work “with the local authority in care homes … but also to carry out research studies”. Later posts involved combinations of clinical work, research, clinical psychology training, and grant getting. Then, at Bangor University for the latter part of his career, Bob tells us: ‘For most of the time I’ve been here I had several roles: one was working in the NHS in North Wales helping to set

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up memory clinics and working in those, and providing training placements for clinical psychologists. Then I was involved in the clinical psychology training programme … and then developing the research aspects of things, which … became centred … on the Dementia Services Development Centre, which we set up in about 1999…. A couple years ago I took flexible retirement, so … I’m purely focused now on the Dementia Services Development Centre.’ Joanna Bornat has followed what she describes as a “parallel life with oral history” in combination with varied research and educational posts in ageing, and with grassroots activism and political commitments. While pursuing a PhD focusing on oral history, she worked part-time for the Workers’ Educational Association, following this with positions in Help the Aged’s Education Department and the Educational Resources for Older People section of the Inner London Education Authority, before joining The Open University. Throughout, Joanna has been associated with the Oral History Society and, at the time of interview, was still a joint editor of the Oral History journal. As her pen portrait shows, she continues to be politically active in retirement as well as participating in community-​based oral history projects. We have seen, therefore, that a far more complex picture emerges of people’s gerontological pathways than that offered by existing understandings and conceptualisations of gerontology and gerontologists. So, the next question to consider is the extent to which those working in the field are united by common objectives and motivations.

Being a gerontological pioneer Whatever their pathways into and through gerontology, many  –​if not most –​participants referred implicitly or explicitly to their sense of being pioneers in a new and growing field. Tony Warnes reminds us that “in the early 1970s there were very few established academics around who called themselves gerontologists”, and Peter Coleman recalls that “ageing wasn’t part of the syllabus” when he first studied psychology and philosophy, commenting wryly that “it still isn’t, generally speaking”. Similarly, Robin Means remembers how few people on his social work course were interested in work with older people. Outside of academia, childcare was very much at the forefront of social work practice, with Jim Traynor observing that “trying to get any remit for, or … fighting the corner of older people, was actually very hard”. Clinical psychologists Chris Gilleard and Bob Woods

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shared this concern with the marginalisation of ageing issues, but, while Chris experienced “absolutely zilch interest” when trying to get the media interested in families supporting people living with dementia, Bob emphasised that “there was so much scope for development … [as] little had been done or established, so it felt like everything we were doing was new”. In addition, despite many participants being actively discouraged from working in ageing, this often had the opposite effect, reinforcing people’s motivation to do so. Bob Woods declared, “it’s a bit of bloody-​ mindedness, as well, I guess … as soon as people said ‘Oh, you’re stupid to, or crazy to, work with older people’, then I wanted to do it all the more … and to prove them wrong”. Judith Phillips also comments: ‘I could see a gap there … [it] was quite exciting to be at the wave of actually developing gerontology. So, I could see a big contribution of my work, but also it was quite exciting to be with others and working with others that were really pushing the frontiers back, so to speak. And, I think that’s been the most exciting bit.’ This potential meant that participants could quite rapidly carve out specific areas of expertise that formed the basis of their ongoing career development. There was also scope for improving practice with evidence of this happening at early stages in people’s careers. Participants spoke too about being able to develop their work in the directions they wanted and to implement change. Malcolm Johnson, for example, recalls how “there was almost absolute freedom: I did all manner of things that junior academics would have to work very hard to do now”. In addition, numerous references were made to the ways in which the marginalisation of gerontology, and the pioneering spirit it engendered, led to a great sense of collegiality, reinforced by membership of the BSG. In the words of Jill Manthorpe, “… it was always, we’re all in it together and we’re breaking new ground”.

Shared motivations Aside from the sense of being pioneers, participants also shared common motivations that brought them into gerontology and impelled them to continue to develop their careers in this field. Freedom and collegiality have already been mentioned, but other drivers included intellectual curiosity and enjoyment, as well as the desire to make a difference and to tackle social injustice and inequality. In fact, a concern

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for social justice and the desire to improve the lives of older people was the most common response to questions about motivation. The drive to address inequality, and ageism in particular, was foregrounded strongly in many people’s accounts, including that of Alan Walker, for whom challenging inequality was the main reason he became a gerontologist. Participants varied as to whether, and to what extent, they described such motivation in politicised terms, with John Miles being an example of someone who did so quite explicitly. John comments that: ‘I was “testing” myself: the application of techniques from other struggles –​anti-​racism etcetera –​and I was trying to use quite radical approaches to voice and participation with people who were in no way radical by outlook, but who needed –​and asked for –​support to speak their own truth to power and challenge the weight of condescension.’ While we have seen that there was potential for some quick wins in achieving change, it is also a long-​term endeavour requiring determination and resilience. These characteristics were crucial to sustaining careers over many years and, again, this was often discussed in the context of ageism and the marginalisation of ageing research. As Tom Kirkwood observed: ‘I think the history of gerontology has, to some extent, been … characterised by an unwillingness –​whether one’s a scientist, whether one’s a social scientist, whether one’s a clinical researcher –​to accept the overwhelmingly negative view that society has, generally, of age and the ageing process. So I think each of us, in different ways, has had to battle against resistance … so one might even say prejudice, but certainly resistance.’ Likewise, Peter Coleman, who despite being (in his own words) “rather shy, withdrawn, introverted”, asserted that “this is important enough a subject to stand up for and not to compromise on”. Alongside a desire for social justice, intellectual curiosity  –​or as Bleddyn Davies calls it, “the intrinsic interest in trying to work things out” –​was fundamental for many people. Julia Twigg commented: ‘What drives me in research is curiosity, if I’m honest. I just love starting a new project, reading about new things. Also, the business of the interviews: the slight trepidation

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as one starts the interview; which way it’ll go, that kind of thing; and the curiosity about other people’s lives and other people’s experience.’ As can be seen first-​hand in the project films, participants often talked passionately about their work, and about the interest, fulfilment and enjoyment they experienced. Anthea Tinker spoke for many when she said, “a lot of us who’re in gerontology do actually enjoy the subject”, while Randall Smith emphasised the close connections between subject matter, people and place noted earlier in this chapter: ‘And the point being  –​I  think this is a very important point to make –​is that I’ve wanted to do this because I like what I’m doing, and I like where I do it. Which is to do with colleagues and that sort of thing … working with people. And, being the School for Policy Studies, that also means collaborative endeavours with institutions outside the university.’ Given people’s motivations and their different pathways into and within the field of ageing, the remaining question is whether or not participants define themselves as gerontologists.

Identifying as a gerontologist Throughout the book we refer to participants as gerontologists, largely as an all-​encompassing, shorthand term for those who have worked extensively in the field of ageing. However, as we shall see in this section, by no means all participants (whether academics, practitioners, or a blend of both) actually identified as gerontologists. Reflecting on the pathways discussed earlier calls into question what part people’s disciplinary backgrounds play in their relationship with gerontology and, also, whether those who have developed their pathways outside of academia feel willing and able to call themselves gerontologists. We suggest too, that the reasons people do or do not define themselves in this way reveals a range of unwritten criteria that are crucial for any future conceptualisation of gerontology. Those who identified primarily as gerontologists had varied and contrasting relationships with their base disciplines and/​or professions. For some, like Mike Nolan, identifying as a gerontologist is more about motivation, a desire to make a difference, and the fact that he does not want to be seen as a “gerontological nurse”. Mike’s approach

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is to try “to produce insights that wouldn’t be nursing, and wouldn’t necessarily be exclusively gerontological either”. By contrast, Peter Coleman’s disciplinary background is at the forefront of his identity. Indeed, he has the title Professor of Psychogerontology, noting that “I think I’m still the only person who uses that title and I’ve used it more to stand up for what I believe in, which is a developmental psychology of ageing”. Meanwhile, sociologists we interviewed were divided as to whether or not they identified as gerontologists. John Vincent argued the case for adopting a gerontological identity, saying: ‘I was always fairly opportunistic about how I described myself and I usually used the term gerontologist, or social gerontologist, when I didn’t want to have to explain my way out of some of the baggage that a sociologist label attracts. And, if you use the term anthropology which I quite often do –​because that is genuinely my first and prime discipline –​many people simply don’t know what it is: it needs another explanation. So, I mean, gerontologist does work … it’s very useful in … not carrying some of the baggages that other social science labels carry.’ In some cases, participants identified more with their core discipline earlier in their careers, but had come to identify as gerontologists over time. Tony Warnes commented that after beginning his academic career in human geography, he had –​to some degree at least –​left this discipline behind to become primarily a social gerontologist. Tom Kirkwood also increasingly defined himself as a gerontologist, which may be more surprising given his science background: ‘I would not have called myself a gerontologist, certainly, 20 years ago…. I would probably describe myself, in most encounters, as a biomedical gerontologist … bridging the biology and the medical side…. Gerontology is a broad term to which I’m happy to declare my affiliation.’ As with Peter Coleman, professorial titles in particular could result in gerontological identities being foregrounded, or not. Malcolm Johnson took the title Professor of Gerontology and End of Life Care when he moved to the University of Bath, and saw this as “pinning his colours to the gerontology mast”. Sometimes, titles reflected both disciplinary and gerontological identities. Alan Walker used to be Professor of Social Policy, but is now Professor of Social Policy and

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Social Gerontology, describing himself as “happy to have one foot in one camp and one foot in the other”. He notes too that he would be “less of a gerontologist” if he did not also work in social policy. Similarly, Chris Phillipson deliberately requested a professorial title that included both sociology and social gerontology when he moved to the University of Manchester, but confesses: “I’m less and less convinced about the status of social gerontology, as opposed to sociology, and the study of social aspects of ageing within it”. Paul Higgs chose the title Professor of Sociology of Ageing, seeing social gerontology as a sub-​field of sociology. Among those who do define as a gerontologist, such designation was clearly of varying degrees of importance as part of their identity. Simon Biggs says “I call myself a gerontologist”, but quickly comments that “I don’t really think about it, to be honest … it’s there in the background”. For Simon, the lack of accreditation also distances gerontology from other professional identities. Others, like Robin Means and Judith Phillips, are unequivocal about gerontology being their core interest and motivation. Although he has not always focused exclusively on ageing research, Robin says: ‘I do define myself as a gerontologist. And it was one of the things that really helped me, working in an environment, quite often, where gerontology isn’t a central focus, or ageing research isn’t the central focus…. I’m a gerontologist: ageing research is my area, my passion, and my interest.’ Judith responded similarly: ‘If anyone asks, “What do you do?” I  will say, “I’m a gerontologist”. Not a social scientist or a geographer or social worker or anything, it’s always a gerontologist. So that is where my identity is. And, I think it’s probably somebody who is multidisciplinary … has a deep interest in ageing and looks at it in the round but also … is quite theoretical as well as empirical.’ For two participants who followed what we termed a knowledge exchange pathway, membership of the BSG was critical to them identifying as gerontologists. Jim Traynor identified as a gerontologist from when he first became involved with the BSG, noting that “in one sense it seemed to be more acceptable than social worker”. Tessa Harding also identifies as a gerontologist but, at the same time, felt

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somewhat on the edges of the gerontological community until she was awarded the BSG’s Outstanding Achievement Award: ‘I think it’s been really important … it’s one of the reference points against which you adjust your thinking and your perception of what’s going on in the world and it’s always been absolutely key in that respect. But I haven’t felt like an insider really until the Outstanding Achievement Award, and that made me feel suddenly, “Oh, I belong!” ’ A context-​contingent identity Some participants discussed how identifying as a gerontologist was highly contingent on context. Again, some people’s accounts reflect a sense of being ‘on the edge’ of the gerontological community rather than central to it. Joanna Bornat identifies as a gerontologist “in some contexts … if it’s appropriate”, but felt it was not her “core identity” and that she identifies more strongly with colleagues in oral history and adult education. Her reasons reveal a number of criteria for confidently identifying as a gerontologist in that she had never taught gerontology, had no practitioner background, and felt she still “had a lot of learning to do”. She compared her involvement with others more “immersed” in it, noting that in situations when she wanted to draw on her gerontological expertise, for example when involved in local campaigns around health and social care, she preferred to say something like, “I used to know a lot about ageing because I worked in that field”. Joanna also spoke about how the public [lack of] understanding of the term was problematic, with people tending to mistake gerontologists for geriatricians. Julia Johnson found this lack of understanding made her feel uncomfortable about identifying as a gerontologist, something she only did when talking to other gerontologists. She commented: ‘I think the ordinary bod on the street, so to speak, will have no idea what I’m talking about, and it sounds kind of a bit pretentious, really. So I tend to say, well, I was teaching ageing research, policy, that sort of thing.’ By contrast, Tom Kirkwood felt that part of the reason he was able to identify as a gerontologist was because people now have “better recognition of the term” and it does not require the same degree of

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explanation  –​though, again, this could depend on context, as Jay Ginn makes clear: ‘It depends who’s asking. If it’s the National Pensioners Convention or the EU Age Platform, I’ll call myself a social gerontologist. But, in other fora, I would be a sociologist or a social researcher. So it all depends who I’m talking to, what their interests are. All those labels are accurate, but each is more relevant and understandable to a particular audience.’ The context-​contingent use of the title could also extend to how people presented themselves in job interviews. Christina Victor pointed to times in her career when she “covertly” thought of herself as “a sort of social gerontologist with a small ‘s’ and a small ‘g’ ” while, at the same time, having to present herself as something different depending on what job she was being interviewed for. However, others preferred not to identify as gerontologists at all, for a variety of reasons. Not identifying as a gerontologist In some cases, those who did not define as a gerontologist again related this to their disciplinary background. Ian Philp prefers his title of Professor of Healthcare for Older People, saying: ‘In terms of being a gerontologist, I don’t define myself as a gerontologist because I’m not at the leading edge of research. But, I will be a translator of gerontological research into trying to improve systems of care for older people.’ Similarly, while Bob Woods “felt most like a gerontologist” in the years when running a gerontology programme at Bangor University, he still identifies primarily as a clinical psychologist. In common with many other participants, he also describes himself as feeling a “bit of a fraud”, wondering whether he should have signed up and done the course so that he could legitimately call himself a gerontologist. Such uncertainty and ambivalence was shared too by participants with social science and humanities backgrounds. Bleddyn Davies asked, “Can I call myself a gerontologist?” and then answered, “No, there are so many areas that I haven’t got the faintest about, and so I can’t really call myself a gerontologist”. For Margaret Boneham, the focus of her work had not been sufficiently dominated by ageing to warrant identifying herself as a gerontologist. She said:

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‘I wouldn’t consider myself a mainstream gerontologist, no. But, I’ve dabbled in it and found it fascinating and I think that’s probably as far as I would take it.’ A number of sociologists were also reluctant to identify as gerontologists. Sara Arber identifies “as a medical sociologist”; Eileen Fairhurst refers to herself as “a sociologist who studies ageing”; and Jonathan Barker said that while he “certainly promoted the idea of being a social gerontologist” earlier in his career, his own perspective was “probably more that of a sociologist or social policy person”. Randall Smith too thinks of himself as a social policy analyst rather than a gerontologist, based on the fact that his main interest is in the policy process. One reason people gave for focusing on their core discipline was that not all of their work was to do with ageing. Anne Jamieson, for example, preferred to conceptualise her work as life-​course studies, arguing that gerontology is often seen as just being about older people while she is “just as interested in midlife as later life”. Finally, while we saw earlier that some people increasingly identified as gerontologists as their careers progressed, others like Ken Blakemore and Leonie Kellaher felt that a change of emphasis later in their careers meant they no longer felt that being a gerontologist was the core part of their professional identity.

Conclusion When designing our project and identifying participants, we wanted to reflect the broad range of contributors to gerontology rather than focusing, as we could have done, on a narrowly defined group of university academics, perhaps linked to the three foundational disciplines of psychology, sociology and biology. As we have seen in this chapter and in the pen portraits in Chapter 2, our participants followed varied pathways into and within gerontology, underpinned by myriad influences and motivations. Whatever their routes, participants rarely felt they had followed a well-​planned and coherent career path, but rather a combination of opportunities and serendipity. Nor were the pathways we identified mutually exclusive. In addition, it is clearly the case that valuable contributions to the development of British gerontology have been made by those who remained firmly within their original discipline; by those who have, to some degree at least, left it behind; and by those who have worked outside of academia. Yet, it is also apparent that for a range of reasons –​from lack of accreditation, to doubts about their breadth of knowledge or experience, to concerns

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about lack of public understanding  –​that many participants felt, or still feel, unable or unwilling to identify as gerontologists. Even among those who do, there is ambivalence; others report having felt “on the edges” of the gerontological community. Given these varied experiences and feelings about becoming and being a gerontologist, we turn our attention in the next chapter to exploring the ways in which personal ageing may have affected participants’ work lives and vice versa.

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The personal and the professional Introduction Having seen how our project participants came to be gerontologists, and what this has meant to them subsequently in career terms, we focus now on the intersections between the professional and the personal. Given that, to date, relatively few gerontologists have interrogated their own experiences of ageing, the invitation to do so as part of the project was a unique opportunity. Participants were asked to consider the ways in which personal ageing may have affected their work lives, and, vice versa, in terms of whether professional knowledge and awareness has been a help or a hindrance when it comes to navigating one’s own ageing, or the ageing of close family and friends. This chapter explores both these dimensions. It looks first at the sources and nature of professional knowledge that people draw on and, as a consequence, at the range of practical strategies and activities they have put in place to manage their own and others’ ageing. It then addresses the ways in which experiences of ageing have affected participants’ professional lives. Again, this includes very practical examples relating to teaching, researching and writing, as well as reflections on key issues such as the nature of caring, end of life, and ageing without children. In the last part of the chapter, participants reflect more on the disappointments, surprises and challenges that accompany their personal and professional experiences. We also highlight the complexities of the interrelationship between these two dimensions, showing that the distinction is something of a false dichotomy. Indeed, personal and family experiences of ageing hold up a mirror to professional knowledge and awareness that may be challenging and uncomfortable.

Reflexive gerontologists With some notable exceptions, relatively few UK gerontologists have yet chosen to examine the links between their personal experiences of ageing and their professional involvements, although, as Cathrine Degnen (2015: 110) suggests, there is now an entire cohort of (cultural) gerontologists –​shaped by a particular time and place in history –​who

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are able to reflect differently on the ageing process, including their own ageing. A number of the senior gerontologists interviewed for this project are indeed part of this cohort and have, on occasion, drawn on their own biographies and experiences in their academic writings (Fairhurst, 1997; Bernard, 2000; Phillips and Bernard, 2000; Biggs, 2008; Phillipson, 2008; Twigg, 2008, 2015; Bytheway, 2011; Arber and Timonen, 2012; Jamieson, 2016). These examples chime with the work of the pioneering American gerontologist/​psychologist Bernice Neugarten, who, throughout her career, championed the value of linking individual human lives with social and cultural structures and contexts. Some 30  years ago, she wrote about these self-​same connections in relation to her own ageing and academic life (Neugarten, 1988) for a collection edited by the late Matilda White Riley (1988) tracing the emergence of social gerontology in the decades after the Second World War. Powell Lawton (1990, 2000)  –​a key figure in the development of environmental gerontology –​was another psychologist whose writings include reflections on his career, his own ageing and expectations of later life. Only a few years before she died at the age of 91 in 2014, American sociologist/​gerontologist Elaine Brody (2010: 2) also wrote from ‘my perspective as a gerontologist and from my perspective as an individual grown old’, articulating very poignantly some of the ways in which the personal and the professional ‘inevitably mingle’. At the start of the millennium, James Birren and Johannes Schroots (2000) published a history of geropsychology. As editors, they invited ‘mature pioneers of the field to write their autobiographies and tell the stories of their careers’ (Birren and Schroots, 2000:  2). These autobiographical stories, together with ‘biosketches’ of early pioneers who are no longer alive, and information about the emergence of geropsychology in different countries, show how research, scholarship and educational programmes in the subject emerged during the field’s formative phase, and how it has evolved since. Then, over a decade ago now, a special issue of the Journal of Aging Studies (2008) dedicated to the memory of British gerontologist Mike Hepworth, addressed the relationship of critical gerontologists with their subject. Its 16 articles and essays, by 13 North American and three British contributors, reflect on what Ruth Ray (2008:  97) calls the ‘coming of age in critical gerontology’ and the extent to which personal reflection can or should be central to gerontological endeavours. This collective act of self-​reflection and self-​critique illustrates the differing ways in which it is possible to ‘write from the personal’ and ‘become historical to oneself ’, in Rick Moody’s words (2008: 208). Stephen Katz (2015: 31),

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one of the contributors to that special issue, has written further about this topic, concluding that ‘when our work and careers are looked at reflexively, they provide exciting individual portals into how biography, imagination, ideas and circumstance are connected to our pursuit of critical perspectives’. Such autobiographical writing is, of course, somewhat different from being the subject of biographies written by others, although both types of undertaking shed light on the connections between professional and personal dimensions of people’s lives. Again from the US, we have biographies of pioneers in gerontology, including the late American scholar, psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize-​winning author Bob Butler (Achenbaum, 2013), and, in the UK, Eric Midwinter –​ social historian, educationalist, co-​founder of the University of the Third Age, and former Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing –​ has been profiled and celebrated (Hardie, 2015). The interactions between the professional and the personal are similarly captured in volumes honouring luminaries in the field such as Powell Lawton (Rubinstein et al, 2000), or in special issues of particular journals dedicated to the memories of key figures. Examples include an issue of the Journal of Aging, Humanities and the Arts (2010) dedicated to the life and work of gero-​psychiatrist Gene Cohen; and an issue of The International Journal of Reminiscence and Life Review (2018) dedicated to psychologist James Birren. In addition, some 25  years ago, a biographical inventory of 300 profiles of key researchers, teachers and practitioners in gerontology was compiled to mark the 50th anniversary of the Gerontological Society of America (Achenbaum and Albert, 1995). And, in the UK, biographies and profiles of prominent geriatricians –​from Marjory Warren to key figures of the day –​can be found on the website of the British Geriatrics Society (www.bgs.org.uk/​about/​archive). Given these examples, it is perhaps surprising that gerontologists have not taken this a step further and engaged in empirical research in this area until very recently. Just before our own research project began, Dana Bradley and her colleagues in the US (Brown et al, 2015) embarked on the Women in Gerontology Legacy Project in 2014. Emanating from the Gerontological Society of America’s Task Force on Women, their project seeks to capture the life-​course trajectories of older women gerontologists by means of filmed, structured interviews, some of which are available on YouTube (www.youtube.com/​ channel/​UC-​TVxPXg_​azSnGn4XQxZecw). The Ageing of British Gerontology project was therefore the first time empirical research on this topic had been conducted in the UK.

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Before turning to the findings on the interrelationship between the professional and the personal, it is important to preface this discussion by acknowledging that while many people were comfortable discussing the ways in which their professional knowledge and academic understanding provided insights into their own ageing or the ageing of family and friends, they varied in the extent to which they wished to discuss their own experiences of ageing or its impacts. At one end of the spectrum were people like Paul Higgs who responded by saying, “In terms of personal ageing, I suppose I haven’t really thought about it”, and Maria Evandrou who joked that she only thought about it “at the weekends … I’m too busy during the week”. Chris Phillipson too asserts that: “I don’t have any great insights into my own ageing. It’s there, manifest, but … I’m afraid I’m not terribly hung up on examining it in terms of its intrusion into my professional life”. At the opposite end of the spectrum were those who clearly relished the opportunity to reflect further on this topic. For Eileen Fairhurst, the relationship between personal and professional experiences has been entwined throughout her career. Likewise, Simon Biggs draws direct parallels between the age focus of his work and his own life course, having started his research career focusing on adolescence, then looking at midlife, and, at the time of his interview with us, now working on dementia. Others found that being asked about this as part of a research project had prompted them to reflect on the connections between their own ageing and their professional lives as gerontologists for the very first time.

Being a gerontologist: the professional as it informs the personal We begin by exploring the ways in which participants drew on their gerontological knowledge to reflect on, and navigate, their own ageing and that of close family and friends. For some participants, it was evident that specific reading and/​or specific people had influenced their views. Ian Philp credits Peter Coleman’s (1986) original work on reminiscence, and his introduction to Erik Erikson’s psychological challenges through life, as important stimuli in getting him to reflect on his ageing self. Likewise, John Bond identifies German psychologist Freya Dittmann-​ Kohli (Dittmann-​Kohli and Jopp, 2007) as being influential in shaping his thinking on the meanings he attaches to his own ageing: ‘Her chapter in the third edition [of Ageing in society: European perspectives on gerontology] on the meaning of being an older

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person was really, was very informative to me: I really took it to heart and started thinking about my own personal ageing.’ More generally, others like Robin Means were aware that they had absorbed professional knowledge and literature over the years and that: ‘Suddenly, you start comparing your own biography and projected biography against the literature in a kind of interesting way … what is a good old age, what is active ageing, suddenly, is about me and my life.’ Peter Coleman too is acutely aware of how his professional background informs his sense of his own ageing: ‘Because I had that background in lifespan developmental psychology –​which I owed to my period in the Netherlands and my contact with Central European Psychology  –​[I have] … always had this kind of sense of life proceeding in stages, you know? Not just in one block. I’ve always been conscious: what am I doing now at this stage of life, and so on? So I’m always looking at these theories and seeing how, to an extent, they are reflected in my life.’ Coming from a similar background and perspective, Simon Biggs both echoes and expands on this theme, finding that his professional knowledge as a gerontologist is helpful in navigating transitions and challenges at different stages of life and being aware of the importance of making the most of the time that remains: ‘I think it’s a funny thing that gerontology does to you, because you’re thinking about ageing in a way that most people on the street don’t think about it. So it’s present for you … and it’s something that helps you reflect upon yourself and where you’re going and what you’re planning. And I think, as you mature yourself, you can see the truth of some of the things that gerontology expresses in your own experience … being more relaxed about life; also, valuing things more; being less anxious about achievements and your position in the world, and more concerned about the fact that you know you’ve got a limited number of years. You don’t know how many, but you know it’s limited.’

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The late Ken Blakemore also spoke poignantly about how his gerontological knowledge is linked directly to his attitude to life: ‘It’s led me to expect happiness, or more satisfaction in later life, which has generally come true. I mean, there are always setbacks and losses. I’ve been through some bad losses … but there was always that light at the end of the tunnel that I’d read this research about how, in your sixties, that … unless you get a serious illness, you feel the most fulfilled, and maybe even beyond that. So gerontology’s given me a very positive outlook towards ageing, which is sort of coming true, partly because I’ve decided it’s going to come true.’ Although unwell at the time of his interview, Ken talked of his accentuated focus on “living for the day”, and described his “sense of brevity” as being “not a gloomy or pessimistic thing” but rather “a kind of intensity of experience” in which, as a writer, he was determined “to get these things written while I can”. Similarly, Sally Greengross comments that: ‘I also don’t know whether I  would appreciate the borrowedness of time as much as I do if I didn’t work in this field…. Maybe you appreciate time more because you’re aware.’ Thus, for many participants, professional knowledge and awareness is intimately bound up with a growing interest in, and increased awareness of, one’s own ageing, even if, for some people like Tom Kirkwood, this is described in terms of rather detached, academic curiosity: ‘I don’t think ageing particularly bothers me … I’m interested. I kind of experience my own ageing … with curiosity, interest, sometimes frustration.’ Others like Chris Gilleard are conscious that although they “share this generational discourse” they do not wish to be defined by age; while John Miles contends that gerontologists have a responsibility to use what they know to reflect on their own ageing because “unless we are willing ourselves to be old, we won’t be creating a positive social construction”. Using one’s professional knowledge to reflect on one’s own ageing is but one aspect of this issue. Another common use of the gerontological knowledge people have accumulated was very practical:  many

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participants spoke about the range of strategies and activities they have put in place to manage their own and others’ ageing. This was particularly evident when people were discussing health and care-​related elements of their lives. Like others, Jim Traynor tries to follow a healthy lifestyle, knowing that staying active and going to the gym is helpful: ‘In one sense I go to the gym not just for that, but it helps to know there’s a degree of dexterity and flexibility [that] will help, hopefully. But you don’t know what’s around the corner.’ Jim’s quotation also contains a sense of precariousness –​often linked to actual or anticipated loss of activities or abilities –​and this was a recurring theme across many accounts. Professionally, Mary Marshall understands the importance of prompt treatment when a hip replacement is required, but, in her own case, was frustrated that the limitations of the healthcare system were undermining her efforts to stay active: ‘I’m waiting for a new hip, and I’m waiting and waiting and waiting. And I know that the longer I wait, the less competent I’ll get … I will get it, but … if you do it quickly, people can retain their muscle strength and keep going. And I know that well: I’m working on it of course because I know enough about it, but that’s grievously disappointing, that all the things we know don’t apply in practice.’ Other participants were using their gerontological knowledge to anticipate potential future situations. Randall Smith, for example, talked about some of the steps he had taken, including making advanced directives and appointing a Power of Attorney, highlighting that he had shared this knowledge –​gained through his gerontological work –​with other colleagues. Christina Victor too was thinking about end-​of-​life planning: ‘For me, I  guess my academic knowledge has made me think, I am going to die. And I hope it won’t be for a long time yet, but … nevertheless it will happen…. I need to think about what I need to do to make sure that everything’s … sorted, because … if I want to have an influence on the decisions that are made about my end of life, I need to get them down now, and I need to tell people.’

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In practical terms, Christina had prepared a “care home box” for herself, knowing that if she did one day have to go into a home, she may not have the time to collect together the things that matter to her: ‘I’ve got my box of things that I’m going to take to my care home. Everybody in the family thinks [I’m]…. Because I keep saying, “Look … I might end up in a care home”. So I guess this must be through my work. I’ve never really thought about it like that. You know most people go into a care home as a result of an emergency … so I’ve got my box of things that are important.’ People also spoke about the ways in which they used their gerontological knowledge to assist family members, either with difficult decisions and/​ or when dealing with other professionals, although, as Jim Traynor wryly remarked, “as a social worker, you can’t be a social worker in your own family”. John Bond’s understanding of the value of social networks in later life, especially when one has lived in the same place for many years, meant that he knew of the risks facing his bereaved father if he relocated to live nearer to his family. He refers to a critical conversation with a family member: ‘It was kind of at a fairly intellectual level, this conversation, about … if you move people away from their social support. There’s all sorts of social support around him that you don’t recognise as being there, which is people and places and the walk every day: he went along to the village shop to buy his newspaper and back. And the fact that he saw and recognised and talked to a whole host of people was important…. But, that was only … through the basis of understanding social networks and the experience of older people: how moving people away from place would be a disaster for some.’ Several other participants spoke about how professional knowledge could be helpful in navigating the workings of the care system and, in some cases, obtaining services and benefits family members were entitled to. As Maria Evandrou comments: ‘So, if family members are in hospital or they’re being considered for care packages, you know what the politics

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of that is…. And you bring out your gerontological elbows to get to the queue.’ That said, Maria was also aware that there were situations when it was better to remove her “professional hat” and simply be a family member, albeit one who was able to ask knowledgeable questions: ‘If it involves my family, I don’t want to put them off. I want them to do their job in a confident way … and they’re just often surprised that I’m asking very informed questions. And so it doesn’t help … if I tell her I’m a Professor of Gerontology [when] at the time, we’re trying to deal with turning the person, or the practicalities of the care package. So, at the time, I was the niece; I’m the daughter; I’m the sister.’ As gerontologists, then, participants had, to varying degrees, been able to integrate their professional and academic knowledge into their lives, using it to reflect on their ageing selves and on the ageing of those close to them, as well as finding it helpful in navigating aspects of the care system and knowing how to advocate for family and friends if circumstances demanded it. However, there were examples too of the ways in which personal experiences of ageing had both informed professional interests and challenged what people thought they knew about ageing. This is the other side of the coin –​the side we examine next.

Being an ageing gerontologist: the personal as it informs the professional Personal or family experiences of ageing have, in their turn, shaped the professional lives of participants. Its impact manifests itself in various ways, from very practical examples of its influence on choosing research topics to study and using personal experiences of ageing in writing and teaching, through to reflecting further on one’s changing relationship with the field and with those we work with as we ourselves grow older. It was noted at the start of the chapter that some participants have drawn on their own biographies in their academic writings; some, like Sara Arber, Bill Bytheway and Anne Jamieson, spoke about this in their interview. Bill had drawn on his own experiences of ageing when he wrote Unmasking age (Bytheway, 2011), while becoming

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a grandparent prompted Sara to compile a book on contemporary grandparenting (Arber and Timonen, 2012) in response to the limited literature on this topic: ‘When I became a grandparent about six years ago, I thought, “Where’s the sociology of grandparenting?” There wasn’t much: there was older US stuff … psychological bits on grandparenting and things like that, and relationships…. But there wasn’t much sociology of grandparenting. And I  was very conscious that grandparenting now is very different from what it had been 20 or 30 years ago … so then I organised a couple of sessions at an ISA [International Sociological Association] conference on grandparenting, and then thought it was worthwhile to edit a book on it. And … to look cross-​nationally at grandparenting and, particularly, the way in which different welfare states and provision of care for children impacts on grandparents’ role.’ At the time of her interview, Anne Jamieson had just completed an article for publication that included explicit reflection on her own experiences of retirement and the challenges and opportunities associated with now being able to completely structure one’s own time (Jamieson, 2016). Personal ageing was also reflected in topics that people either had, or were currently researching or thinking about. Christina Victor’s experiences as a lifelong swimmer had influenced her interest in the role of physical activity in ageing and later life as a research area. By contrast, Eileen Fairhurst  –​who had experienced a stroke in her thirties –​spoke about how she drew on this experience in her academic writing and conference presentations as a way of reclaiming and reasserting her (academic) identity during a very difficult time (Fairhurst, 1997). Both she and Julia Johnson also discussed what ageing without children and/​or grandchildren meant to them. Eileen had experienced the devastating loss of her three children, and, referring to work by the Beth Johnson Foundation (2016), she reflected on the challenges posed in particular by family occasions, as well as on how other relationships, such as with nieces, nephews and friends, become all the more important. Julia talked about the worry of not being able to pass on, for example, family photographs that have been given to her by older relatives. She related this to the concept of ‘succession’, which, she suggests, “has been very much neglected in gerontology”.

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More practically, there were also examples of some participants using their personal experiences of ageing –​and/​or that of those close to them –​in teaching, or to inform other aspects of their professional work. When Sara Arber was designing and undertaking research work on sleep in care homes, she found the experience of visiting her mother in a care home each week over a six-​year period to be “actually helpful”. In Mary Marshall’s case, serious ethical concerns she had about the treatment her late father received led her to give a series of lectures for Alzheimer’s Disease International: ‘He became a kind of case study. I don’t know if he would have liked it or not, but I suppose in some sense there’s an ethical issue about using him. But he was a great social change campaigner, so I  think he probably would have been okay. A whole range of major ethical issues came out of that experience, which is very salutary and important.’ Mary also talks graphically about how she brings her own health experiences into her teaching of students: ‘Increasingly when I  stand up and teach I  say, “Look at me”: I’ve got arthritis; my proprioceptors are shot because I  have two plastic joints and arthritis…. In terms of sensory impairment, I’ve got the beginnings of macular degeneration. I  know exactly what that looks like … if you’ve a big grey blob in the middle of your eyes, you walk into things…. And so what I benefit very directly from is experiencing what I’m teaching. And I don’t know what the dickens the people I’m teaching make of it when I say, “Look at me” as I cross the floor, watching the floor…. And, if you’re experiencing complexity, it’s really useful in a macabre sort of way.’ In addition, a number of people reflected on how, as we grow older, we in a sense become our work and, in research terms, become part of the ‘in-​group’. Julia Twigg spoke about this in relation to her research on clothing in later life: ‘I think aspects of my own ageing come into my research now, because I’m my subject, as it were…. On the clothing front, I faced the “changing room moment”: I’ve gone in

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there, tried on the dress, and thought, “No, Julia, that is not for you anymore”. So … that feeds into my interest in what’s happening.’ Earlier in her interview, she also reflected on the shift she has experienced from starting out her career as significantly younger than her older research participants and then reaching a similar age: ‘I think, when I started doing research on age, I was in my forties. And although I was very committed to improving the lives of frail older people, inevitably … they were frail older people: distant; there’s a distance that’s there with age. And I suppose, as I get older, I’m conscious that I’m now in the category that I used to study, and still study, as it were. So it is something that provokes reflection.’ Echoing Julia Twigg, Bob Woods also talks about no longer being able to ‘other’ older patients as he grew older himself, and how challenging this realisation was: ‘Latterly, all my clinical work was in memory clinics, seeing people concerned about their memory and perhaps in the early stage of dementia. And, increasingly, I began to see people younger than myself, and that was a very odd sort of feeling in lots of ways…. I think in clinical work, older adult psychologists have this sort of privileged position for most of their careers of being able to feel, “Well, I’m not in that position”. But then, as you age, suddenly you are…. So I think that was a big change.’ For Robin Means and Randall Smith, being an ageing gerontologist sometimes has the advantage of conferring greater authority in professional situations. Randall describes how, as an “older person”, he can justifiably be seen as representing the “user voice” in meetings with research partners and other organisations. For Robin, this relates to co-​production in research: having now become part of the ‘in-​ group’, he feels in a stronger position to interrogate the motivations and rationale behind co-​production in different types of research contexts, as he now has “the authority of being the same age”. A somewhat different perspective is provided by Bob Woods and John Miles, who both felt that they had their strongest relationships with older people in the early days of their careers. Bob says:

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‘The relationships I  had with patients at that time were among the best in my career in that there was something –​ in my understanding [of] the dynamics –​that they would treat me as a grandson. But, as I got older and I began to be treated more as the child, the son, then it was much more difficult, because that maybe reflected real tensions that people had, whereas grandchildren always seem to have a special place in older people’s view of the world, I think.’ In his work with older people, John felt that being younger was “an inherent advantage” in that however false a position it really was, it did mean that people saw you as having “more authority” as the person responsible for the budget and who “has to get the results”. As he had got older himself, he increasingly found that he had lost that “generational position” when working in settings such as discussion groups or consultations and that this, in turn, “alters the basis on which you start looking to make connections and solidarities”. That said, John also reflected on his recent experience of having been an ‘older’ research student trying to relate to younger gerontologists embarking on their careers: ‘What I think I really most enjoyed playing around with as a student within a gerontology setting was: what is it that, as a senior or an elder in this place, this situation, what do you offer? What should a conversation with [a younger gerontologist] be about in relation to career, growing up, making choices? And how do you communicate stuff without being boring, or just absorbed with the context in which you grew up? Which is a very difficult … becomes a difficult thing to carry around with you without getting up other people’s noses. So I enjoyed that as a challenge.’ The discussion thus far, hints at some of the ways in which personal and family experiences of ageing may be challenging and uncomfortable, both personally and professionally. Next, we look more closely at some of these challenges and at the surprises and disappointments that accompany ageing for participants.

Disappointments, surprises and challenges In terms of the intersections between the professional and the personal, participants were asked whether there was anything about their own or

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their family experiences of ageing that challenged what they thought they knew professionally and academically. The examples that came most readily to mind were often to do with caring: many interviews included accounts of caring for older relatives, particularly parents, during periods of declining health, in residential or hospital care and, in many cases, at the end of life. Such experiences prompted deeply challenging insights into the issues that had been a core focus of their work for many years and made them acutely aware of the limits to their own professional knowledge and awareness. In Mary Gilhooly’s case, it was only when she had to support her mother and her aunt that she found herself “living and breathing the stuff … that I’ve been reading about for years”, and that “suddenly I could understand what this really meant”. Similarly, caring for her own mother led Ann Netten to a realisation of “the limitations on informal care, which I had not really appreciated … it’s a hugely difficult role, and some people seem to do amazing things with it”. When Tessa Harding retired, she too spent three years caring for her stepmother who had dementia. Even with the knowledge and experience Tessa had, she described how difficult this was: ‘And there simply is grossly inadequate support. There’s nobody to share responsibility with…. That’s what I found most difficult. It wasn’t the lack of information, although there was a lack of that … it was accessing services because there basically weren’t any. I couldn’t even get an assessment for her or for me as her carer.’ In fact, by the time her stepmother died, Tessa herself was “in a state of collapse”. Likewise, Mike Nolan and Tom Kirkwood spoke about how caring for someone with dementia tested their own knowledge and professional insights. Mike found this especially difficult because, professionally, he had been responsible for developing approaches to assessment to improve the care of frail older people and had produced well-​used and well-​regarded guidelines for carers (Nolan et al, 1998). He gave a moving account of his family’s experiences of supporting his mother through depression and dementia in the final years of her life and, although the guidelines were not technically wrong, Mike said: ‘You know I produced guidelines on how you should do this, and all the things you should look for. But, when it comes to doing it yourself, it’s just an entirely different

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experience. When you know everything you should be doing, but actually doing it with your own parents is a very, very much more challenging experience than I  imagined it might be.’ Tom Kirkwood also reflected on living with someone with dementia and spoke for many when he acknowledged that “however much you know about it professionally, you can’t anticipate what it actually feels like”. Other participants echoed these feelings when talking about the anxieties accompanying their own ageing or their support of those close to them. Joanna Bornat reflects on this issue in relation to her mother: ‘I think I used that [professional/​gerontological] knowledge to judge what I thought would be good for her and, at different points, I don’t know, I sometimes think I’ve failed her totally and other times I think we did help. It’s really hard to know.’ Joanna also expressed concerns about her own ageing, commenting at various places in her interview that she sees old age as “settling for less because everything, the things you do, tend to be less than you did”; that “as an older person I am vulnerable to assumptions as to my worth, socially”; and that “becoming old, or older, has not turned out as I  expected”. These anxieties, and the disjuncture between professional and personal experiences of ageing, are also evident in the accounts given by Julia Johnson and Julia Twigg. Julia Johnson puts it like this: ‘People tend to say, “Oh, you’re the expert on ageing”. Well, actually, no, I’m not. And I feel rather ashamed of the lack of connection between my academic life and the reality of ageing. I  think the whole thing is quite scary, really, and that being a gerontologist has not prepared me for it at all. And I’ve come to the conclusion that … most of it is to do with, well, you can call it personality if you want, but to do with the kind of person you are: individual psychology, how you actually cope with later life. It’s not that I don’t know what the good things to do are and the not so good things. But actually putting it into practice yourself is much more complicated.’

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In a similar vein, Julia Twigg makes it clear that being a gerontologist does not necessarily help address people’s fears surrounding their own ageing: ‘When I look at frail older people, I think I … what do I think?… I think that’s my future. And I think, like most people, I don’t find that terribly encouraging, to be honest. I’d like to say, as a gerontologist, positive things, and there are positive things to say. But there’s also quite a frightening future, however bravely gerontological you are.’ Indeed, as Anthea Tinker comments, it is even possible to “know too much” about ageing through our professional and academic work: ‘I think we know too much, quite often. You know, ignorance is bliss. I think we almost do know too much about it. It’s not always a very … I know the upbeat message about contributions of older people … it’s all bright and cheerful, but it isn’t. There are downsides, particularly when you get relatives who die and you see them dying, it’s not a cheerful picture.’ Moreover, as they have grown older, some participants are disappointed to find that their professional knowledge and experience has not led to the kinds of attitudinal, societal, policy or practice changes they might have expected. Nowhere is this more evident than in the lack of progress towards challenging ageism, an issue that features in varying ways across the careers of all the participants. Clare Wenger reflects on how experiencing ageist attitudes at first hand had given her insights into some of the issues that otherwise she had only understood theoretically: ‘With all the hundreds of interviews of older people I have done, I was never aware of these changes in the way you are spoken to –​or I may have occasionally noticed it but I had no idea of its effect on older people: it creates a distance between you and the person you are talking with, whereas previously you were spoken to as an equal. Gradually you start to believe you are weaker than you were and not as competent as you were.’ Likewise, Bill Bytheway  –​ who has made highly significant contributions to our understanding of ageism –​reflects on his own position in a “fundamentally ageist” society:

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‘I mean it’s a paradox, isn’t it?… On the one hand I think older people at the moment are having it quite easy, aren’t they –​aren’t we? Compared with the students next door who are basically loading themselves up with debts for the rest of their lives … who are we to whinge? But, at the same time … the whole society is fundamentally ageist and part of you thinks, “Well, that’s the way of the world … there’s nothing wrong with that”. Even when I’m asked to declare my age, “I’m older” because that’s how things work … and it’s relatively quick and painless … but the fact is you are categorising yourself … and barring yourself from various possibilities and, at the same time, privileging yourself.’ Joanna Bornat expresses her concerns about this issue from an intergenerational perspective, saying that “what I and maybe others saw as a reliable intergenerational contract now appears to be crumbling”. Peter Coleman also describes being “worried about the future of ageing in a way that I wouldn’t have expected to be”, while Mary Marshall too is frustrated by “our inability to genuinely apply what we know”. She goes on to say that, “I know some of it’s economic, but some of it is because it’s in the too difficult basket”. That said, not everyone offered such a bleak assessment: for some participants, their own experiences of growing older and of being professional gerontologists led them to reflect on how far we have come, and made them optimistic about the future. Kate Davidson, for example, commented that: ‘We can’t change minds overnight but I am hoping that with the baby boom generation of which I am one … we are the ones that are hopefully going to be able to sort of be old and be proud of it, and maybe our generation will … see a sea change when we get through.’ And, as Sally Greengross observes: “There’s no point in not coming to terms with ageing”.

The professional and the personal: a false dichotomy? These findings highlight, we suggest, the complexities of the interrelationship between the personal and the professional demonstrating, in turn, that the distinction is something of a false dichotomy. Jay Ginn, for example, discusses her experiences in

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supporting her mother, showing that the relationship between the personal and the professional is a two-​way one: ‘Yes, some of what I’d learned through my research informed me as to what was available for my mother. But equally, finding out what worked well and what didn’t, helped me to know what questions to ask about social care, identified the issues that need investigating. I learned about the Homeshare scheme from a social worker, Nan Maitland, who was the founder. And we used the scheme for my mother’s care. I wouldn’t have met that person if it hadn’t been for networking in the course of research.’ Ann Netten too, spoke about the interactions between her professional knowledge and awareness when caring for her mother, and the ways in which this had sensitised her to aspects of her own ageing. She reflected on these issues in some detail: ‘One of the things that’s been very influential in my thinking recently has been the fact that, when we first moved here –​ so we moved here a couple of years ago –​my mother … came with us. We very much bought this place with an idea that we’d set it up for her to be able to live here with us. She’s now in a care home, and not very well at all. But the process of being in the caring role:  recognising it before I would’ve recognised it if I hadn’t known, as it were. In terms of that experience –​and then just watching someone else ageing –​much further down the line … I’m constantly taking lessons from it and then thinking about the implications…. You watch it from the point of view of, “I’m going to be there”: very aware of that side of it … [and] thinking about what are the lessons: what would you take out of this? And as you go through [life] … you’re kind of drawing on what you go through…. You do think about it an awful lot. So it’s not just ageing as in where I am now. It’s also … looking forward and thinking about that actual stage in your life, what you’ll do and what you won’t do, in terms of what you feel about it…. [It’s] very much an internal narrative.’ Thus, for some participants –​though by no means all –​working in the field of ageing has inclined them to reflect on their own ageing

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perhaps rather more deeply than others might, and this could be helpful. Eileen Fairhurst, for example, describes how her academic identity has been significant in helping her recover from serious illness and, vice versa, how she has used her personal experiences in her professional life. She also emphasises the ways in which her own experiences have reinforced her sociological perspective on the life course as a non-​ linear process: “It’s not a smooth path. You don’t go from one stage to another, it’s much more complex. It’s messy … it’s not, ‘Oh, gone through that stage, now it’s time for …’. It’s not like that”. In Ian Philp’s case, such reflection is viewed in terms of academic curiosity and developing critical thinking skills: ‘I think my academic training has allowed me to realise how important it is to look at it both objectively, in terms of not deluding yourself about things, but have a spirit of inquiry and curiosity around, “What is life? What is ageing all about? What difference can you make in your own life?” Gerontology gives you that perspective, I  think, which makes for a better life, really.’ These more nuanced and complex understandings of the interactions between the professional and the personal are also exemplified by those participants for whom issues of spirituality and faith have shaped their relationship to their own ageing. Malcolm Johnson explains that being a Christian is –​like being a gerontologist –​a core part of his identity, while Simon Biggs, Alison Norman and Peter Coleman all discuss the importance of later-​life spiritual growth and development. Indeed, Peter Coleman sees spiritual growth as “quite central to later life” and says: “I do have a religious view on ageing. I think it has some meaning, some purpose and one must find it and bear witness to that, too”. Finally, through their employment in the field of gerontology, people had often become part of a ‘community of practice’, where the lines were blurred between the professional and the personal. Accounts included examples of days spent with fellow gerontologists in people’s homes and gardens, both in the UK and overseas, where they could talk, exchange ideas and plan publications. Some participants identified people who had been influential in their careers and had also become close, personal friends. The strengths of the relationships, especially among those who had been members of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) since the early days, was seen by some as being linked to the nature of gerontology in that it was perceived, particularly

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historically, as an unfashionable and marginalised subject that people tended to be discouraged from engaging in. This contributed to a sense of solidarity among long-​term members who have effectively become an ‘ageing community’ in themselves. This point was made by a number of participants, including Bill Bytheway, who commented that “the BSG was one of the worlds in which we were all ageing”. Rather than conferences and meetings being an escape from jobs and ‘the real world’, such interactions are part of the lived experience of ageing for participants. And, in reflecting on the ways in which gerontologists consider their own ageing, Bill concludes by describing them as “ageful”: ‘A lot of us gerontologists, far from thinking we’re ageless, we’re actually thinking we’re “ageful” … it’s an interesting contrast to “youthful”. And, arguably, it’s only us gerontologists who are “ageful” and constantly thinking about our changing age.’

Conclusion In terms of the intersections between the personal and the professional, the experiences, responses and attitudes of participants reveal that gerontologists are not immune from the anxieties and fears others experience. While professional insights can be helpful, no amount of theoretical understanding and academic knowledge can compare with experiencing certain challenges at first hand or, from an emotional perspective, provide adequate preparation for painful personal experiences. We have also seen that being well informed, and able to engage confidently with all the relevant systems and services, by no means meant that everyone had been able to get the support they needed or required. That said, it was clear too that many participants used their accumulated professional knowledge to help manage aspects of their own ageing or the ageing of family and friends: they were able to integrate this knowledge into their own lives and/​or advocate on behalf of others. This was particularly evident in relation to family experiences of health and illness and in addressing the health and social care needs of loved ones, but also included planning and preparing for potential changes in one’s own circumstances in the event of serious illness, mental incapacity or the need for institutional care. At the same time, participants also acknowledged that the realities of their own and others’ lived experiences sometimes challenged what they thought they knew, as well as demonstrating the complexity of

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the interconnections between the professional and the personal. For people whose gerontological career has spanned 25 or more years, these connections are brought into even sharper focus as people approach, or move into, retirement. Thus, the next chapter considers whether there is such a thing as being a ‘retired gerontologist’, or do gerontologists never retire?

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Do gerontologists retire? Introduction This chapter looks at the transition to retirement and at what life is like now for project participants whose career has spanned 25 or more years. Of the 50 people we interviewed, 13 were still working full-​ time, nine were transitioning to retirement by, for example, working part-​time or being flexibly retired, and the remaining 28 had formally retired. Nevertheless, as this chapter demonstrates, while people may be technically retired they often remain involved either in academic life, or in other forms of paid or unpaid work that utilise the many skills and abilities they have acquired over their working lives, as well as maintaining important continuities. Thus, we consider the question of whether there is such a thing as being a ‘retired gerontologist’, or do gerontologists never retire? In so doing, we uncover a spectrum of responses, from those who say they will never retire, through people gradually withdrawing, to those who have made a complete break and/​or started new ‘careers’. In looking at this complex transition, we address themes around how participants perceive their contributions to the field of gerontology; the need for continued stimulation and challenge; and transferring skills to new/​other areas. The ‘joys’ of retirement (learning, grandchildren, volunteering) and being ‘the lucky generation’ (financially) also feature in these discussions, as do some of the challenges associated with retirement.

The emergence of retirement as a social institution Retirement as an established and major stage in the (male) life course first started to be recognised during the 1950s (Vickerstaff, 2015; Phillipson et  al, 2018) and was initially constructed as a social and individual problem: as a ‘role-​less role’, characterised by disengagement (Burgess, 1960). As a consequence, early research –​dominated as it was by role theory –​focused largely on the personal risks associated with retirement (Stieglitz, 1949; Phillipson, 1993; Phillipson and Baars, 2007). It was only during the 1970s and 1980s that a more positive view of retirement as a potentially desirable life stage was established.

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Associated with the emergence of the concept of the ‘third age’, ideas of retirement as a period of activity and development came to replace traditional notions of decline, passivity and disengagement associated with leaving work (Laslett, 1989; Gilleard and Higgs, 2000). Men who were able to take early retirement, and who benefitted from lifestyles made possible by retirement wealth, were generally satisfied with their situations (McGoldrick and Cooper, 1989). In more recent years, research exploring the experience of professional men and women highlights the benefits of a transition towards retirement, along with opportunities to remain involved in aspects of their work, and/​or the ability to use skills acquired during professional lives to develop other roles (Borrero and Kruger, 2015; Gottlib et al, 2018). However, retirement experiences always vary according to social status and economic opportunity across the life course (Phillipson and Walker, 1986), and, historically, far larger numbers of men left work early because of poor health, potentially exacerbated by age-​based discriminatory work environments (McGoldrick and Cooper, 1989). Such men were more likely to experience problems adjusting to retirement and to have worries about their future old age (Phillipson, 1993). These social and economic divisions have persisted, and poor health, combined with the impact of poorly paid, insecure or low control work, is consistently associated with an increased likelihood of retiring before state pension age (Demou et al, 2017; Holman and Walker, 2018). Moreover, the early research attention given to men tended to overlook the different retirement experiences of women, not least because it was suggested that retirement for women was less likely to be problematic as women’s work was of less personal importance (Slevin and Wingrove, 1995; Calasanti, 1996; Vickerstaff, 2015). Research during the 1980s and 1990s provided a critical challenge to these assumptions, demonstrating instead the considerable complexities associated with women’s retirement (Szinovacz, 1991; Ginn et  al, 2001). In addition, research examining gender and pension wealth demonstrated huge gendered inequalities (Ginn and Arber, 1991, 1993, 1999). Yet, despite some improvement in women’s take up of private pensions –​especially among certain occupational groups –​the gender gap has persisted (Bardasi and Jenkins, 2010; Bozio et al, 2011; Gardiner et al, 2016). While working in non-​manual occupations has an overall beneficial effect on pension membership for women, they are still 20 per cent less likely to be in a private pension scheme than men (Gardiner et al, 2016).

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Retirement planning and extended working lives The paradox between, on the one hand, the growth of early retirement in the 1980s and 1990s and, on the other, the increased visibility of policies aimed at extending working lives has, Vickerstaff (2015) argues, turned retirement into a social problem, fuelled by concerns about the implications of population ageing and increased pressure on pension and welfare costs. Policies aimed at extending working lives have multiplied in recent years, together with measures that have removed mandatory retirement, raised the state pension age and introduced auto-​enrolment in qualifying workplace pension schemes (OECD, 2017). Such measures have often been linked with policies on active ageing and the argument that continued work makes an important contribution to a healthy older age (DWP, 2014). Thus, despite active ageing having been originally conceptualised with a much broader set of aspirations, it is now increasingly taken to mean extending working lives (Vickerstaff, 2015). Research on people who continue to work beyond state retirement age concludes that, overall, those people are in better physical and mental health than those who do not (Demou et al, 2017; Holman and Walker, 2018). However, policies around extended working life have yet to fully address the challenge of existing work-​related and retirement inequalities. For example, older people with little or no pension wealth may be motivated to return to work after retirement, but the greater likelihood of poor health and the implications of limited qualifications present barriers (Platts et al, 2019). Thus, the importance of developing ‘good-​quality’ work and promoting healthy work places where people may extend working lives without compromising their health and wellbeing, has been identified as a key priority (Edge et  al, 2017). Flexible working strategies (part-​time working, flexible core hours, working from home) have also been supported by government policy as a means of extending working lives, and may improve choices for older workers affected by poor health or caring responsibilities (DWP, 2005; Loretto et al, 2005; Round, 2017). Additional recommendations to mitigate the risks of social inequalities associated with extended working lives come from a cross-​European project led by the UK (Holman and Walker, 2018). The project’s recommendations include individualising the pension age alongside measures aimed at improving the employability of an ageing workforce. An associated area about which comparatively little is yet known is retirement reversal, or ‘unretirement’ as it is sometimes termed.

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Such research as does exist in the UK suggests that around one in four retirees returns to paid work, mostly within five years of retiring; that unretirement is more common among people –​predominantly men –​who are already economically and educationally advantaged; and that this trend has the potential to exacerbate income inequalities in later life (Platts et al, 2019). Meanwhile, formally retired women who return to paid employment are most likely to have been motivated by financial reasons, and are generally healthier and better educated than their non-​working counterparts (Borrero and Kruger, 2015). In addition, the complexities associated with retirement planning in this much-​changed landscape have not been substantially researched (Moffatt and Heaven, 2017). What is clear, though, is that the extent to which people might engage in a process of active decision making about retirement is likely to be contingent on a number of individual and external factors: it is likely to take place over time; to include thinking about retirement in the future and deciding when it is time to ‘let go’ of work; and to actively incorporate actions towards retirement (Feldman and Beehr, 2011). Traditionally, retirement planning has been assumed to be a crucial element in achieving a successful retirement process. Evidence from the US suggests, for example, that financial retirement planning and planning for a retired lifestyle are the two most important factors in subsequent retirement satisfaction (Noone et al, 2009). However, research also demonstrates that engaging in retirement planning is often far from a logical or linear process. It has therefore been suggested that, instead of normative approaches to formal retirement planning, it might be more helpful to characterise the process as one of ‘thinking through’ retirement. Moffatt and Heaven (2017) argue that this more accurately reflects the diverse processes associated with transitioning to retirement that can take place over lengthy periods of time and is often characterised by uncertainty. Growing diversity in retirement transitions has created significant ambiguities around ending work and moving into retirement. The extent to which work-​based policies are in place; whether people are ‘entitled’ to continue to work full-​time; whether people can work part-​time as a ‘right’; how age-​related impairment and disability may be accommodated in the workplace; and how older people in poorly paid, uncertain and physically demanding jobs should be supported as they age; remain areas of considerable uncertainty (Holman and Walker, 2018; Phillipson et al, 2018). The extent to which academic

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transitions to retirement are shaped by similar complexities is a subject to which we now turn.

Academic careers and retirement There is substantial evidence that many older academics actively aspire to extend their working lives beyond what might typically be associated with ‘retirement age’. In the UK, there is a growing trend for academics to work into their late sixties with some 7,090 scholars aged 66 and over working in the UK higher education system (Grove, 2018). In the US too, between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of academics continue professional activities beyond formal ‘retirement’ (Dorfman, 2009), including honorary roles and, for the professoriate, the potential to remain involved via emeritus status (Thody, 2011). In common with the growing complexities associated with work-​retirement transitions in the wider workforce, Baldwin and colleagues (2018: 9) argue that: Retirement from academic life has also become a complex process that can complicate the later years of an academic career and leave many professors and administrators confused and dissatisfied as they move toward their career exit and prepare for the next phase of their life. A number of factors influence academics to extend their working lives and retain academic roles once ‘retirement’ has formally taken place, including enjoyment of the academic ‘lifestyle’, characterised, as it is, by indistinct boundaries; strong personal commitment to work; issues about professional identity; feelings of being valued by their organisation; and ongoing attachments to their universities, to students and to their professional roles (Dorfman, 2000; Davies and Jenkins, 2013; Pannor Silver and Williams, 2018; Cahill et al, 2019). These motivations may also create and reinforce a circular relationship between so-​called ‘greedy’ institutions that require full commitment and the prioritisation of institutional requirements over non-​work roles and activities, and academics whose commitment to their work far exceeds any construction of their role as ‘just a job’ (Pannor Silver and Williams, 2018:  321). Indeed, studies show that continuing to be involved in academic life via, for example, part-​time or flexible employment, represents an important sense of professional continuity and identity maintenance (Dorfman, 2002; Williamson et al, 2010; Davies and Jenkins, 2013; Rowson, 2013) and can be seen as a hallmark

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of ‘successful retirement’ (Pannor Silver and Williams, 2018). However, as (retired) British academic and broadcaster Lincoln Allison (2016: 30) wryly comments: Nobody admits to complete retirement. There are various kinds of semi-​retirement, and retirement at different ages…. There are buy-​backs by Universities short of someone to teach a lecture course or to prop up their research output. There are book contracts still to be fulfilled. There are visiting posts and emeritus roles. Then there are committee memberships and consultancies, articles to write and enormously important bodies to advise. Meanwhile, Cahill and colleagues (2019) suggest that academic institutions may be motivated to support extended working because they value the contributions that older and senior academic colleagues are able to make to academic life. At the same time though, there is evidence that, contrary to possible expectation, academic institutions are not immune from age-​based discrimination and ageist attitudes. Female academics have been shown to experience gendered ageism and ‘lookism’ (Granleese and Sayer, 2006), while Thomas (2016: 39), writing in the Times Higher Education, has more recently observed: Age prejudice seems to be the last bastion of acceptable bigotry. I’m counting the ‘jokes’ made publically about colleagues’ ages: in the past year there have been three that would, if made in the context of bodily appearance or gender, say, be cause for instant dismissal. In the US, an investigation into the reactions to a proposed National Institute of Health Emeritus Grant initiative aimed at funding older investigators, found overt and consistent manifestations of ageism, including older academics being perceived as undeserving, incompetent, devoid of new ideas, and past their ‘sell by’ date (Kahana et al, 2018: 256). Likewise, Pannor Silver and Williams’ (2018) study of attitudes to retirement among academic medical staff reveals tensions between older and younger academics, including concerns that older colleagues, by extending their working lives, may obstruct the career progression of younger academics. That said, not all academics choose to extend their working lives. Some discontinue their academic role and relationship with the university and make a ‘clean break’ (Davies and Jenkins, 2013; Cahill et al, 2019). Clean

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breakers perhaps reflect a more traditional experience of retirement where working life is ended and replaced with other activities and roles (Davies and Jenkins, 2013). Personal health or the circumstances of family members may also be influential in initiating a ‘clean break’. Other research suggests that complete retirement from academic life may be experienced as a time of growth and development, framed by what Langer (2009) calls ‘the psychology of possibility’: allowing time for old interests to be reignited; for new interests to be developed; and for time and energy to be devoted to new roles and relationships. Given the range of skills that academics possess and their lengthy experience of high levels of autonomy, agency and self-​efficacy, there is every reason to expect that academics in retirement should be well placed to use their considerable personal and material resources to continue to innovate and create new possibilities, and to pick and choose from many things they are interested in (Rowson, 2013; Dustin et al, 2015). At the same time, other research shows that academics –​in common with the wider workforce –​are likely to be poor at, or resist, retirement planning (Davies and Jenkins, 2013; Cahill et al, 2019). They are also less likely to be adequately prepared for the potential identity shifts and the diminished sense of self that may coincide with retirement, accompanied, as it often is, by a reduction in visibility (Dorfman, 2002). These findings, together with factors that have been shown to contribute to the postponement or avoidance of retirement planning –​ including financial security, good health, love of the work, anxieties about threats to identity, and lack of enthusiasm for retirement ‘activities’ –​means that the experience of academics either transitioning to, or being formally retired, is often in direct opposition to traditional definitions and understandings of retirement. This brief overview of research on academic retirement suggests that extending working life is a common practice, as too is the continued involvement with aspects of academic life after ‘formal’ retirement. Retirement decision making is as likely to be as individualised an experience as that reported among the wider workforce. However, when academics do retire fully from academic life, their extensive skills and abilities, combined with access to financial and personal resources, may provide considerable impetus to the development of a successful and enjoyable retirement. As yet, though, we know very little about the extent to which academics and other professionals who have been immersed in ageing research and practice may, or may not, reflect these wider findings. Consequently, we turn now to consider the extent to which the senior gerontologists at the heart of our own study were able to utilise their knowledge to inform their own retirement transitions

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and decisions, and how they imagine, and indeed live, a life divorced from paid employment.

Gerontologists contemplating retirement Many of the participants who were still working full-​time were not actively contemplating the possibility of retirement, feeling that they were simply not at a point in their careers where retirement merited much consideration. Sarah Harper commented that: ‘At the moment, we have to retire at 68…. In my mind, I  hope that by the time I  get there, this will have gone because it just seems to me, ridiculous –​particularly in a research capacity. I would be very sad if I had to retire before I was 70…. I just don’t think academics actually retire.’ Similarly, Ian Philp expected to keep working: ‘I want to keep on doing this stuff that I’m doing, in some form or another, for as long as I’m able to do it. And to have a really happy base somewhere in the world to … from which to do this. I mean, that’s why most … many academics won’t retire, because the joys of academic life are so great, why would you give that up?’ The value of belonging to a community that can sustain and develop national and international networks and collaborations was highlighted as an important and desirable benefit of continuing to work. For Maria Evandrou, these aspects are important to her identity: ‘I love the engagement with NGOs [non-​governmental organisations], with older people, with government departments. I love teaching and supervising PhD students … yes, I think it’s just part of my identity and … I’ve been so fortunate in my career and in the people who I’ve met and who I’ve learnt from and who I’ve befriended…. I feel that being active is a really great way to give back…. It’s good to be active.’ Other participants who were still working recognised that, at some point in the future, they would need to choose between transitioning to retirement or making a clean break. Jill Manthorpe pondered:

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‘And what I’ve seen is some people saying, “I stop and I  stop:  that’s it, I’m never going to darken my door”. Whereas other people still play some roles and … you can do either. And I suppose in preretirement you think what would work for me? Do I want to sort of exit gradually or do I want to say, “That’s it: this was a job, it was a job”.’ Among the full-​time academics there was also some evidence of participants utilising their ‘insider’ knowledge of retirement research to inform and shape their thoughts and preparatory actions for retirement. Christina Victor was acutely aware of the potential risks associated with academic retirement, commenting that: ‘I’ve seen too many people have no interests other than what they do, and I think, for academics, if your sense of identity is solely what you do for your job, when you don’t have that job –​either because somebody says it’s time to go, or you have health issues or you have to do other things –​I think that’s very problematic.’ In direct response to her observations about the nature of academic life, and aware that as her family grew up she could “work all the time, because … it’s a job that’s very difficult to put boundaries around”, Christina volunteers and officiates at a local swimming club, ensuring that she has something else to focus on as part of thinking about retirement. There was some evidence too of participants starting to think about what, if any, aspects of academic life they would wish to retain after retiring. Judith Phillips commented that she imagined that when she did retire, she would continue to “carry on, but all I’d like to do is network. I probably wouldn’t want to keep on researching or publishing but I would still quite like to be part of something.” Echoing the findings of some of the studies reviewed earlier (Dorfman, 2000), a number of other participants were anxious about the potentially negative consequences of, or challenges associated with, retirement. Simon Biggs commented on the potential impact on one’s identity of “cutting the ties” of academic life: ‘I think it’s quite difficult. Particularly when it’s not only money that you get, it’s actually like identity rewards that you get. And you think, well, if I let go of this, will you just be “just another Joe”, and will you just be just another

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bloke on the street, or woman on the street. And you probably will be.’ Others considered what a ‘retired lifestyle’ might look like when academic life had been reduced or ended. Here, Julia Twigg voices her anxiety about how she might spend time as a retired person: ‘I find it very hard. So I sort of think, what will I do? I’m very involved in various … voluntary charity things, to do with architecture in particular, so I can do those, and I enjoy those. But, there’s something about the engagement of academic life, the engagement in curiosity, the engagements in the writing, that I’m sure I’d miss that.’ Thus, for those who were still working, retirement transitions and retirement itself was still a way off even if their professional and academic interests and knowledge were beginning to inform and shape their thoughts. One area that people were giving thought to was whether, and how, to extend their working lives.

The extended working lives of gerontologists A number of participants had made conscious decisions to extend their working lives, either by putting off any plans for retirement, by working part-​time or flexibly, or by returning to paid employment following a formal ‘retirement’. These participants wanted and expected to continue to work. For many, the motivation for extending their working lives was influenced by a number of factors such as enjoyment, commitment, the importance of their work role to their personal identity, and the value placed on their work by themselves and others. Chris Phillipson reflected on the implications of a committed academic career and his motivation to continue working, which includes supporting the developing careers of younger colleagues: ‘I do work extremely hard. I’ve probably worked over the weekends, both Saturday and Sunday, at some points…. Now our children have grown up, it’s become … I think it’s the one thing that’s probably become a problem, that I have become more work-​obsessed. Partly because [of] working with younger colleagues who are equally work-​obsessed,

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actually, because they’re building their careers, and I’m keen to help them. So, at what point that becomes pathological in your sixties I don’t know. Yes, my aspiration is that I’ll be able to get to 70…. Yes: I’d like to get to 70 and perhaps scale down then.’ Chris regards retirement as something that will happen “at some point in the future” and his plan to keep going until he is 70 is predicated in the hope of continued good health and “not having some sort of ghastly illness or something”. Others also spoke about how delaying retirement can provide legacy opportunities to mentor and support the development of colleagues who may, in turn, further the work of their mentor. In addition to Chris, Maria Evandrou and Ann Netten alluded to the importance of supporting younger academics, while Tom Kirkwood, who was actively beginning to think about taking phased retirement, commented that it was important to continue working with career-​young colleagues because “the new ideas, the ideas for the future, are going to come from new generations of researchers. So, yes, it’s an interesting process”. Anthea Tinker too, who is officially retired but continues to work full-​time, focuses on related aspects of the academic role that she particularly enjoys: ‘Well, I had ten years chairing the College Research Ethics Committee, after I, quote, retired, unquote, which took about two days a week of my time. But when I, as I say, quote, retired, Janet Askham, who was the Director then, was very gracious, together with the Principal, and said, “We’d like you to stay on”. And so then I had a contract, which I’ve had since, to stay here and do research…. But I am now a researcher and a lecturer, and I’m very happy with that role. I’m not paid full-​time, but I am full-​time. Yes, I am more than full-​time. I’m actually in the office four days a week. And Fridays, I tend to work at home. But no, I am here. I supervise lots of PhDs and dissertations. I’m personal tutor to a lot of students. And I’m on five research grants.’ Despite being officially retired, Anthea has no intention of giving up academic life, commenting that she will “never ever stop … I may be stopped, but I will never stop of my own volition”. Randall Smith

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also exemplifies the retired-​but-​continuing academic, being awarded a personal Chair after he retired: ‘And it was also one of the things that perhaps is quite unusual in that I  was promoted to a professorship in my retirement. And it was a promotion with the usual paraphernalia of international referees and all that thing. Although the word has to be honorary in it, because I am not on the salary books. In fact it was not a pat on the back: it was a promotion.’ Randall also noted that by working now as a “post-​retirement Senior Research Fellow”, he is “much less stressed and much more relaxed” than he was in a full-​time academic post. In common with Anthea, Randall has no plans to stop working, saying, “I am very much engaged in what I’m doing now” and have “no personal wish to stop and go skydiving or scuba diving”. That said, a number of participants in extended employment or in paid employment after retirement, while having every intention of continuing, were fearful of losing their creativity or relevance if they hung on too long. Mary Marshall commented that she would carry on working until she felt “less useful” and Malcolm Johnson felt it was important to “keep track of your capabilities” because failing to do so could mean “you find that people no longer treat you as somebody with expertise, but treat you only with a kind of paternalistic courtesy”. Sally Greengross spoke similarly about her fear of developing dementia and, in both her roles as Chief Executive of the International Longevity Centre UK and as a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, she told us: ‘I have, sort of, notices with everybody who works with me:  tell me if I’m faltering because I’d rather go with dignity…. I’d rather pull out than go on too long…. I don’t want to stay as some people do when they’ve actually got severe dementia. And that’s a shame, because you see great minds start to go, and that’s awful. So, again, it’s my fear of dementia.’ By contrast, one or two other people spoke about extending their working lives as something that had been imposed on them by circumstances. While existing research suggests that academics may avoid actioning retirement plans because they fear their research will be disrupted or their posts will not be replaced (Pannor Silver and

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Williams, 2018), Mary Gilhooly felt that she had had to put her plans to start phased retirement on hold because of a growing workload: ‘I’d hoped to go into phased retirement this year, doing four days a week, but my teaching load has just more than doubled. So I decided that I wasn’t going to work six days a week and be paid for four.’ At the same time, Mary also acknowledged making difficult age-​ based decisions after recently stepping down as Director of the Brunel Institute for Ageing Studies: ‘Because I felt that the theme, to thrive, needed a leader that had a ten-​year plan. And I’m afraid at nearly 70 I don’t have a ten-​year plan for the theme. So I felt it was best. And that was hard. That was hard for me. I’ve done gerontology since 1979: a long time. Been a part of my life. It’s part of me. So it was … it was hard.’ Moreover, many of the narratives of participants indicate just how complex the issues are surrounding extended working life and retirement and how it is perceived, both by oneself and by others. Leonie Kellaher, for example, although formally retired and withdrawn from her substantive post, continues to be involved in research via fieldwork, writing and participating in conferences that focus on her research interests. However, she also commented: “I don’t think of myself as fully retired although a lot of the time I behave as though I am. I’m not writing anything much at the moment”. There is also sometimes a mismatch between self-​definition and how others see you, as exemplified by Malcolm Johnson who, though retired and “receiving USS [Universities Superannuation Scheme] pension and all of that”, neither defines nor describes himself as a “retired academic … because once you do, people write you off”. Instead, Malcolm describes himself as a “continuing academic” and the assumption of others that he is retired is challenged by seeing him speak at international conferences or publishing books. He feels that this helps people to see and know that “he’s still at it, he’s all right. And I quite like that”.

Gerontologists transitioning to retirement Aside from those who were not yet even contemplating retirement, many of our other participants were, in different ways, experiencing

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retirement transitions of varying kinds, having relinquished aspects of their full-​time roles. Some participants went part-​time in order to work ‘full-​time’ and reduce habitually long working hours. Jay Ginn, for example, explains how, by going part-​time, she was “cutting my hours down from about 70 hours to about 30”. As part of a retirement transition, a reduction in management and leadership roles, as well as time-​consuming citizenship activities, enabled many participants to concentrate on aspects of their professional and academic lives that they most enjoy and benefit from. Bob Woods spoke about how he had reduced his hours by stopping his clinical NHS work and clinical psychology training role, and was now focusing on an area of work that he continued to enjoy and that held considerable importance to him at the Dementia Development Centre based at Bangor University. Meanwhile, Peter Coleman remarked that “I think I’ve written my last review article. I’ve written my last textbook revision; I don’t want to do that anymore”. In addition, for participants in academia, activities such as applying for, getting and undertaking research grants and associated impact activities, supervising doctoral students and writing projects, are long-​ term undertakings. Staying involved with such activities doubtless contributes to lengthy and drawn-​out retirement transitions and, logically, participants who actively expected or planned to withdraw fully or substantially from academic life needed to start saying ‘no’ to projects that might otherwise last for several years. The implications of this often meant becoming less research-​active and declining to take on doctoral supervision. Sara Arber commented that as she was “transitioning to retirement” she was “less research active now: you get to an age, and you need to do that”. While Sara was not involved with any funded empirical research projects, she was still publishing and working on secondary analysis of big datasets. Loyalty to colleagues and students, and especially the value attached to mentoring and supporting others’ careers, was also identified as an important consideration in retirement planning and continued commitment to work. Mike Nolan, on a lengthy phased retirement, was not alone in carrying on working in order to fulfil his personal obligation to doctoral students, balancing his professional commitment with his commitment to spending more time with his partner: ‘I promised them [doctoral students] I wouldn’t leave them in limbo. Many of them had come because they wanted to work with myself. And it didn’t seem appropriate to say, “Oh, sorry, I’m retiring, and I’m off”.’

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Changing the pace of life also presents challenges for some participants in a retirement transition, especially in the early days of scaling back from their substantive roles and coming to terms with the transitions they were experiencing. Miriam Bernard reflected on adjusting to the absence of a “life completely full of things…. I don’t like not having that; I  don’t like not having that pressure”, and characterised the transition as an “easing into” a new phase of life. Considering how to spend time, trying new things, understanding what is possible, are all important factors in working out a lifestyle that has altered, reduced or removed professional activity from day-​to-​day life. Robin Means, for example, draws on insights from research in an effort to avoid the potential risks associated with retirement, saying: ‘Being aware of the literature and what kind of things you should do, I probably thought very carefully about my own retirement: when to retire, what combination of things to do, as a result of what I learnt from the literature. So, in a very selfish way, I’m garnering the things that might help me have a happy old age.’ At the time of his interview, Robin had recently taken up an appointment as Chair of West of England Care and Repair, a role that reflects his career-​long research interests, utilises his academic skills and ensures that he does not have “this kind of vacuum period … you know. It’s a wise thing to do and I’m just trying to get the balance right”. Those participants going through retirement transitions evidenced both the individualisation of the process and the often lengthy periods of time involved. Despite variability in the approaches taken by participants, their transitions all involved some measure of cutting back and, especially, shedding roles that had become less enjoyable and were often very time-​consuming. Creating a work environment that allowed sufficient time to expand on the most enjoyable aspects of one’s role was seen as particularly beneficial to this transitional process.

Gerontologists in retirement In common with contemporary research findings, there is no single, shared retirement experience among our participants. Nevertheless, many people reflected on the opportunities that retirement presented, including using existing skills and abilities to pursue a diverse range of roles and activities, as well as having the financial resources to deploy in developing their lives in retirement. Some participants chose to

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discontinue their professional role and relationship with their workplace in a traditional way or, eventually, withdrew fully after protracted involvement with it as part of a retirement transition. John Bond illustrates this point by commenting that he decided he was going to “change my life and not try to hang on”, while Julia Johnson made a conscious decision to “cut off from gerontology” in order to maximise her chances of “making something else of my life, which now is running out of time. I need to get on with it”. A number of formally retired participants have changed direction and gone on to engage in other forms of work. Eric Midwinter who, prior to retirement, was Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA), told us that he had “decided … that when I was 60 I would give up my full-​time post, in order to concentrate on whatever other things I wanted to do”. After retiring from the CPA, Eric worked in a part-​time, paid post as Chair of the London Regional Passengers’ Committee for a number of years. He describes this as “really quite a useful way of half … retiring”. Eric also continued to be involved with ageing issues via a number of consultancies, as well as pursuing his lifelong interest in social history, publishing widely on “sport on the one hand –​cricket, football, mainly –​and light entertainment –​comedy –​ on the other hand. So, I had quite a cluster of interests”. Eric has also maintained his long-​standing involvement with the University of the Third Age, which, as we saw in Chapter 3, he co-​founded in 1982. Throughout his professional life, Eric advocated the benefits of continued activity and reflected that “I do feel very strongly that by practising what I’ve preached in terms of leading a very active third age, I’ve certainly convinced myself that I was right, in my second age, to tell people that that’s what you ought to do”. Other participants remain similarly active by undertaking a variety of roles in their retirement. This includes Mary Marshall, who is still involved in consultancy work –​including in Australia –​around design for older people and people living with dementia; Peter Lansley, who sits on the board of a charitable trust providing funds for ageing research; and Anne Jamieson and Margaret Boneham, who now teach other subjects –​in Anne’s case, Danish, in Margaret’s, English –​to business people from Spain. A number of participants also took very conscious decisions to retire fully from academia, in order to do completely different things. John Vincent, for example, had a strong desire to resume earlier interests and develop a particular lifestyle: ‘Well, since I’ve retired from academia I’ve gone back to my roots as a peasant. I’ve had the opportunity, since I retired,

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to do all sorts of things … including self-​sufficiency … with an allotment … being self-​sufficient in terms of fuel, but also I’ve become a beekeeper…. So there’s tremendous opportunities for doing things.’ The late Ken Blakemore also retired and moved away from academic life in order to explore and pursue a lifelong ambition: ‘What I’d always wanted to do was to write fiction, but I never had the courage to get off and think, well, perhaps you could have done it in the ’70s and ’80s, when publishing wasn’t so competitive as it is now. But, it’s very doubtful whether I  would have made anything like the money I  would have done as an academic. You know, you get married, you have a child; it’s too risky.’ Other participants have used retirement to learn new skills or undertake further courses of learning. Anne Jamieson highlights the importance of continued learning in retirement and reflected on combining her existing skills with pursuing new opportunities and activities. She told us: ‘My retirement has been about trying out different things … not just learning…. Living in London, I’m very lucky there’s always something going on. I have a good circle of friends and we go to theatre, exhibitions, films, concerts, opera: all of that is really great. And then, I live in an area where there are courses available. They cost something, but they’re not expensive: I can manage that … I’m among the privileged in not having that problem. I had looked forward to doing some of the Birkbeck courses that we did in those days but, of course, now you’d have to pay thousands of pounds to do some of those and they’ve shrunk a lot. All that learning for interest is gone. So there’s that, but there’s also doing something useful, so I’m involved in a local community organisation.’ Continued learning was also important to the late Alison Norman, who spent much of her retirement doing successive postgraduate degrees: ‘I went back to academic work again, nothing to do with … well, only incidentally had to do with ageing. I really

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needed to start using my brain again and I  started with courses at Birkbeck, evening courses, and then I did an MA in Renaissance Studies at Birkbeck. And then I found I’d really got hooked on that kind of stuff again and did three more MAs at Heythrop College.’ Retirement for many participants is also about active participation in a huge range of artistic and creative endeavours, including music, art, singing, creative writing and woodwork. Participants like John Bond and Julia Johnson have returned to playing and extending their instrumental skills –​in John’s case, the cello, in Julia’s, the piano. John says: “I decided when I retired that I was going to have to do something about it if I really wanted to enjoy the cello … so now I play at least an hour a day but quite often for four or five hours a day”. Although she also describes it as “extremely time-​consuming” and “such hard work”, Julia has taken up the piano again in order to prove her capabilities to herself. Mulling over what her retirement is like, she told us: ‘The best thing for me is what I’ve achieved on the piano. The thing is, I  did a lot of music at school and I  was a good musician but, unfortunately, I failed grade four piano, and it was a major disaster as far as I was concerned, and I shouldn’t have failed it. And I never took any more piano exams after that. So I think, as ridiculous as it may sound, I’ve had to prove to myself that I was perfectly capable of doing this. I’ve now done grade six and grade seven and got good marks, and now I’m progressing on to grade eight, and I feel very pleased about this.’ Newly retired at the time of her interview, Sheila Peace continues to sing in a choir as does Clare Wenger; Bill Bytheway, who sketched on and off over the years, now describes himself as having “a second career of sketching” and says that “in the space of three years I’ve produced something like 1,500 sketches which I’ve uploaded [to the internet]”. Moreover, Peter Coleman’s academic and personal interests in spirituality are finding expression in a novel he is writing:  “a historical novel about a fi ­ gure –​semi-​autobiographical –​in the 14th century, questioning authority in the church. So, very much my kind of spiritual questions”. Other participants have used their retirement to establish, or re-​ establish, links and activities with their local communities, many of them engaging in voluntary work of varying kinds. As part of her

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retirement plan, Ann Netten moved to a different area and noticed a considerable difference in her ability to get to know her local community, as well as an expansion in her capacity and enthusiasm to try out new things: ‘I just never did when I was working. It was always, rush to work, do the work, get back … and nothing else seemed to be able to be squeezed in. Whereas now, there’s more time to do things, and there’s more time to say things like, “I’d like to do that”…. It’s an absolutely brilliant time.’ Joanna Bornat is also active in her local community, using her expertise in biographical research to help “research into local men in Haringey –​ which was Wood Green  –​ Hornsey and Tottenham, who were conscientious objectors in World War One, and that’s been fantastic fun”. Similarly, Tessa Harding has used her professional expertise to take part in “a very active little group … a dementia carers’ fund … to second somebody to the town for two days a week; we raised the money for that…. And then, the second thing that we’ve gone on to do is organise respite care for carers”. Finding pleasure in a diverse range of physical and sporting activities such as rambling and hill walking, swimming, playing football, going to the gym, or tending an allotment, as well as pursuing hobbies and having the freedom to travel, also formed a significant element of participants’ lives. In addition to their sketching and piano playing, Bill Bytheway and Julia Johnson spend time on their allotment, and Bill reflected on the considerable meaning and value he has gained from it: ‘And it is nice, but it’s actually, what I found is, it seems to be far more fundamental than all that knowledge generation…. I mean, I don’t want to sort of romanticise about it, but it’s reconnecting with mother earth. It’s the earth: you’re not having to worry about the bricks and mortar of buildings. It’s just you and this bit of ground which you’re making something of.’ Meaning and value is also found in having time to spend with grandchildren and other family members. Unsurprisingly, a substantive number of retired participants spoke about the joys of having grandchildren. Peter Lansley described his granddaughters as a “wonderful delight”, saying that the “joys there have been so

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much greater than I ever expected”, while John Miles highlights the importance of a weekly event with his granddaughter: ‘Once a week I pick up my big granddaughter from school. She’s six-​and-​a-​half. School ends at 3.30 and we have to pass the time until 5.00 when her ballet class starts, and then I take her home and I like that a lot…. I just enjoy the opportunities to argue and play and fool around.’ However, as well as opportunities, retirement presents challenges and some participants spoke candidly about the difficulties of managing the retirement process. These difficulties reveal the disjuncture between objective situations (financial independence, good health, sufficient resources) and personal feelings about, and experiences of, the transition to retirement. Some participants needed time to adjust to their new situation when they retired from their substantive post –​especially if the transition had been relatively sudden. Tessa Harding observed that although she was relieved to be free of media and front-​facing work in her national senior policy role, her retirement from Help the Aged was not easy: ‘I found it difficult to not have the recognition and respect. I realised how much that had been built into my expectations, and when it went, because I wasn’t working anymore, I wasn’t moving in that world anymore where people knew me … I really missed it.’ Sheila Peace also highlighted her uncertainties about establishing a new rhythm for her life after formal retirement, saying “I think this whole transition between work and –​my family would say work and work –​well, work and maybe having more control of time as to when I work –​although I am so routinised in what I do that I haven’t quite got to that yet”. Similarly, Margaret Boneham found retirement after taking voluntary redundancy “quite difficult”. Margaret had been working in a “very stressful” senior leadership role and confesses that, after retiring, “for a while I drifted into a haze of pleasure, nothing too stressful … and then I started to think, ‘Hmm…’. I wanted something a little bit more challenging”. Margaret subsequently ‘unretired’ and returned to her university on a part-​time basis, which was enjoyable and allowed her to “do other things in between” and spend more time thinking about future possibilities and plans. Julia Johnson also acknowledged how difficult retirement could be –​voicing what we

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suspect other gerontologists felt unable to –​when she said: “I’m not saying I don’t enjoy retirement, but it’s much more challenging … you’re not really meant to admit that, or … I get the feeling that you are expected to be very positive about it”.

Conclusion The experiences recounted by many of our participants support much of the existing research on retirement. In particular, their experiences reflect the increasing individualisation of retirement and the complex and diverse pathways that people take through that transition (Vickerstaff, 2015). In line with contemporary research findings, many participants continued or still continue to work, challenging notions of a ‘traditional’ retirement by extending their working lives, as well as by exemplifying the varied transitions and the agency they are able to exercise to retain aspects of their roles they particularly enjoy (Dorfman, 2009; Pannor Silver and Williams, 2018; Cahill et al, 2019). Although continuing to work challenges traditional notions of retirement and stereotypes of older workers, we also found that a dissonance sometimes exists between personal views and perceptions of self, and the external views of others. It was also apparent that institutions and organisations have varying practices in terms of the extent to which they support older employees and academics to plan to extend their working lives, and when and how to transition to retirement. While it appears that many participants have been supported to continue to work, outdated organisational regulations, reorganisation, redundancy and changing organisational priorities, can and do impact on an individual’s ability to exercise choice. This means that, in line with other research, it was not uncommon for our participants to have had to navigate the process of retirement themselves. Finally, it is also clear from this exploration of lives and careers in gerontology that the diversity of experiences among our participants confirms the inadequacy of the term ‘retirement’, with its connotations of scaling back and, ultimately, withdrawing from the workforce. Many participants in our study were formally ‘retired’ but, in no sense could they be construed as having withdrawn from professional or academic life, or indeed from the myriad engagements that capitalise on their extensive experience, expertise and abilities.

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PART IV

Informing the future

8

New directions for gerontology Introduction This final chapter summarises and reflects further on the issues raised throughout the book. In so doing, our intention is to provide a basis for continued conversation and dialogue among and between all manner of gerontologists; between gerontologists, older people, practitioners and policy makers; and between gerontology and the many disciplines, organisations and groups that are now taking an interest in ageing and later life. We begin by reappraising what has been learnt from the analyses of the extensive archival and interview material from the project; consider how far gerontology has come and what it has achieved; and highlight the continuing concerns and challenges faced by gerontology and the gerontology community. The chapter then goes on to articulate the avenues for further research raised by our participants, as well as the key messages and advice they have for career-​ young colleagues. We conclude by offering a number of suggestions around which continued conversation and dialogue might happen.

Gerontology and gerontologists The labels ‘gerontology’ and ‘gerontologists’ have been used throughout the book as umbrella terms for the subject matter and the people at the centre of our concerns. However, debates about the boundaries and territory of gerontology have a long history, and whether or not it is a distinct academic discipline in its own right, or a field of study, is still a matter of controversy (Lowenstein, 2004). Even among project participants, there is no agreement. While Tom Kirkwood feels that “people have better recognition of the term[s]‌” than 20  years ago, others feel they are off-​putting and need explaining. This is a problem for academics and academic institutions, for funders and, indeed, for other stakeholders and the general public, many of whom are simply baffled by the terms. However, what we have seen is that the growth of inter-​ and multidisciplinary approaches has been key to gerontology’s evolution and a response to the unprecedented social, economic and demographic

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changes that took place over the course of the 20th century (de Medeiros, 2017). Metchnikoff himself recognised that ageing and old age were issues of such scope and importance that a willingness to cross disciplinary and intellectual boundaries was vital. Indeed, in his extensive look at Metchnikoff’s life and career, Achenbaum (1995: 32) tells us: Long before others would come to share his vision, Metchnikoff called for a science of gerontology, grounded in existing disciplines and specialties, as a way to advance human well-​being. As Chapter 5 revealed, the inherently inter-​and multidisciplinary nature of gerontology has been a key motivation for some people to work in this area, but it can be seen as both a strength and as a potential weakness. For some participants, the goal of interdisciplinarity is problematic, not least because many of the “founding mothers and fathers” (in Gilly Crosby’s terms) have been educated, and continue to work in, traditional disciplines. Here, John Bond explains the difficulties: ‘The failure of gerontology academically is the same for the UK as it was in America. There isn’t something at the end of it which says you can use this to do A or B. We can get away with it with sociology; we can get away with it with psychology; we can get away with it with languages … with the other social sciences. But gerontology, because it’s interdisciplinary, you’ve got this tension and have had all the time between being a psychologist on the one hand –​or a sociologist –​and, on the other hand, being gerontologists. And so that’s been, I think, the fundamental problem for gerontology over the years.’ By comparison, Maria Evandrou emphasises the advantages as opposed to the tensions: ‘I think that there’s a huge advantage to being a gerontologist in that, because it’s so inherently interdisciplinary, it means that you have a very broad field of study ahead of you. And so that provides an immense rich area of topics, issues, theories, concepts for you to contemplate, to learn, to investigate and I think that’s really exciting, very exciting.’ And here is Bill Bytheway’s light-​hearted take on this still thorny issue:

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‘People were saying, “It’s a multidisciplinary field”. “What’s a field?” I used to say. “What gerontology needs is a bit more discipline”.’ In fact, maintaining a disciplinary focus was clearly of more importance to some participants than others. As the pen portraits and the discussions in Chapter  5 have shown, quite a few people prefer to be identified by their core discipline or professional practice. At best, being a gerontologist is regarded as a secondary identity and, in some cases, people are adamant about not identifying as a gerontologist. Interestingly, many of those who are sociologists by first discipline were the most ardent, stressing, as Chris Phillipson does here, the benefits of this position: ‘You get confidence in talking to people from other disciplines by being confident in your own discipline, not by sacrificing your discipline. And, I think that’s terribly important in terms of thinking about how you develop.’ We can juxtapose this with other views, including those who see being a gerontologist as their primary identity irrespective of their original discipline or professional training; those who talk about how their identity has changed over the course of their career; and those who spoke about it as one aspect of their identity and how, whether they used the label of gerontologist or not, would depend on the context in which they found themselves. Our examination of people’s professional identities –​and of their pathways into and through gerontology –​raises related questions concerning what it means to be a gerontologist and how gerontology might be conceptualised in the future. As we noted in Chapter 1, Achenbaum and Levin (1989) questioned the status of gerontology some 30 years ago, citing the proliferation of terms that had emerged since the mid-​20th century as evidence of how difficult it is to decide what does or does not come within its scope. With the growth of interest in ageing and the rapid development of gerontology in Britain and elsewhere, some scholars argue that it is important to gerontology’s future to map out common ground and areas of disagreement rather than ‘wait for other disciplines to formally validate its existence’ (Alkema and Alley, 2006: 581). Alkema and Alley (2006), for example, offer a conceptual framework that locates gerontology as an integrative discipline and recognises that knowledge development transcends disciplinary boundaries. That said, although any model is, of necessity, a simplification of the real world,

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their framework still has the three foundational disciplines of biology, psychology and sociology at its heart. More recently, Kate de Medeiros (2017) has articulated what she calls a ‘gerontological perspective’. Having felt –​as a graduate student –​ that she did not fit with, or belong to, the traditional disciplines of those who were teaching her, she wanted ‘to see the landscape of gerontology laid out without disciplinary boundaries’ (de Medeiros, 2017: ix). Consciously using ‘perspectives’ in place of ‘disciplines’, and ‘explanatory stances’ in place of ‘theories’, her 200-​page guide explores a range of topics linked by three overarching aspects of ageing: structure, experience and care. Her considerations resonate with many of the issues, themes and paradigms discussed by our participants; they also echo the work of those who believe there are benefits to be gained by sharing forms of analysis, as well as subject matter, that cross and transcend disciplinary boundaries (Twigg and Martin, 2015b: 354). Helpful as such formulations are, the insights from our archival work and interviews with senior gerontologists clearly illustrate that the territory gerontology now covers is extremely wide-​ranging and does not lend itself to being delineated solely by reference to disciplines and/​or subject matter. Our approach has gone beyond debates about what gerontology is, or is not, by taking account of what gerontologists themselves say they do and how gerontologists –​of all kinds –​go about doing gerontology. The four gerontological pathways we identified in Chapter 5, along with the different outcomes associated with those pathways, help move us away from the limitations imposed by a focus on the three foundational disciplines, or on the traditional subject matter of gerontology. The pathways also reflect the complexity of people’s contributions and the fact that individuals may move in and out of different pathways during their careers. This suggests to us that any future conceptualisation of gerontology must adopt a more flexible and inclusive approach. Importantly, it must also take account of the following issues: what –​in addition to wanting to make a difference –​ draws people into gerontology and motivates them to pursue and sustain a gerontological career; the complexity of people’s gerontological pathways and shifting professional identities; the complicated interplay between research, knowledge exchange, practice and policy; the impact-​focused nature and broad range of gerontological activity within and beyond academia; and the contributions from older people and other groups and stakeholders with interests in ageing. Undoubtedly, there is still considerable scope for others to build on, although, as we

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see in the next section, gerontology and gerontologists have already come a long way.

How far has gerontology come? In reviewing progress in gerontology, it is salutary to remind ourselves –​ as Elaine Brody (2010: 2) did from her vantage point as ‘a very very old person’ –​that no matter how difficult things may seem in the current global economic downturn, the past was much worse. Developments in health and welfare; in science and medicine; in social security and pensions; in provisions and services; and in how we respond to, and meet the needs of vulnerable groups, have been important for the population as a whole, not just older people. That said, and notwithstanding the still contested scope and nature of gerontology, it is evident that the signs of progress are many and varied. In particular, our knowledge of ageing processes and what it is like to grow old and to be old, has expanded considerably. However, the increased interest in ageing and the greater visibility of older people noted at the very start of the book, has not necessarily gone hand-​in-​hand with understanding how best to use or apply our knowledge. So, alongside the positive steps gerontology and gerontologists have made, we also conclude this section by sounding a cautionary note. In order not to simply repeat the details covered by earlier chapters, we draw together the threads of gerontology’s progress into three overarching areas: theoretical developments; visibility, activism and participation; and collaborations and connections. Theoretical developments Despite gerontology long being regarded as ‘data rich and theory poor’ (Birren and Bengston, 1988), an interest in, and the use of, theory has grown, as evidenced in our analyses of the papers presented at conferences of the British Society of Gerontology (BSG) and in the reflections of project participants. In the context of the UK, an increasingly explicit life-​course focus, together with life-​span development psychology, are both valuable contributions to gerontology’s evolution (see Chapters 1 and 3). Although there were very few ‘pure scientists’ among our project participants, we note too significant theoretical advancements in the biology of ageing such as Tom Kirkwood’s (1977) disposable soma theory of ageing. In addition, work on the political economy of ageing and its pivotal

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role in developing the critical gerontology perspective provided an important theoretical anchor for many project participants, especially in the early parts of their careers, even for non-​sociologists. Robin Means recalls: ‘When I first arrived at a gerontology conference –​and in terms of my early thinking –​it was the political economy of ageing work that was influencing me and, I think, setting a lot of agendas.’ Coming to gerontology as a geographer, Sheila Peace also remembers how she was: ‘[I]‌nitially very struck by the work of Peter Townsend, Alan Walker and Chris Phillipson around that kind of political economy approach to ageing. This wasn’t really something that I’d engaged with before: I’m not a sociologist and … doing the work that I had done in the States on the needs and status of older women, especially the financial side, I was able to take on board what people were saying about structured dependency and then apply it to the … even harsher experiences that women were having in later life … that was an area that was very important to me especially from British gerontological work.’ However, as we saw in Chapters 1 and 3, structured dependency and political economy perspectives took a while to embrace both feminist perspectives and the cultural turn to gerontology that was developing more rapidly in Europe and North America. As Paul Higgs observed: ‘Like all normal science, it [structured dependency and political economy] has its own strengths, but it also had its weaknesses of excluding other approaches. And it’s only in the last, say, decade-​and-​a-​half that cultural gerontology has emerged, and has been … is, a slightly more flexible approach. It is very interesting that, for a very long time, that orthodoxy did not want any challenge.’ While theoretical development in gerontology has progressed, it does not necessarily mean that gerontologists are using theories in their

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research or practice. Mary Gilhooly echoes the concerns of many project participants, when she tells us: ‘Well, I  wouldn’t be the first to say that the research certainly needs to be more theory-​driven. An awful lot of gerontological research is just terrible. And one of the reasons it’s so poor is … it’s just descriptive. It’s not theoretically driven and, if it’s not theoretically driven, it can’t take any discipline, let  alone an interdisciplinary exercise, forward.’ This view bears out other evaluations and discussions that show that the majority of empirical research continues to be atheoretical (Bengtson et  al, 1997; Biggs et  al, 2003; Estes et  al, 2003; Alley et  al, 2010). We return to issues around theory in our conclusion, but move now to look at gerontology’s contributions to the visibility and profile of ageing and of older people. Visibility, activism and participation The increasing visibility of ageing issues and of older people has been a consistent thread throughout gerontology’s evolution, driven, of course, by wider societal developments but reflected in, and contributed to, by the kinds of research, practice and activism with which our participants have been involved. The late Alison Norman drew attention to how this “much greater awareness” has helped to improve the quality of physical provision in old age, and how “there has been an enormous change in public expectations” regarding what might be considered as basic standards in services. From her background in policy and direct work with older people, Tessa Harding also spoke about the “shift in perspective” she has witnessed and how, compared with 20 years ago, “older people are now seen as more than the recipients of health and social care”. Meanwhile, geriatrician Ian Philp points to the contributions made by qualitative research in particular: ‘A lot of the work, particularly of qualitative researchers, has been to try to really get a deep and meaningful understanding of how older people see their world, and therefore, what is the right thing to do by way of responding to what older people really need.’

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Sally Greengross endorses these views, saying: ‘When I started, being old removed you from mainstream society. So I think that it’s gerontologists: it’s an understanding of the social implications of ageing as opposed to the medical ones that has really transformed the attitudes of everyone –​not just people in academia or in practice; it has.’ Other people spoke about the importance of changes in the language we use, and about the contributions of –​and collaborations with –​ the various ageing organisations highlighted in earlier chapters and recorded in the timeline (see Appendix 1). Gilly Crosby, Director of the Centre for Policy on Ageing, believes that a crucial turning point was “when we stopped referring to people in later life as ‘the elderly’ … it was a huge change”. She also thinks a lot has been learnt from campaigning organisations, “starting years ago with Pensioners Link” and “from movements such as the Gray Panthers”. Lessons learnt in these ways are further reflected in certain gerontology conferences (see Chapter 4) and in the increasing participatory research orientation of some gerontologists. Again, Tessa Harding recalls how, in her role at Help the Aged: ‘An initial action I did was to make sure that older people were directly involved in all the work that we did: having at least a quarter of older people invited at every conference for example, and not charging them; just making it normal to involve older people.’ Bill Bytheway remembers the annual BSG conference at Norwich in 1993 as the first one that included a panel of older people reflecting on their experiences of ageing, while a memorandum of understanding between BSG and Age UK has facilitated the regular attendance of older people. As we saw in Chapter  4, the BSG also administers a fund set up in 1994  –​in memory of Averil Osborn  –​to support projects that involve older people at all stages of research, from design through to dissemination. Sheila Peace highlights how important participatory approaches are for the visibility of both gerontology and our understanding of ageing and older people: ‘By being multidisciplinary, we [the BSG] certainly bring those different types of methods together and we

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have supported and developed a participatory approach, encouraging both older people and academics to develop this approach. This is seen in the Averil Osborn Fund … [but] I don’t know whether other societies have this truly participatory approach that has come to be developed.’ Increased visibility, activism and participation have been progressed through older people themselves making their voices heard; through recognition by scholars, researchers and practitioners; and through the kinds of cooperation and collaborations alluded to earlier. This latter area is now considered a little more. Collaborations and connections For many participants, working in gerontology is indivisible from the need to connect and collaborate with other people:  across and between disciplines, across and between professions, nationally and internationally. Leaving aside the already noted difficulties about the multi-​and interdisciplinary aspects, increased collaboration has undoubtedly helped progress gerontology and enriched and enhanced participants’ work. As Peter Lansley commented: ‘It’s not a matter of compromising one discipline with another discipline. It’s a matter of bringing them together and getting the best out of them.’ Biogerontologist Tom Kirkwood spoke about his enjoyment of working with social gerontologists when he moved to Newcastle University in the mid-​1990s; Chris Gilleard and Paul Higgs stress the benefits of one of them being a psychologist and the other a sociologist, which, among other things, enables them to critique “both sides of the normal paradigm of ageing”; and Maria Evandrou talked in detail about her appointment at the University of Southampton having enabled her to “collaborate across disciplines and faculties” and lead cross-​disciplinary initiatives. Anthea Tinker too emphasised how much she likes “to work with doctors, engineers … I love to have an architect on the team”, acknowledging that while “it’s easier to talk to people within your own discipline … it’s not as challenging, it’s not as interesting”. International collaborations and connections are a further dimension of how gerontology has progressed. As we saw in Chapter 1, some

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participants availed themselves of opportunities to work or study abroad early in their careers, leading, in many instances, to lifelong professional as well as personal relationships and friendships. Others spoke about how they have developed such connections over time, through particular research interests or through their involvement with international organisations of varying kinds. Partnerships and connections with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Asian countries, in addition to Europe and the US, have also expanded. We flagged some of the formal connections between gerontological societies in Chapter 3 when looking at the role of the BSG and at Judith Phillips’ recollections as its first International Officer. On a personal level, Judith remembers how her early links with Canadian colleagues were important “in introducing me to international gerontology”; later, too, Canada partnered in the New Dynamics of Ageing national research programme (2005–​15). For Sarah Harper as well, a lifelong interest in Asian countries has led to collaborations and involvements with Japan, Singapore and Malaysia in particular. The continuing work of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing –​which Sarah set up over 20 years ago –​has also seen the establishment of four research networks covering Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Clare Wenger too spent a large part of her research career engaged in multinational and comparative studies across Europe and the Indian sub-​continent, concluding: “I’ve learned more about ageing sitting on the polished earth of a small shack in rural India than from most high-​status situations”. A cautionary note Alongside the progress gerontology has made, project participants highlight continuing concerns over certain aspects. Some of these relate to topics that people feel have been overlooked or not yet developed enough; others relate to academic and institutional barriers. We consider both of these issues in subsequent sections. Here, we draw attention to the disappointments people expressed about, for example, an overreliance on technology, or the lack of progress they see in some areas. On the former, Eileen Fairhurst observed that technology is often “seen as a panacea by many policy makers: [when] it’s not necessarily”, while Peter Lansley said that “there is a great danger in believing that technology will provide all the answers”. On the latter, the lack of progress in, for example, tackling ageism was raised by several participants. Despite legislation, Julia Johnson feels

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that, perversely, the situation has worsened since she was a tutor on the first Open University course on ageing. She recalls: ‘That influenced me a lot, that course, and there was quite a lot about ageism in it. I thought at the time, “Gosh, this is going to be revolutionary:  people are going to realise how awful all this age denial and stuff is”. But actually, it’s all got a million times worse.’ These feelings of disappointment extended to other areas too. Several people felt that the major programmes of ageing research outlined in Chapter 3 have not been the milestones one might have expected. Others spoke of their frustration at how slow societal and attitudinal change is; about a lack of political will; about the difficult relationship between policy makers and the research community; and at how research can get “diluted or corrupted or not really quite put into practice”, in the words of Bob Woods. Some people also gave examples of attempts to have their work censored. Jay Ginn encapsulated these feelings when she told us: ‘It’s as if people are in separate rooms and are not listening to each other. In particular, the politicians aren’t listening to the gerontologists: they’re not listening about social care, the NHS, nor about pensions. They’re not listening about housing, disability, transport, community centres.’ Some of the gaps between the progress gerontology has made, and its impact on real lives and wider societal understanding, were also brought into sharp relief in Chapter 6 when project participants reflected on the ways in which their personal and family experiences of ageing had challenged what they thought they knew. Even with the knowledge and understanding gained through a lifetime of researching, writing and/​or being a gerontological practitioner, people were sometimes ill prepared to deal with the realities of ageing, both their own and that of people close to them. Such a mismatch between professional and research-​based understandings, and the transformations to people’s lives and society we might wish to see, can be likened to a form of ‘structural lag’ (Riley and Riley, 1994). This is compounded by the fads and fashions that exist in gerontology as in other areas and, as Chapter 4 demonstrated, by the waxing and waning of particular themes, topics and ideas over the nearly five decades since the BSG was established in

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1971. Thus, alongside the undoubted advances, it is important to sound a cautionary note and to recognise that the evolution of gerontology is not one of continuous or even progress. That said, participants were also keen to discuss potential avenues for further research as well as offer advice to career-​young colleagues, issues to which we now turn.

Gerontology’s futures Suggestions as to where gerontology might go in the future were numerous: this was an issue on which people had a lot to say. Some of what was said relates to the need to fill the gaps in gerontology’s progress to date: in theory and methodology, for example. People also stressed the continued need to research and debate some of the major topics and issues that have been central concerns of gerontologists for decades, including many of the themes discussed in Chapter 4 and detailed in the table in Appendix 2. Alongside these suggestions for further research, participants identified certain areas around which there is a continuing silence, together with some of the crucial challenges facing gerontology and gerontologists in the future. As well as continuing to expand the knowledge base, the future of gerontology is also dependent on those now beginning to take an interest in ageing issues. Consequently, we conclude these discussions with a brief look at the key messages our 50 long-​established gerontologists have for those at the start of their gerontological careers. Avenues for further research The table in Appendix 2, and our discussions in Chapter 4, demonstrate the unevenness in the topics that have concerned gerontologists over the years. It is also axiomatic that one outcome of research is often a plea for further or more detailed work on that self-​same topic. Thus, the scope of underdeveloped or overlooked topics is potentially very wide. Inequality is one such issue, with many participants highlighting that some or all of its dimensions require much more work. Both Robin Means and Alan Walker feel strongly that addressing inequality is central to gerontology’s future. Robin warns that “huge inequalities are around the corner” and that “we really need people modelling what the future’s looking like”. Alan says: ‘Unequal ageing remains for me still the heart of it. There are too many inequalities in later life and too many inequalities on the path to later life…. That must be the

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main challenge: to ensure that as many people as possible live to advanced old age with good health and wellbeing, so that there aren’t huge disparities based on structural factors like class and gender and race, area of residence, education, and so on.’ Sara Arber feels similarly about ethnicity, observing: ‘We still really pay lip service to ethnic minority elders … it’s a real issue that is not looked at in any depth and detail. So I think we need more qualitative and quantitative work on ethnicity; how that intersects with gender and class as well … is important. And clearly, there are large differences among ethnic minority groups, or ethnic groups of elders, and to try to better understand those is very important.’ Like inequality, other issues, situations and certain conditions that have a bearing on policy also stand revisiting or would benefit from being explored from different perspectives. The role of older people, self-​ funded care and migration were all mentioned in this regard. Margaret Boneham feels insufficient attention is paid to older people, saying “I’m sure there is further work that could be done in older people … participating in broader decision making”, while Tessa Harding asks, “Why is the picture always of older people as recipients rather than as contributors?”. Tessa acknowledges that she exaggerates the situation but laments that “there’s still a shortfall really in our understanding of the role they play: the positive things, the contributions they make”. Meanwhile, Joanna Bornat and Sarah Harper both highlight issues that have been, and are, “bubbling away” on the policy agenda. In Joanna’s case, self-​funded care is a concern; for Sarah (and others like John Vincent and Bill Bytheway), it is migration and the changing labour market. Joanna says: ‘The big thing that I think is sort of bubbling away there –​ and has been for years but it’s coming up again –​is this whole issue of self-​funded care. It’s massive and there’s a lot that could be said around that and explored.’ Sarah speaks similarly about migration: ‘Without any doubt, there is a concern in this country to control migration. Now, if we did not have migrant labour,

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the obvious thing to look at is older workers and that means we’ll all have to work longer…. We’re talking about losing labour in areas where, traditionally, we have used migrant labour who’ve been willing to do all sorts of jobs…. We are moving into a very different world and I think migration and ageing are so closely linked that that is going to be bubbling on the policy agenda.’ Other topics particularly worthy of future consideration include, unsurprisingly, technology and the digital world (and associated ethical issues); mental health and dementia; financial gerontology; current retirement lifestyles; new patterns of ageing and family (including stem families, and grandparenting); and traffic and transport. More broadly, Jay Ginn suggests that gerontology has yet to address adequately “the impact of austerity on older people’s lives and how counterproductive it is”. Methodologically too, participants raised the need for more (longitudinal) cohort studies and comparative work. In addition to identifying particular topics and issues, participants spoke about the kinds of approaches that will be needed in the future. Given the huge expansion in those now interested in ageing, it will not surprise readers to learn that even closer collaboration and cross-​ disciplinary working are seen as crucial to the future of gerontology. Earlier, biogerontologist Tom Kirkwood spoke about how much he enjoyed working with social gerontologists. Tom went on to say that “building interdisciplinary bridges” remains fundamental and that “gerontology has, as yet, underrealised potential to gain strength from its multidisciplinary nature”. Alan Walker echoes these views, saying: ‘For me, the relationship between social science and biogerontology is absolutely critical. I  would like to see much more fusion of social science and biogerontological approaches; getting biogerontolog ists and social gerontologists to work together is necessary. That’s really where I would see the cutting edge.’ Likewise, Robin Means applies the same thinking to the arts and social sciences, observing that: ‘There’s a lot of very interesting interdisciplinary projects trying to link arts with social sciences in different combinations. Maybe some of them –​the arts element –​is a bit of an add-​on but, in others, it’s a much more equal

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collaboration. And I would like to think that there’s a lot more scope for that to further develop.’ Both Tom Kirkwood and Chris Phillipson also speak about the benefits of looking at given topics from different disciplinary perspectives. Tom recognises that to take his own work forward on increasing the “health span” of people, “we need to be able to investigate what it is that can be done through social interventions, what it is about psychological factors, what it is about lifestyle factors, and how you bring about change in the way that individuals perceive those factors”. For Chris, the exploration of frailty is a particular topic that science, medicine and social science might legitimately explore: ‘Frailty has become a dominant area of interest in medicine, and in the life sciences: trying to understand the course of frailty and interventions in frailty, measure frailty, frailty indexes. It’s a whole fantastic industry. But, it’s also one that sociologists [and] social gerontologists can try and look at in terms of the meaning of … being labelled frail, what frailty is as a social construction … and as a cultural construction, as much as one which is a kind of health condition. We should be doing more of that.’ While these and similar topics are bubbling away and might potentially attract greater inter-​and multidisciplinary attention in the future, there are also issues about which there continues to be a resounding silence or that present gerontologists with enduring challenges. Silences and challenges However one does or does not view the continuing debates about the third and fourth ages, all being well, everyone –​gerontologists included –​will eventually have to contend with the later phases of the life course. Tony Warnes acknowledges how difficult it is “to get rational consideration” about this period of our lives, saying, “it’s not just politicians, but the population at large [who] don’t really want to face up to old age and its nastier personal impacts”. Julia Twigg includes gerontologists in her similar critique and explains our reluctance in these terms: ‘I think there probably is a failure to engage with the subjectivity of the last phases of life, and it’s partly a failure of

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resources…. But, it’s also a failure of imagination, and … an understandable fear that we all have in facing these difficult stages of life. And I’m afraid I think that’s in the research community as much as on the outside…. Whether it’s too big a task, I don’t know. But I think there is something missing in our analyses.’ Meanwhile, Peter Coleman names some of these fears, saying: ‘There’s a big issue for me: how people are going to grow old and die in the future, and come to terms with all those existential issues without all the religious assumptions and supports that they’ve been used to.’ Even though spirituality is “on the agenda” in Peter’s words, he and others feel there is still a silence around it and around its relationship with end-​of-​life care. This concern is shared by Malcolm Johnson, who, in 2005, helped establish the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath –​the UK’s only centre devoted to the study and research of social aspects of death, dying and bereavement. Malcolm’s hope is that work on these challenging issues will develop in the future. He says: ‘You can feel the momentum. And I would like to think that, in not many years’ time, it will be seen  –​not as people often think –​simply as something that belongs in faith communities, but it’s about the inner lives of older people; and that it has a very distinct character; and it’s very important; and it is biographical; and that if you can comprehend it, you can help people to come to the ends of their lives better; and that supporting people in later life is not only dealing with their physicalities or their lack of pension but, actually, what’s inside their heads. We haven’t got there yet.’ Concerns with end of life also bring the medical–​social interface into sharp relief and raise related policy, practice and ethical challenges regarding palliative care, assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the funding and delivery of such care. There is often a silence around these too. Moreover, the kinds of subjective, existential and very practical issues encapsulated in these silences underpin a number of additional challenges for gerontology –​and gerontologists –​in the future. Some

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of these are big, all-​encompassing existential questions; other questions focus on specific issues and topics that people felt gerontology needs to address or continue addressing. Ageism  –​and the question of whether or not we have defeated it –​is an immediate and obvious topic raised in different guises throughout our discussions. In addition, prompted by her chairing of the UK government’s Foresight review on ageing (Foresight, 2016), Sarah Harper asks how things are going to change in the future around a number of key areas highlighted by many participants: ‘What we need to be looking at is how work has got to change, how education has to change, what we’re going to do about supporting families, transport, the built environment, making sure that the digital world is correct for us as we age, and in old age: telehealth, telecare, etcetera.’ For Chris Phillipson though, the key challenge is about gerontology and gerontologists getting to grips with what he terms “the bigger picture”: ‘The bigger picture –​which I think social gerontology is muddled about –​is how is the life course changing? What sort of later life are we developing in a globalised world? In a world of real instability? In a world where … transitions are much more unstable, fragmented, fluid? So, there’s a fantastic task here to rethink the way old age is being reconstructed, if you like. But, I don’t get the sense that there’s enough of that going on.’ Paul Higgs is similarly challenging: ‘The 21st century is about what is going to happen in later life, and how that diversity is going to transform many of the assumptions that we have about old age. We’re still living with assumptions that … [are] 20 odd years behind social reality…. Just the simple thing about people working and then being succeeded by the younger generation: is that going to happen?… Now, it’s going to be, well, are we going to get generational conflicts? Are we going to get differences in what people think the future’s going to be? Should we allow these things? Shouldn’t we allow? How are people going to benefit because they are in prosperous countries,

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against those people who are not in prosperous countries? These are all going to be issues that are familiar to us, but they’re going to be seen through the prism of ageing.’ Paul’s reflections on the future also take us full circle back to the emergence of gerontology when he says the key question is still “not just how many people there are going to be or what the cost of pensions are; it’s actually going to be that question that sociologists started asking in the 1950s…. What is old age for?”. Such challenging questions  –​as well as the silences identified earlier  –​are concerns for both long-​established and career-​young gerontologists and will doubtless continue to underpin dialogue and debate between future generations working in ageing. Generation to generation In looking to the future, long-​established gerontologists not only have a unique historical vantage point, but, as we saw in Chapter 7, many continue to stay engaged with gerontology through their involvement with, and mentorship of, career-​young colleagues. This has been a notable hallmark of gerontology, considered by past luminaries such as Powell Lawton (2000), who applauds the assistance given to younger scholars and teachers. Consequently, project participants were asked what advice or thoughts they would most like to share with younger colleagues in the light of their own experiences of growing older and working in this field. Broadly speaking, responses fell into two categories:  advice about ‘being’ a gerontologist and about ‘doing’ gerontology. In terms of doing gerontology, much advice was very practical in nature encompassing things one might expect such as Jill Manthorpe’s encouragement to “go to conferences” and “read widely”; Eileen Fairhurst’s belief that “the most important [thing] is to write and to go to conferences”; and Jay Ginn’s advice to “find a good mentor”. Clare Wenger and Bob Woods stressed the importance of really getting to know “who old people are”, while Judith Phillips recommended career-​young colleagues to “network like crazy: network and take up as much training as you can”. Other participants like John Bond and Sarah Harper emphasised, yet again, being confident in, and having, a base discipline before branching into gerontology. John advises: ‘Make sure you’re well grounded in one of the basic social science disciplines first and foremost, before specialising into

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gerontology. So if you are a geographer, be a geographer. If you’re a sociologist, be a sociologist. Study older people as part of that discipline.’ A slightly different perspective is provided by Christina Victor: ‘I think what the next generation need to do in a way –​a bit like most of us have done –​they need two strings to their bow … you need to be employable. If your employers are not interested in ageing, then you need to have research methods, let’s say digital methods or whatever it is.’ The advice on doing gerontology was also about taking “every opportunity” and not just focusing “on one particular thing”, in Sara Arber’s words, because: “You don’t know where they’re going to lead to…. I think you can branch out and do different things, and that’s what makes life interesting; and you learn from different areas”. This contrasts with Malcolm Johnson, who replied: ‘I would be saying what I do say, which is that the world of ageing is a huge canvas, and it’s only going to get bigger and more interesting. So, find some distinctive part of what’s going on that really engages you, and work hard at it, and it will be very rewarding for you as well as making a contribution to wider society.’ ‘Working hard’ is also the advice Anthea Tinker gives: ‘What I would say to anybody in any career, is [have] a good work ethic. If you work hard, you usually get rewarded. Some people do expect things to come too easily to them; I think you have got to work extremely hard.’ And, for her part, Julia Johnson emphasises the importance of “curiosity, listening and sharing” to being a good researcher, saying she would put those qualities “before ambition”. Despite the difficulties and cautions already noted, Maria Evandrou feels that “there’s never been a better time or a more exciting time for career-​young colleagues to specialise in ageing and the life course, be it in research, or be it in teaching and learning”. For Maria and for many people, ‘doing’ gerontology and ‘being’ a gerontologist are indivisible; they are also about enjoying “being passionate” about what interests

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you. As Mike Nolan emphasises: “Have a passion, have something you believe in; try and stick to those guns as far as you can, and follow a trajectory if you’re able to”. This kind of advice reflects Holstein and Minkler’s (2007: 26) belief in the importance of ‘passionate scholarship’ to critical gerontology and, we would add, to all manner of current and future gerontological endeavours. With that in mind, we turn to some concluding thoughts of our own.

Conclusion The reflections of the senior gerontologists interviewed for this project, together with our analyses of the archives of the BSG, demonstrate both the vibrancy and variety of what has and is happening in the field, as well as the continuing dilemmas and challenges to which there are seemingly no easy or simple solutions. The notable developments of recent years –​particularly in terms of theoretical and methodological advancements and paradigm shifts  –​ hold out the possibility that gerontology might, eventually, be seen as the integrative discipline and approach espoused by some of its founders and pioneers, as well as by current and less disciplinary-​hidebound scholars (de Medeiros, 2017). At the same time, gerontology and gerontologists in the 21st century are subjected to structural and institutional barriers that work against this vision while, paradoxically, those selfsame institutions and organisations profess and promote the benefits of inter-​ and multidisciplinary working. Consequently, we conclude this exploration of gerontology’s evolution by outlining four areas we think offer further opportunity for continued constructive debate and conversation. First, we are not alone in highlighting the crucial role that education and educational institutions in particular might play if gerontology –​ and what is now termed ageing studies –​is to progress further. Sally Greengross commented that, in her view, “children should be learning about ageing”. This carries through to higher education as well, especially as it is the context within which many –​but by no means all –​of the gerontologists in this project worked, or still work. However, there are two related issues that counter the drive towards inclusivity and integration desired by many gerontologists:  the structures and politics of academe, and the nature of existing educational offerings. UK gerontologists, like their counterparts in other countries, have often crossed disciplinary frontiers in their efforts to contribute to building the gerontological knowledge base (Achenbaum, 1995). Despite progress and innovation in some institutions, the inherently conservative nature of academia means that many departments and

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educational offerings remain organised along traditional disciplinary boundaries; national research exercises in the UK are similarly structured; reward and promotion systems favour discipline-​based achievements; core funding for many research centres and networks is the exception rather than the rule, and has contributed to the shifting focus and demise of certain pioneering gerontology centres in recent years; and, even with the emergence of the ‘impact agenda’, there is still a lack of real support for interdisciplinary work and the translation and application of knowledge between research, policy and practice (Alkema and Alley, 2006; Bass, 2006; Warnes and Phillips, 2007). Moreover, in contrast with developments in North America, gerontology in the UK has struggled to find a place in mainstream academic education. If gerontologists are involved in teaching, this tends largely to be at postgraduate level, or through providing service teaching and occasional or optional modules on selected undergraduate degrees. In addition, gerontologists sometimes contribute to vocational training courses for doctors, nurses, social workers and the like. However, their input is often minimal and there remains a need to include a more critical life-​course perspective on ageing on many such courses. While we are not advocating the creation of undergraduate degrees in gerontology or ageing studies  –​that would make little practical or economic sense in the current constrained climate –​we believe strongly that population ageing, together with the knowledge and understanding that now exists about ageing and later life, is relevant to most academic and vocational subjects, be they traditional disciplines or newer and/​or more applied offerings. Ageing touches on pretty much every subject and, as Judith Phillips observed, “you can bolt on ageing to all research areas, more or less”. Consequently, what –​we ask –​is preventing a forward-​looking institution from, for example, adjusting its undergraduate curricula to introduce gerontological ideas and a (critical) gerontological perspective across the board? What Julia Twigg earlier described as “a failure of imagination” on the part of gerontologists is also a failure of imagination on the part of the institutions in which gerontologists work. Reimagining ageing and the role of gerontology and gerontologists for the future requires not only a secure educational base and proper institutional support, but institutions with foresight and imagination themselves. Where this might once have been a risky venture, as Maria Evandrou says, “ageing’s not going to go away”. Second, it seems to us that we are poised on the brink of further paradigm change. Rather than focus on trying to find an all-​ encompassing ‘grand theory’, gerontology has evolved and shifted

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to a point where we can identify key ideas and concepts that are moving our understanding forward. For us –​drawing on what our participants have said –​there is evident progress in terms of inter-​and multidisciplinary collaboration and ways of working; in the adoption of critical thinking and analysis; in the employment of constructive, creative and more nuanced explorations and methodologies; and in the beginnings of not shying away from examining some of the silences and more difficult areas gerontology inevitably confronts. Having already discussed inter-​and multidisciplinarity at some length, we simply note here that it is likely to remain a complex and contested area (Katz, 1996; Biggs et al, 2003; Bass, 2006). Meanwhile, critical thinking and analysis has, we would suggest, penetrated some areas of gerontology more than others:  the policy landscape comes most easily to mind (Walker, 2014b). But, as project participant Sara Arber observes, gerontology is now much more about “a process of changing the way people think; the discourses; the way we talk; the way people approach subjects; the sort of things students would do research on”. Such transformations are reflected too in the widening variety of research designs and methodologies adopted by gerontologists. Together, these developments help pave the way for further paradigmatic advances, notably in terms of the cross-​disciplinary engagements seen currently through the lens of cultural gerontology. Although the ‘cultural turn’ came late to gerontology, we too believe that a constructive and critical cultural gerontology holds out the possibility of ‘refreshing the gerontological imaginary’ (Twigg and Martin, 2015b: 357). It feels as if this could be the start of a paradigmatic shift, but, as Amigoni and McMullan (2019: 258) warn, there is much work still to be done ‘to create genuine conversation between disciplinary groupings’. This brings us to a third area: the potential role of the BSG. We have already seen the crucial role that the BSG has played in the evolution of British gerontology to date, and how it is valued by its members. From small beginnings in 1971, it grew substantially during the late 20th century and was elected as a member of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics in 1987. Membership has increased steadily, with more than 500 current members, as has attendance at annual conferences (see Chapter 4). In addition, the BSG has long championed the involvement of older people in research through its support of the Averil Osborn Fund; has been instrumental in supporting new and emerging scholars; and, at various points in its history, has instigated a variety of special interest groups of which there are currently six reflecting both traditional as well as contemporary concerns. The BSG also has a more informal

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grouping of ‘senior and retired’ members, some of whom support and mentor early-​career researchers. While the continued creation of gerontological knowledge in the UK is obviously not confined to members of the BSG, John Bond spoke for many when he observed that the society “will continue to be important” in bringing “together people of different disciplines who are interested in the study of ageing and older people’s experiences”. However, as we saw in earlier chapters, gerontology in the UK –​and the BSG –​has evolved in ways that have tended to separate it from psychology and psychologists, and from medical and other practitioners and professionals who were much more active and visible in the early years. We, along with a number of project participants, are concerned at this potential narrowing of what gerontology might be and how it is understood. This contrasts with the situation in the US where the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) –​though admittedly a much larger and longer-​established organisation than the BSG –​has always encompassed a very wide membership and incorporates health sciences, behavioural and social sciences, biological sciences, and social research, policy and practice. In Peter Coleman’s words, it has also supported a “more conscious development of interdisciplinary research” and practice, as evidenced in the creation of a Humanities and the Arts Committee and its long-​established educational unit (the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education). The BSG is clearly not big enough to accommodate the range of sections and interests that the GSA commands. However, we do wonder if the time might be right for the BSG to consider whether something like “a British equivalent of GSA” (in the words of Chris Phillipson), or the original British Council for Ageing, might helpfully be resurrected as a way of fostering further collaboration while, at the same time, preserving gerontology’s identity in an increasingly complex arena. Idealistic as it may seem, we would like to see the BSG spearheading a coalition of ageing organisations not just bringing together the three original learned societies and professional bodies that constituted the British Council for Ageing, but also crossing the public, private and voluntary sectors. Our fourth and final suggestion for continuing the conversation about where gerontology might go, concerns gerontologists themselves. Throughout the book, we have heard from a wide variety of people who, between them, have been instrumental in developing the gerontological knowledge base and in helping move research, scholarship, theory building, methodology, policy and practice, forward. Alongside this, we also asked participants to engage in a degree of autobiographical

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reflection, and to consider the intersections between their professional lives as gerontologists and their personal and family experiences of ageing and later life. As the project progressed, as our analyses progressed, and as the book has been written, we have increasingly come to recognise that the processes both we and our participants have been through include and reflect ways of viewing and experiencing the world and our own ageing that resonate with what scholars, theoreticians and researchers have variously termed ‘age consciousness’ (Woodward, 1991; Gullette, 1997, 2004); ‘conscious ageing’ (Moody, 2009); ‘generational intelligence’ (Biggs and Lowenstein, 2011); and ‘conscious criticality’ (Amigoni and McMullan, 2019). These concepts and perspectives share a desire to be compassionately critical about wider society, its treatment of ageing and older people, and relations between different generations. They are also about the ability to critique and examine one’s own life and relationships as one grows older. In Susan Pickard’s (2016:  244) words, developing an authentic ‘age consciousness’ as part of reimagining the meaning of old age, is formed by ‘an individual biographical narrative in which we “tell our own stories of age” ’. Telling ‘stories of age’ was a key element of what we asked our participants to do. Likewise, ‘conscious ageing’ and ‘conscious criticality’ echo the tenets of critical gerontology and remind us –​whether we are engaged in theorising, research, teaching, policy making or practice –​to be aware of the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of what we are doing. When undertaking his doctoral study, project participant John Miles (2014) also developed the related notion of ‘reflexive seniority’. In John’s formulation –​but paraphrasing –​reflexive seniority involves curiosity and compassion, proactive interest in others and other issues and a willingness to adapt, and is constantly renegotiated; it is neither a status nor a process, but has elements of both. We suggest that this notion –​alongside these other perspectives –​may well be worthy of further development and discussion among members of the gerontological community. Finally, in keeping with the ‘reflexive seniority’ of the 50 ‘senior gerontologists’ who shared their experiences and insights with us, we conclude this exploration of gerontology’s evolution on a personal note and with the last lines of Primo Levi’s poem ‘To My Friends’. The completion of the book has been sustained by the friendship between us, and the friendship and support extended to us by the wider gerontological community; our task is now done and we hope too that both gerontology and gerontologists have a lengthy and peaceable future ahead.

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Now that time presses urgently, And the tasks are finished, To all of you the modest wish That the autumn may be long and mild. (To My Friends, Primo Levi, 1985)

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Appendix 1

Timeline: policies, research programmes, organisations and key events

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Policies, political events and organisations Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (1939) –​set up with the help of the British Institute of Adult Education (BIAE). Renamed the Arts Council in 1946.

Year 1939–45 (Second World War)

Beveridge Report ‘Social Insurance and Allied Services’ (1942) –​was the basis for the post-​war reforms, the founding of the welfare state and creation of the National Health Service (NHS).

240

A National Health Service (White Paper) (Ministry of Health, 1944)  –​ detailed proposals for a system of free, universal healthcare funded by central taxation. Labour government (1945) –​Labour landslide after the war. Prime Minister: Clement Attlee. National Health Services Act –​provided for ‘the establishment of a comprehensive health service for England and Wales’ to be managed by central government rather than local authorities. Came into being in 1948. National Foundation for Adult Education –​forum for consultation between organisations providing adult education. Merged with BIAE (1949) to become the National Institute of Adult Education; renamed the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) in 1983. Merged with the Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (2016): now the Learning and Work Institute.

1946

Nuffield Foundation (1943) –​a charitable trust established by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors. Continues to fund research to improve the design and operation of social policy around welfare, justice and education.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Old People’s Welfare Committee (1940) –​set up following discussions by a group of individuals and governmental and voluntary organisations that felt the existing Poor Law provisions were inadequate. Subsequently became the National Old People’s Welfare Committee (1944) and, later, Age Concern, now Age UK (see 1971; 2009).

Research, societies and research-​related events

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National Corporation for the Care of Old People (NCCOP) –​established by, and housed in premises in Regent’s Park belonging to the Nuffield Foundation. Concerned with the ‘welfare of the aged’; gave donations and support to organisations; managed properties (for example, residential homes) and disbursed money to worthwhile ventures. Assembled a significant library on ageing. Became the Centre for Policy on Ageing (1980).

1947

National Health Service –​founded 5 July.

1948

Medical Society for the Care of the Elderly –​later renamed the British Geriatrics Society (1959). Original aims were defined as ‘the relief of suffering and distress amongst the aged and infirm by the improvement of standards of medical care for such persons, the holding of meetings and the publication and distribution of the results of research’ (Oliver, D. [2008] ‘The British Geriatrics Society at 60’, Generations Review, January) .

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Royal Commission on Population –​noted increasing population of older people; identified this growth as a potential threat to the nation’s prosperity.

Appendix 1

National Assistance Act –​abolished the Poor Law system and placed a duty on local authorities to provide residential accommodation for those who needed it (Section 21). Section 47 provided the power to remove people from their own home in specific circumstances. 1949

1950

International Association of Gerontological Societies  –​ founded and registered in Liège, Belgium: an association of organisations involved in gerontology research and training. Later renamed the International Association of Gerontology, then the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (2004). 1st World Congress of Gerontology –​9–11 July, Liège, Belgium (113 attendees from 14 countries). The most recent congress –​ the 21st World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics (2017) –​ was held in San Francisco, USA, and was the largest ever, with over 6,000 attendees from more than 75 countries.

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Year

Conservative governments –​Prime Ministers: Winston Churchill (1951–​ 55); Sir Anthony Eden (1955–​57); Harold Macmillan (1957–​63); Sir Alec Douglas-​Home (1963–​64).

1951

Mental Health Act –​recommended care in the community, closure of Victorian asylums.

1953

Phillips Report ‘Report of the Committee on the Economic and Financial Problems of the Provision for Old Age’ –​looked at the economic and financial problems associated with population ageing and warned that the National Insurance scheme (expanded by the government in 1948) was heading for a deficit.

1954

Research, societies and research-​related events

3rd World Congress of Gerontology –​held in London (465 attendees, 38 countries); J.H. Sheldon, ‘the father of community geriatric medicine’ (Marjorie Warren was ‘the mother’), elected as President of the International Association of Gerontology.

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Institute of Community Studies –​an urban studies think tank set up by sociologist Michael Young. Supported the creation of many other organisations, such as The Open University and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Merged with the Mutual Aid Centre (2005), renamed The Young Foundation. Help the Aged Refugees Appeal –​set up in response to the needs of older people following natural disasters and conflict in the former Yugoslavia, former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and Rwanda. Renamed Help the Aged, it continued to raise money for emergency aid overseas. It also became involved with projects for older people in the UK, developing a strong policy focus on poverty/​exclusion. Merged with Age Concern in 2009.

1961

Labour governments –​Harold Wilson was first Labour Prime Minister to serve consecutive terms (1964–​70).

1964

Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure –​co-​founded by Peter Laslett (1915–​2001, who retired in 1983) and Tony Wrigley. Granted Social Science

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Policies, political events and organisations

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Pre-​Retirement Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland  –​ founded to stimulate new associations and advocate for employers and trade unions to take responsibility for pre-​retirement education.

Conservative government –​Prime Minister: Edward Heath (1970–​74). Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act –​Section 2 requires local authorities to assess/​provide services to meet the needs of disabled people.

1965

Social Science Research Council (SSRC) –​established with Michael Young (previously Head of the Labour Party’s research department) as Chair, and Claus Moser as a founding member.

1967

SSRC Data Bank –​established at the University of Essex. After many name changes, it became the UK Data Archive in 2000. Is now the lead organisation of the UK Data Service (established 2012) and the world’s largest and most heavily used social science data archive. Holds nearly 5,000 UK social science datasets.

1968

1969

The Open University –​established through the efforts of Michael Young, Peter Laslett and others; enrolled first students in 1971.

1970

SSRC Research Units –​first of such units set up: Industrial Relations Research Unit (University of Warwick) and the Research Unit on Ethnic Relations (University of Bristol).

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243

Health Services and Public Health Act –​arrangements for the provision of meals and recreation, visiting and social work services, adaptations, warden services, boarding out and assistance in transport to services.

Research Council (SSRC) Research Unit status in 1974. Set the standards for the demographic analysis of past societies and was a pioneer of research into the history of old age. Funded by the ESRC between October 1985 and September 2000.

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Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

Age Concern –​the new name for the former National Old People’s Welfare Committee. Begins to conduct its own research in 1976 under the guidance of Mark Abrams on his retirement as Director of the SSRC Survey Unit.

1971

British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology (BSSBG) affectionately known as BUZBUG, is established. Publishes a regular newsletter from 1972 titled Ageing Times, Generations (1985–​91) and Generations Review (1991 to date).

Beth Johnson Foundation –​a national charity established to benefit older people. Became known for its innovative practice and research; close links to the Centre for Social Gerontology at Keele University (see 1987).

1972

Age and Ageing –​the journal of the British Geriatrics Society is launched. Joint editors A.N. Exton-​Smith and H.M. Hodkinson (1972–​85).

European Economic Community (EEC) –​after two previous failed attempts (in 1961 and 1967), Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath took Britain into the EEC in January, becoming its ninth member. In a referendum in 1975 the electorate voted to stay in the EEC under renegotiated terms of entry.

1973

Labour governments –​Prime Ministers: Harold Wilson (1974–​76); James Callaghan (1976–​79).

1974

Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU) –​set up at the University of Kent by Bleddyn Davies to carry out policy analysis, research and consultancy in the UK and abroad. Two new branches established in 1996 at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the University of Manchester.

1975

British Council on Ageing –​constituted by the British Geriatrics Society, BSSBG and the Biological Sciences Research Association.

1977

Psychology Applied to the Care of the Elderly (PACE) –​set up in Scotland by Mary Gilhooly, Ian Hanley and others.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

244

Policies, political events and organisations

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A happier old age (Department of Health and Social Security) –​a discussion document about whether community care could keep older people out of residential care, warning of the strain that older people put on ‘our pockets’.

1978

Conservative governments –​Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher –​first female Prime Minister/​first Prime Minister to serve three consecutive terms (1979–​90); John Major (1990–​97).

1979

British Society of Gerontology (BSG) –​BSSBG changes its name to BSG: reported in the December issue of Ageing Times.

Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA) –​NCCOP is renamed. Eric Midwinter appointed Director. CPA becomes a think tank dedicated to the analysis, development and promulgation of social policy for older people.

1980

Psychologists Special Interest Group for the Elderly (PSIGE)  –​ inaugural meeting held at Corbett Hospital, Stourbridge, on 23 May. Chair: Una Holden; Vice-​Chair: Bob Woods; Secretary: Jeff Garland; Treasurer: Cath Burley. Constitution ratified and name PSIGE formally adopted at first conference in 1981.

Care in the community (Green Paper) –​this document considered joint financing to promote moves out of hospital.

1981

Ageing & Society –​first issue of new peer reviewed journal (January) jointly sponsored by BSG and CPA, published by Cambridge University Press. First editor: Malcolm Johnson.

National Pensioners Convention –​an umbrella organisation initiated by Jack Jones after he retired as General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union. Represents and campaigns on behalf of older people.

Care in action (White Paper) –​recommended strengthening community and neighbourhood support. Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1980, Statutory Instument no. 1299 (Department of Health and Social Security) –​ change to provide public support to residents of private and voluntary care homes. Had major repercussions on growth of private homes and older people moving into care homes.

Association of Carers –​founded by Judith Oliver. Merges with the National Council for Carers and their Elderly Dependents (1988) to form the Carers National Association; renamed Carers UK (2001) and responds to devolution by establishing Carers Scotland, Wales and Carers Northern Ireland. Carries out an annual survey to build a picture of the state of caring in the UK.

Appendix 1

245

Growing older (White Paper) –​emphasised that care in the community must mean care by the community.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

World Assembly on Ageing –​Vienna, Austria. First major worldwide initiative on ageing; developed an International Plan of Action on Aging in the same year. Development of UN Principles for Older Persons adopted in 1991.

1982

Economic and Social Research Council –​symbolic renaming of the SSRC, losing the word ‘science’. ESRC Ageing Initiative (1982–​87) –​Margot Jefferys (first ever Professor of Medical Sociology in 1968 at Bedford College, London) was consultant to this research programme. Association of Learned Societies in the Social Sciences –​the representative body for the social sciences in the UK. Renamed the Academy of Learned Societies for the Social Sciences (1999–​2007), now the Academy of Social Sciences.

University of the Third Age –​established by Peter Laslett, Michael Young, Eric Midwinter and others. British self-​help model differed from original French (1973) conception begun by Professor Pierre Vallas, Faculty of Social Science, Toulouse University.

246

Mental Health Act –​obliged local authorities to promote community care for mentally ill people.

1983

Social services: Provision of care to the elderly (Department of the Environment) –​report of an audit that found a patchy and inefficient distribution of resources across the country; it recommended home care organisers as coordinators of community care.

PSIGE –​becomes a British Psychological Society/​Division of Clinical Psychology special interest group, incorporating PACE soon afterwards. Thirty years later the name formally changed to the Faculty of the Psychology of Older People. Centre for Environmental and Social Studies in Ageing  –​ established by Sheila Peace, Leonie Kellaher and Dianne Willcocks at the Polytechnic of North London (now London Metropolitan University).

Fifty Plus:​All to Play For –​English Sports Council initiative aimed particularly at people aged 50–​60. Special sessions held across the country. 1984

First European Framework Programme (FP) –​first of a series of funding programmes created by the European Union (EU) to support and foster research in the European Research Area, and involving many UK researchers/​gerontologists. FP8, also known as Horizon 2020, is the latest.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

The rising tide (Hospital Advisory Service) –​report on the growth in numbers of people with dementia.

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1985

Generations, the bulletin of the BSG –​replaces Ageing Times. Association for Educational Gerontology –​an international membership organisation concerned with learning in later life established by Frank Glendenning, a pioneer in the field of educational gerontology, and others, later renamed the Association for Education and Ageing. Its journal Education and Ageing became the Journal of Educational Gerontology (1986) and, in 2010, the International Journal of Education and Ageing.

Making a reality of community care (Audit Commission) –​stressed ongoing nature of ineffective service delivery and geographical inequality.

Age Concern Institute of Gerontology (ACIOG) –​established at King’s College London by then Director General of Age Concern Sally Greengross and others. Anthea Tinker appointed (1987) as first Director with Janet Askham as Deputy Director.

1987

Centre for Social Gerontology (CSG) –​established in the Department of Adult and Continuing Education at the University of Keele by Frank Glendenning and Chris Phillipson.

Living well into old age: Applying principles of good practice to services for people with dementia (King’s Fund) –​working paper spelling out how the principles of ‘social role valorisation’ (which emphasises the value, individuality and rights of the person) could be applied in dementia. Firth Report ‘Public support for residential care: joint central and local government working party’ –​set against concerns that older people were entering private residential care unnecessarily, the report focused on assessment of need and the extent to which public support for residential care was justified.

Learning in Later Life Programme –​founded by Lesley Hart at the University of Strathclyde; built on the adult education programmes in the Continuing Education Centre established in the mid-1970s.

From home help to home care (Social Services Inspectorate) –​identified deficiencies in the technical efficiency of home care services. Community care: Agenda for action (Griffiths Report) (HMSO) –​review by Sir Roy Griffiths on use of public funds to support community care. Recommended that social services should be enablers rather than providers. Residential care: A positive choice (Wagner Report) (HMSO) –​review chaired by Lady Gillian Wagner into changes required to residential care.

1988

ACIOG and CSG –​the UK’s first (part-​time) Master’s programmes in gerontology are launched at King’s College London (MSc) and Keele University (MA). They take their first cohorts of students in the autumn.

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247

1986

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

Caring for people: Community care in the next decade and beyond (White Paper) –​advocated services to people in their own homes, to be provided largely by the independent and voluntary sector; reduced role of public sector; recognised that family and friends provide the bulk of care.

1989

Dementia Services Development Centre, University of Stirling –​first such centre, directed by Mary Marshall; now part of a network of centres across the UK and Ireland.

International Day of Older Persons –​the United Nations General Assembly designates 1 October as the International Day of Older Persons.

248

1990

Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age (1990–​93) –​produces nine ‘state of the art’ research reports on issues such as employment, pensions, leisure, citizenship and volunteering.

1991

Generations Review –​renamed newsletter of the BSG launched at annual conference in Manchester (20–​22 September).

1992

Alzheimer’s Research Trust –​charity founded with mission ‘to fund the best research to defeat dementia’; renamed Alzheimer’s Research UK (2011). Supports 15 centres of research excellence.

NHS and Community Care Act –​major legislation appointing social services as the lead agency in community care. Introduced purchaser–​ provider split in health and social care; removed most long-​term care from the NHS; increased marketisation/​consumerism; ushered in ‘choice agenda’.

European Year of Older People and Solidarity between Generations  –​ first such year celebrating and reflecting on the situations of older people across the then much smaller and recently designated EU. Connected UK organisations and researchers to colleagues across Europe.

1993

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS) –​longitudinal study funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); investigates dementia and cognitive decline in more than 18,000 people aged 65+. A comparison study –​CFAS II –​was added in 2008, and CFAS Wales in 2011.

Working for patients (White Paper) –​proposed major reforms to the NHS: more patient choice; better response to local needs; hospitals to be self-​governing trusts; large GP practices to hold their own budgets.

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Technology Foresight programme (1994–​95) –​government (Office of Science and Technology) initiative; important stimulus for ageing research.

1994

Averil Osborn Memorial Fund –​established by the BSG to support innovative research and dissemination projects that directly involve older people at all stages. Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies –​established at The Open University by Sheila Peace, Bill Bytheway, Joanna Bornat and others. Institute for Ageing and Health –​established at Newcastle University; Director: Tom Kirkwood. Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing (SISA) –​founded at University of Sheffield; Ian Philp appointed as Director.

Qualidata –​funded by the ESRC. Set up in the Department of Sociology at the University of Essex to document the archiving of qualitative data. Became part of the UK Data Service in 2012. Disability Discrimination Act –​made it unlawful to discriminate against a disabled person.

1995

Carers Act –​first legal recognition of carers, enabling carers to ‘ask’ for an assessment of need in their own right. Community Care (Direct Payments) Act –​introduced direct payments but excluded people over the age of 65 until an amendment in 2000.

1996

INVOLVE –​national advisory group supporting active public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research. Now funded by the National Institute for Health Research (see 2006).

Labour governments –​Prime Ministers: Tony Blair (1997–​2007); Gordon Brown (2007–​10).

1997

Extending Quality Life (EQUAL) programme (1997–​2013)  –​ four cycles of projects, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, on the built environment, universal

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249

Centre of Gerontology and Health Studies –​established at the University of Paisley; Director: Mary Gilhooly.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Best Value and Fair Access to Care Services policies (updated 2002)  –​ local authorities and health authorities subject to delivering the most effective, economic and efficient services possible and competing with external providers. Introduced national eligibility criteria, divided into four bands: critical, substantial, moderate and low.

Research, societies and research-​related events design, rehabilitation and prolonging independence in old age. Multidisciplinary, collaborative and user-​engaged programme. Chair: Peter Lansley.

LSE Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion  –​ ESRC-​funded, direct precursor of Labour government’s Social Exclusion Unit. Part of the Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines.

250

Oxford Institute for Population Ageing –​a cross-​disciplinary institute with a particular focus on demography. Set up and directed by Sarah Harper. United Nations (UN) Proclamation on Aging –​launched by UN General Secretary Kofi Annan on 1 October (International Day of Older Persons); designates 1999 the International Year of Older Persons.

Modernising social services: Promoting independence, improving protection, raising standards (White Paper) –​proposals to develop a more integrated and joined-​up health and social care system underpinned by a new system of regulation and inspection of social care providers. Human Rights Act –​introduced right of all citizens to fair treatment and protection by the law.

1998

Better Government for Older People (BGOP) –​government initiative overseeing 28 research projects on the engagement of older people in a variety of services. When the initiative ended, it became the ‘Better Government for Older People Network’, designed to coordinate and share good practice. Science of Ageing programme (1998–​2001) –​research programme funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), focusing on normal ageing, biochemistry of stress, ageing in biological systems, the ageing population and evolution. Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity (1998–​ 2012) –​founded by Naina Patel; focused on employment and income; health, social care and housing; pensions; and quality of life, citizenship and migration.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Age Net (1997–​2000) –​networking initiative funded by the Medical Research Council with government, non-​governmental organisation and industry partners. Ran themed workshops and produced an inventory of more than 50 existing longitudinal datasets on ageing in the UK. Did not fund research directly but prepared the ground for subsequent cross-​research council initiatives.

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UN International Year of Older Persons –​the theme Towards a Society for All Ages celebrated humanity’s demographic ‘coming of age’.

Better care, higher standards: a charter for long-​term care (Department of Health) (DoH) –​set out how local housing, health and social services departments should work together to deliver services for adults and their carers.

Older People’s Advocacy Alliance –​a charity supporting the provision of high-​quality, independent advocacy services for older people. National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) –​established to develop consistent guidelines and end rationing of treatment by postcode across the UK. In 2005, the Health Development Agency transfers to NICE, renamed the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. In 2013, it changes status from a special health authority to a non-​departmental public body and becomes the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

ESRC Growing Older programme (1999–​2005) –​focus on quality of life (QoL) in six areas: defining and measuring QoL; inequalities in QoL; technology and the built environment; healthy and active ageing; family and support networks; participation and activity. Funded single and multidisciplinary projects. Programme Director: Alan Walker. Dementia Services Development Centre Wales –​established as a partnership between Bangor University and an NHS service development team in Cardiff to undertake care-​related research and provide training, information and consultancy. Founder member of a network of Dementia Services Development Centres across the UK and Ireland.

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251

Older People’s Advisory Group (OPAG) –​an offshoot of BGOP, OPAG was set up to influence national and local policy and service provision for older people. It aimed to be the direct voice for older people in the UK, to complement, rather than supplant, other national lobbying groups.

1999

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Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

Carers and Disabled Children’s Act –​extended direct payments to carers in certain circumstances.

2000

International Longevity Centre UK (ILC UK) –​established by Baroness Sally Greengross, as an independent, non-​partisan think tank to undertake research, develop ideas, and create a forum for debate. Part of a global alliance with 16 partners in the US, Japan, France, Dominican Republic, India, South Africa, Argentina, Netherlands, Israel, Singapore, Czech Republic, China, Brazil, Canada, Australia and Germany. The first ILC was founded in the US by Robert Butler, known for his work on the social needs and rights of older people.

Forget me not: mental health services for older people (Audit Commission) –​highlighted major gaps and fragmentation of mental health services across different agencies. Identified urgent need to coordinate a comprehensive service model. Care Standards Act –​set up the Commission for Social Care Inspection to promote improvements in social care and establish a new system of national minimum standards for all residential and nursing homes, and domiciliary services.

252

Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender –​set up at University of Surrey and co-​directed by Sara Arber, Kate Davidson and Jay Ginn. Older People’s Research Programme (2000–​04) –​Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) programme developed with and by older people. Comprised 27 projects examining lived experiences. Transitions after 50 (2000–​04) –​JRF programme comprising 12 studies and three literature reviews examining labour market experiences, activities beyond work, and implications for incomes and financial wellbeing.

AGE Platform Europe –​network of non-​profit organisations of/​for people aged 50+, focusing on a wide range of policy areas, including anti-​ discrimination, older workers, active ageing, social protection, pension reforms, social inclusion, health, elder abuse, intergenerational solidarity, research, public transport, the built environment, and new technologies.

2001

BBSRC Experimental Research on Ageing initiative (2001–​ 07) –​supported research on the basic biology of normal ageing, including genetic and other dietary, pharmaceutical and environmental factors affecting ageing.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Policies, political events and organisations

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National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People –​one of a number of programmes setting quality standards for improving health and social care services. Fundamental goal of this NSF was to ‘stamp out’ ageism and age-​ based discrimination in services. Ian Philp (then Marjorie Coote Professor of Health Care for Older People, Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing) appointed to lead its completion and implementation in England.

National Collaboration on Ageing Research (2001–​04)  –​ cross-​research council (MRC, EPSRC, ESRC, BBSRC) networking initiative aimed at developing consensus about priorities for interdisciplinary research, and ways and means of reducing barriers.

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253

Quality and choice for older people’s housing: A strategic framework (Department for Communities and Local Government) (DCLG) –​the first framework designed to ‘address the many problems and opportunities for older people in securing decent, affordable and suitable housing and adequate and appropriate support and care for the 21st century’. Its objectives were to ensure older people could ‘secure and sustain their independence’ and to ‘support older people to make active and informed choices about their accommodation’. Centre for Intergenerational Practice –​hosted by the Beth Johnson Foundation. Established to support organisations delivering or developing intergenerational projects. Subsequent centres established in Wales (Generations Together Wales, 2004); Scotland (Generations Working Together, 2007); and Northern Ireland (Linking Generations Together, 2009). Second World Assembly on Ageing –​Madrid, Spain. Aimed to design international policy on ageing for the 21st century giving priority to older persons and development; advancing health and wellbeing; ensuring enabling and supportive environments. Adopted a Political Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing.

2002

Cultures of Consumption (2002–​07) –​a programme of 26 research projects led by ESRC and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), including some on consumption and older people.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Active ageing: A policy framework (World Health Organization) (WHO) –​intended to inform discussion/​formulation of action plans to promote healthy/​active ageing.

Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement (Green Paper) –​announces the establishment of the Pensions Commission, a non-​departmental public body set up to review UK private pensions and long-​term savings. Chaired by Adair Turner, the various reports (2004–​06) are collectively referred to as the Turner Report.

254

2003

Centre for Research into the Older Workforce –​founded at the University of Surrey and funded by the South East of England Development Agency, to investigate the potential contribution of older people to the region’s economy. In 2006, the centre moved to the NIACE, then to the University of Newcastle, and is now directed by Professor Matt Flynn at the University of Hull.

2004

European Journal of Ageing –​interdisciplinary journal devoted to the social, behavioural and population health aspects of ageing.

Community Care (Delayed Discharges) Act –​imposes charges on local authorities for hospital beds taken up with (largely) older people awaiting discharge and delayed by social care services. Strategy for Older People in Wales (2003–​2008) –​the first strategy of its kind in the UK. Launched by the Welsh Assembly Government, it provided an integrated framework for all statutory bodies to plan for an ageing society.

Better health in old age (DoH) –​report describing progress since the publication of the NSF for Older People in 2001.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Tackling pensioner poverty: Encouraging take-​up of entitlements (National Audit Office) –​report on an issue that had not received much attention since the 1970s. Linked to the work of the Social Exclusion Unit.

Preparing older people’s strategies: Linking housing to health, social care and other local strategies (DCLG) –​document emphasising the important role of housing across all standards identified in the NSF; outlines guidance to facilitate more ‘joined-​up’ approaches.

Research, societies and research-​related events English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) –​begins to explore the dynamic relationships between health and functioning, social networks and participation, and economic position as people plan for, move into and progress beyond retirement. Surveys the population aged 50+. Funded by a consortium of UK government departments and the US National Institute on Aging, it is a collaboration between University College London (Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health), the Institute for Fiscal Studies, NatCen Social Research, and the University of Manchester (School of Social Sciences).

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Older people: A changing approach (Audit Commission) –​makes the case for accelerating the shift from an approach to older people that focuses on dependency and responding to crises, to one that promotes wellbeing and independence.

Grey matters: Growing older in deprived areas (New Philanthropy Capital) –​research report highlighting the challenges faced by many older people and making the case for philanthropic investment in ageing issues. Led to Balance Charitable Trust’s investment in work around disadvantage and pointed to the ways in which third sector and private sector interests become engaged in questions around ageing.

Local Area Agreements –​established as part of the neighbourhood renewal agenda, they include the theme of healthier communities and older people, and a focus on increasing opportunities for older people’s social activities, including arts and culture. Began with 20 pilot areas and extended across England in three phases. Different arrangements applied to Wales.

Centre for Innovative Ageing –​founded at Swansea University by Judith Phillips to initiate, coordinate and support ageing research. It now hosts the Centre for Ageing and Dementia Research, a pan-​Wales centre established in 2015.

Arts education: A lifelong learning strategy (Scottish Arts Council)  –​ emphasis on engaging learners of all ages; one action was to organise a conference on arts, lifelong learning and older people.

255

Everybody’s business: Integrated mental health services for older adults (Care Services Improvement Partnership) –​service development guide setting out the key components of a modern service. Opportunity age: Meeting the challenges of ageing in the 21st century (Department for Work and Pensions) (DWP) –​first cross-​government strategy document focusing on active ageing, healthy ageing and challenging attitudes and stereotypes. Calls on central government and local authorities to work together to remove barriers (for example, poor housing). Highlighted extra care housing as key to enabling people to stay independent and remain living in their own homes. Independence, well-​being and choice: Our vision for the future of social care for adults in England (Green Paper) –​outlines radical reforms to adult social care, including the introduction of individual budgets for older people to choose and buy the care and services they need.

2005

New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) programme (2005–​15)  –​ first multidisciplinary collaboration between five UK research councils: ESRC, BBSRC, EPSRC and MRC, joined (in 2006) by AHRC. Programme funded 11 preparatory networks, 11 large collaborative research projects and 24 smaller-​scale projects. Aim was to provide a sound evidence base for policy and practice around older people’s quality of life. Programme Director: Alan Walker. Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (2005–​ 09) –​programme funded by the EPSRC and BBSRC, designed to stimulate networking and ageing research by showcasing latest findings from design, engineering and biology; lobbying policy makers; and providing pump-​priming funds for new researchers. Director: Peter Lansley. Global Age-​Friendly Cities Project –​conceived at the International Association for Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Rio de Janeiro. Developed by WHO; led to creation of the WHO Global Network for Age-​Friendly Cities and Communities.

Appendix 1

Securing better mental health in older adults (DoH) –​highlights the challenges in making sustained and comprehensive improvements to mental health services; ageism and stigma identified as major barriers.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Ageing in an inclusive society: Promoting the social inclusion of older people (Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister) –​report focusing on cultural change, joined-​up policies on ageing, and addressing social exclusion among older people in Northern Ireland.

Centre for Research on Ageing –​set up at the University of Southampton. Director: Maria Evandrou.

256

LinkAge Plus –​following the SEU’s final report, this was set up by the DWP as a two-​year pilot programme to develop innovative partnerships and joined-​up services between local authorities, health, voluntary and community sectors.

Living well in later life (Healthcare Commission) –​assessed progress towards the standards set out in the NSF for older people. Identified a decline in age-​based discrimination except for mental health services. A new ambition for old age (DoH) –​next steps for the second half of the ten-​year NSF strategy. Focus on dignity, joined-​up care, and healthy ageing.

2006

British Council for Ageing –​launched at the House of Lords on 12 October; brings together the principal learned societies for ageing –​BSG, British Geriatrics Society and British Society for Research on Ageing –​to share knowledge and provide a single, readily identifiable point of contact for policy makers. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) –​created in the wake of the 2005 government strategy Best Research for Best Health. Manages and oversees all publicly funded research in the NHS. Ageing is one of 30 specialties. Older People & Ageing Research & Development Network  –​ an all-​Wales, multidisciplinary network dedicated to increasing research capacity and improving the links between research, policy and practice. Funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and, from 2010, by the National Institute for Health and Social Care Research as one of 17 thematic research networks, and eight infrastructure support groups.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Centre for Integrated Systems Biology of Ageing and Nutrition –​a multidisciplinary research centre funded by BBSRC and EPSRC exploring the mechanisms underpinning the ageing process. Based at Newcastle University and associated with the Institute for Ageing and Health (see 1994).

Partnerships for Older People Projects –​29 local authority-​led pilots aimed at promoting health, wellbeing and independence, and preventing or delaying the need for high intensity or institutional care. The DoH commissioned a national evaluation; report published in 2010.

A sure start to later life: Ending inequalities for older people (Social Exclusion Unit) (SEU) –​final report from the SEU (with the DWP and DoH). Underpinned by earlier SEU reports (Breaking the cycle series; Multiple exclusion and quality of life amongst excluded older people in disadvantaged neighbourhoods), it looked at what is needed to build inclusive communities from the perspective of excluded older people.

Research, societies and research-​related events

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Our health, our care, our say: A new direction for community services (White Paper) –​proposed a shift towards more integrated health and social care services provided in local communities in order to provide better prevention, increase choice, tackle inequalities, improve access to services, and provide better support to people with long-​term needs. Securing good care for older people: Taking a long-​term view (King’s Fund) –​so-​called Wanless Review, which looked at the challenges facing social care over the coming 20 years, the resources needed to meet them, and the options for funding those resources. Advocated a partnership model of funding topped up from people’s own resources.

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Homes for the future: More affordable, more sustainable (Green Paper) –​called for new housing and its surrounding infrastructure to reflect demographic changes; outlined plans for delivering three million new ‘greener homes and flagship developments’ by 2020. Putting people first: A shared vision and commitment to the transformation of adult social care (Local Government Association, Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and NHS) –​landmark protocol setting out the government’s commitment to independent living for all adults: the personalisation agenda. Sought to be the first co-​produced, co-​developed and co-​evaluated public service reform programme, recognising that real change will only be achieved through the participation of users and carers at every stage.

2007

Big Lottery Fund wellbeing programme (2007–​12) –​designed to improve the wellbeing of groups –​including older people –​ who experience high need. Focus on healthy eating, physical activity and mental health. Funded 17 portfolios (that is, groups of projects coordinated by a single organisation or network). CLES Consulting and the New Economics Foundation undertook an impact evaluation of a sample of projects, which was published in June 2013. European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme (2007–​ 13) –​funded exchanges, study visits, and networking activities aimed at making lifelong learning and mobility a reality.

Appendix 1

Strong and prosperous communities (White Paper) –​aimed at changing the relationship between central and local government and local people, giving people and communities more influence and power.

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Policies, political events and organisations The arts, health and wellbeing (Arts Council England) –​document outlining first formal national strategy that aimed to integrate the arts into mainstream health strategy and policy making.

258

All our futures: Planning for a Scotland with an ageing population (Scottish Executive) –​long-​term strategy for older people; led to establishment of a Scottish Centre for Intergenerational Practice in same year (renamed Generations Working Together in 2011).

Research, societies and research-​related events European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (2007–​13) –​had a particular focus on health and ageing, with projects on: optimising the delivery of healthcare; health promotion and disease prevention; smarter, more accessible transport systems; demographic change; and information communications technology for ageing well. UK Study of Abuse and Neglect of Older People –​first dedicated study of its kind in the UK. Aimed to provide nationally representative prevalence estimates. Commissioned by Comic Relief and the DoH, and carried out by NatCen Social Research and King’s College London. BSG Outstanding Achievement Award –​awarded annually to an individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to our gerontological understanding of ageing, or to improving the lives of older people, through one or more of: academic thinking; policy; practice; and education. First recipient: Alan Walker. Brunel Institute for Ageing Studies –​founded with the aim of improving the quality of life and health of older people. Director: Mary Gilhooly. Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland  –​ set up as a not-​for-​profit organisation by leaders from the ageing field across the island of Ireland, including researchers, academics and statutory, voluntary and community sector representatives.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

All-​Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia –​establishment of cross-​party group of Members of Parliament and Peers, and now run in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Society. Aims to raise awareness of dementia among parliamentarians and to influence legislation and policy making in order to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. Co-​Chair: Baroness Sally Greengross.

Year

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Lifetime homes, lifetime neighbourhoods: A national strategy for housing in an ageing society (DCLG, DoH and DWP)  –​ cross-​government housing strategy emphasising the importance of integrating housing with care. Promoted the idea of lifetime neighbourhoods in order that ‘transport, good shops, green spaces, decent toilets, and benches, are consciously planned for people of all ages and conditions’. Health and Social Care Act –​ established the Care Quality Commission, a new regulatory body whose purpose was to provide registration and inspection of health and adult social care services together for the first time. NICE given responsibility for developing practice guidance/​quality standards.

Don’t stop me now: Preparing for an ageing population (Audit Commission) –​review of local government services for older people suggesting councils should do more to age-​proof services, tackle social isolation and support independent living.

Voice of Older People –​broadcaster Dame Joan Bakewell appointed by the government to listen to the views of older people and raise their concerns. With the announcement of a General Election in 2010, she stood down to campaign for an Older People’s Commissioner in England.

The strategy for older people in Wales 2008–​2013: Living longer, living better (Welsh Assembly Government) –​updated the 2003 strategy and addressed the economic status, wellbeing and independence of older people. Highlights high-​quality social care and housing services as key. Appointment of the UK’s (and the world’s) first Commissioner for Older People, Ruth Marks.

Lifelong Health and Wellbeing programme (2008–​15) –​cross-​ research council (MRC, BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC, AHRC) initiative building on the NDA programme. Focused on cognitive function/​mental wellbeing, physical health, extending working lives, and enhancing mobility and independence. Canadian Institute of Aging –​part of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research –​becomes a co-​funder in the NDA programme (see 2005). Ten new projects linked to existing UK ones. Ageing and Social Cohesion Programme (2008–​13)  –​ funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, comprising 70 initiatives in the UK and Portugal aimed at building more meaningful connections for older people and across generations. MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing –​established at University College London to identify biological and social factors that affect health, ageing and the development of chronic disease, and to design and test interventions that enhance healthy ageing. It hosts the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, the oldest of the British cohort studies with data on a representative sample (N=5362) of men and women born in England, Scotland or Wales in March 1946. Scottish Dementia Clinical Research Network –​network set up with funding from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government and designed to support dementia research across Scotland; manages a database of people willing to be involved in research. BSG Founding Fellows –​BSG inaugurates a system of Fellowships, beginning with a core group of Founding Fellows.

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Always as a last resort: Inquiry into the prescription of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia in care homes –​report from the All-​Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia.

2008

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

New horizons: Towards a shared vision for mental health (DoH)  –​ confirmed evidence of systematic age-​based discrimination in mental health services for older people, and set out a programme of action.

2009

Ageing artfully (Baring Foundation) –​review of arts policy and provision for older people, noting the lack of formal encouragement, support, policy and funding. The Baring Foundation launches a five-​year UK arts grants programme to fund arts organisations working in a participative way with older people.

Quality Outcomes Framework –​NICE becomes responsible for reviewing and developing a set of indicators. First quality standard, Dementia: support in health and social care, is published in March 2010.

260

Building a society for all ages (DWP) –​strategy document promoting better links between different generations. Launched the Generations Together programme to fund 12 intergenerational projects across the country. The learning revolution (White Paper) –​included a commitment to widening informal learning opportunities for older people based on the recognised health and social benefits of such activities. Housing our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation. Final report –​outlines the panel’s findings and, focusing on ensuring that new-​build, specialised housing meets the needs and aspirations of older people in the future. Dementia strategies –​launched in 2009 in England (Living well with dementia: A National Dementia Strategy, DoH) and Wales (National dementia vision for Wales, Alzheimer’s Society); in Scotland in 2010 (Scotland’s National Dementia Strategy, Scottish Government); and in Northern Ireland in 2011 (Improving dementia services in Northern Ireland: A regional strategy, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety).

A Better Life (2009–​14) –​JRF programme, comprising 30 projects exploring quality of life for older people with high support needs. Collaborative Research on the Biology of Ageing (2009–​14)  –​ six awards funded by the BBSRC and the National Institute of Aging (US). Knowledge Transfer for Extending Quality Life (KT-​EQUAL) (2009–​12) –​EPSRC networking, knowledge transfer and capacity-​building initiative through workshops, courses, consultancy, training, developing international links. Concerned with existing knowledge and skills; not direct research funding. FUTURAGE project (2009–​11) –​initiative funded under the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme to create the definitive road map for ageing research in Europe for the following ten to 15 years.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Equality in later life: a national study of older people’s mental health services (Healthcare Commission) –​highlighted ongoing challenges in developing comprehensive and accessible services.

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Dementia Gateway –​website launched by Social Care Institute for Excellence, drawing together practical tips, suggestions, learning activities and useful resources about dementia. Age UK –​formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. Conservative/​Liberal Democrat coalition government –​Prime Ministers: David Cameron with Nick Clegg as Deputy (2010–​15); first coalition government since the Churchill war ministry. WHO Global Network for Age-​Friendly Cities and Communities  –​ established. Manchester becomes the first UK city to join.

Equality Act –​comes into force. Age discrimination was banned in the workplace in 2006; the 2009 Equality Bill made it unlawful to discriminate because of age when providing services or carrying out public functions.

Universal Credit: Welfare that works (White Paper) –​Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Iain Duncan Smith) announces the introduction of a single universal credit intended to replace Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, income-​based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-​related Employment and Support Allowance.

Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit –​launched by the PSSRU. Developed over a decade, it is now a widely used suite of tools designed to measure social care-​related quality of life across user groups and in varied care and support settings. Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA) –​founded at the University of Manchester to support ageing research across the institution. Now part of the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub. Dementias and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Network –​part of the NIHR, funded by the DoH. Supports the development and delivery of clinical research. Cambridge Centre for Ageing and Neuroscience –​funded by BBSRC, this centre uses epidemiological, behavioural and neuroimaging data to understand how we can best retain cognitive abilities into old age. Connected Communities (2010 to date) –​major cross-​ research council programme led by the AHRC exploring the changing nature of communities and their role in sustaining and enhancing quality of life. Over 280 projects funded to date, including some that focus on ageing and older people.

Appendix 1

261

Fair society, healthy lives: The Marmot Review –​report of the year-​ long review (chaired by Professor Sir Michael Marmot) and requested by the Secretary of State for Health in 2008 to propose the most effective evidence-​based strategies for reducing health inequalities in England from 2010. The UCL Institute of Health Equity regularly updates the key indicators (see, for example, 2017).

2010

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Healthy lives, healthy people (White Paper) –​strategy for public health in England with a focus on active ageing.

Research, societies and research-​related events

Ageing Well programme (DWP) –​initiative to support local authorities to improve services for older people, create age-​friendly environments, maximise volunteering opportunities, and tackle social isolation. Active at 60 Community Agent Programme (DWP) –​Steve Webb, Minister for Pensions, announces £1 million fund to help older people at most risk of loneliness/​social isolation. Community groups in 30 selected areas bid for grants of £250 to £3,000.

262

A vision for adult social care: Capable communities and active citizens (DoH) –​report demonstrating the new coalition government’s prioritisation of personalisation by including it as one of its six principles. Emphasises that individuals, not institutions, should be in control of care and that partnerships between individuals, communities, the voluntary and private sectors, the NHS, councils and housing services are needed to deliver care and support. Arts and Older People Strategy (Arts Council of Northern Ireland)  –​ aims to adopt a strategic approach to the inclusion of older people. European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Active and Healthy Ageing  –​ the first such EIP launched by the European Commission. Aims to strengthen EU research and to foster innovation and digital transformation. Dilnot Commission on Funding of Care and Support –​presents its findings on the future funding of long-​term care to the government, in its report Fairer care funding. Recommendations include raising the means-​ tested income limit above which an individual has to pay for their own care, from £23,250 to £100,000.

2011

Campaign to End Loneliness –​supported by the Big Lottery Fund and other foundations, trusts and the general public, this network of 2,500+ organisations and people shares research evidence and knowledge, and campaigns to raise awareness of and tackle loneliness. Campaign for Social Science –​sponsored by the Academy of Social Sciences and supported by a coalition of universities, learned societies, charities and publishers. Promotes social science to the UK government and the wider public.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Arts and Older People Programme (2010–​19) –​programme funded by the Baring Foundation designed ‘to increase the quantity and quality of arts for older people’. Works in partnership with the arts councils of the devolved nations and other organisations. Has awarded competitive and invitation-​ only grants; conducted and supported evidence reviews; and funded national and local festivals. It established the Age of Creativity website (see 2012), 50 Travelling Fellowships (with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust), and, in 2015, a research trip to Japan (with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the British Council).

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No health without mental health (DoH) –​cross-​government strategy document on mental health and wellbeing across the life course. Older people specifically mentioned with regard to risk factors for depression such as loneliness. Close to home: An inquiry into older people and human rights in home care (Equality and Human Rights Commission) –​report of an inquiry revealing that older people’s basic human rights are being overlooked in the provision of care at home. Age Action Alliance –​independent partnership of 200+ organisations focused on improving quality of later life and preventing deprivation.

263

European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations  –​ initiative to raise awareness of the contribution that older people make to society, and to encourage policy makers and relevant stakeholders at all levels to take action. Promoted active ageing in three areas: employment; participation in society; and independent living.

Caring for our future (White Paper) –​published by the DoH, this is the coalition government’s proposals for the most comprehensive overhaul of the care and support system since 1948. Health and Social Care Act –​provides for the extensive reorganisation of the NHS in England, including abolishing Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities and, instead, setting up Clinical Commissioning Groups (partly run by GPs); integrating health and social care; and transferring responsibility for public health to local government. Housing our Ageing Population: Plan for Implementation –​report from the All-​Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People setting out key actions to boost the adoption of recommendations in the 2009 HAPPI report.

2012

UK Network of Age-​Friendly Cities –​co-​developed by a partnership of Manchester City Council, Keele University’s Centre for Social Gerontology, and the Beth Johnson Foundation. Joined later by MICRA; from mid-​2016, partners with the Centre for Ageing Better. Age of Creativity –​established with funding from the Baring Foundation, this online platform supports professionals working in academia, arts, health, culture, social care, voluntary and community sectors to share research and evidence and enable older people to take part in creative activities. Dementia Without Walls (2012–​15) –​JRF programme of projects and initiatives looking at supporting dementia-​friendly communities and encouraging people to think differently.

Appendix 1

Commissioner for Older People Act (Northern Ireland) –​passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly. Claire Keatinge was first Commissioner (2011–​ 15); Eddie Lynch is current Commissioner.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

2013

MRC programmes –​Promoting Physical Activity in Old Age (five awards); Design for Wellbeing: Ageing and Mobility in the Built Environment (seven projects); and Extending Working Lives (seven projects).

Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia (DoH) –​document launching government initiative designed to deliver major improvements in dementia care and research by 2015. Three champion groups set up to drive improvements in health and care, create dementia-​friendly communities, and improve research. Digital strategy (DWP) –​policy paper setting out how older people, among others, will be supported to use digital services, and how the government will ensure that services remain accessible for those who cannot get online.

264

Ready for ageing? (House of Lords Select Committee on Public Service and Demographic Change) –​known as the Filkin Report, this review outlines the UK’s preparedness for an ageing society. Concludes that radical change is needed in health and social care provision, as well as an adequate supply of appropriate housing for both younger and older people. Ready for Ageing Alliance (R4AA) –​coalition of independent organisations formed in wake of the Filkin Report to call for action from government. Organisations are: Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Anchor, Carers UK, Centre for Policy on Ageing, ILC UK, Independent Age, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. LinkAge Plus (DWP) –​publication of a collection of documents about the 2006–​08 pilot projects that brought eight local authorities in England together with partners in health and the voluntary and community sector to explore new ways to improve local services for older people. Cultural Commissioning Programme (2013–​17) –​funded by Arts Council England and led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, this

Fulfilling Lives, Ageing Better programme (2013–​21)  –​ strategic investment by the Big Lottery Fund to support cross-​ sector partnerships led by voluntary sector organisations in 15–​20 geographic areas across England. Eight-​year evaluation led by Ecorys. Alongside this development, it supported the creation of the Centre for Ageing Better (see 2016). Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing –​led by Queen’s University Belfast. Follows the approach of ELSA and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing in recruiting a representative sample of men and women aged 50+. Special focus on intergenerational poverty, transition points in ageing, and the effects of diet on the ageing process. Transitions in Later Life programme (2013–​18) –​funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and partnered more recently by the Centre for Ageing Better. Has involved scoping research and the evaluation of seven pilot programmes testing group-​based psychological interventions that focus on building emotional wellbeing and resilience.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

G8 Dementia Summit –​the world’s first such summit, held in London on 11 December. Brought together ministers, researchers, pharmaceutical companies and charities to discuss stimulating greater investment and innovation in dementia research; improving the prevention and treatment of dementia; and improving quality of life for people with dementia.

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What does the 2011 Census tell us about older people? (Office for National Statistics) (ONS) –​in September, the ONS releases results about older people from the 2011 Census for England and Wales; in December, it publishes What does the 2011 Census tell us about the ‘oldest old’ living in England & Wales?

initiative supported nearly 350 arts and cultural organisations to come together with Public Service Commissioners. Focused on older people, mental health and wellbeing, and place-​based commissioning. An external evaluation was carried out. Strategy for Older People in Wales 2013–​2023 (Welsh Assembly Government) –​builds on the first strategy (2008–​13) and identifies three main priority areas for action: social resources; environmental resources; and financial resources.

Pensions Act –​reforms include replacing the basic (and additional) state pension with a single-​tier pension, and provisions for a regular review of the state pension age.

Fuller working lives: A framework for action (DWP) –​policy paper explaining how working longer can benefit individuals, businesses, society and the economy. It focuses especially on stopping people from leaving the labour market involuntarily in their fifties and sixties, pointing out the potential negative effects on retirement finances and wider health and wellbeing. R4AA –​publishes its manifesto.

2014

European Commission Horizon 2020 programme (2014–​ 20) –​biggest EU research and innovation programme ever aims to keep older people active and independent for longer and supports the development of new, safer and more effective interventions. National Innovation Centre for Ageing –​government part-​ funds this centre at Newcastle University to bring together scientists with industry, the NHS and the public to develop, test and bring to market products that promote healthy ageing. Linked with the University’s Institute for Ageing (see 1994). Defeat Dementia –​as a legacy of the G8 Dementia Summit, Alzheimer’s Research UK launches a five-​year campaign to grow research and accelerate progress towards new treatments and preventions. Design for an Ageing Population –​Royal Institute of British Architects initiative collating existing knowledge from architects and other design professionals; activities include producing guidance and holding a research symposium.

Appendix 1

265

Care Act –​main purpose was to overhaul the existing 60-​year-​old legislation regarding social care in England. The underlying principle was that local authorities have a general duty to support and promote wellbeing. They must also work together with healthcare bodies and other agencies, including housing, and must carry out comprehensive assessment of anyone who appears to require care and support, regardless of their likely eligibility for state-​funded care. Information and advice, care and support is to be delivered in an integrated way in cooperation with partner bodies.

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Policies, political events and organisations

Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

Conservative governments –​Prime Ministers: David Cameron (2015–​16); Theresa May (2016–​19).

2015

Future of Ageing Research: Post REF2014  –​ one-​day conference hosted by BSG in London following a report it commissioned on (ageing) impact case studies. Centre for Ageing Better –​established with an endowment from the Big Lottery Fund as part of the What Works network to promote the better use of evidence. Chair: Lord Filkin; CEO: Anna Dixon. With Ipsos MORI, publishes Later life in 2015: An analysis of the views and experiences of people aged 50 and over.

266

Healthy Ageing In Scotland study –​led by of University of Stirling with the Universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh. Longitudinal study of the health, economic and social situations of people aged 50 plus. The aim is to expand the pilot project in 2018 in line with the worldwide network of ageing studies. Global Strategy and Action Plan on Ageing and Health (2016–​2020) (WHO) –​framework to ensure a world in which everyone can live a long and healthy life. Underpinned by five principles: human rights; equity; equality and non-​discrimination (particularly on the basis of age); gender equality; and intergenerational solidarity.

Active ageing strategy 2016–​2021 (Department for Communities)  –​ following a 2014 consultation, this Northern Ireland Executive strategy document highlights the positive role of older people and the barriers to active ageing.

2016

Celebrating Age programme (joint Baring Foundation/​Arts Council England funding) –​two rounds of competitive awards (2017–​19 and 2018–​20) to support partnerships between arts and older people’s organisations. A whole-​programme evaluation is taking place alongside local evaluations. Active Ageing Fund (Sport England) –​National Lottery-​funded programme of 20 projects aimed at people aged 55+ to use sport and activity to help tackle poor mental health, dementia, loneliness caused by bereavement, and addiction. Projects are required to partner with academic institutions, evaluation specialists, or have in-​house research specialists.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2020 (DoH) –​building on the results from the first challenge issued in 2012, this aims to make England the best country in the world for dementia care, support, research and awareness. The challenges underpin major research projects and the establishment of a new Dementia Research Institute hosted by University College London and launched on 19 July 2018.

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Future of an ageing population (Government Office for Science) –​final report of a two-​year review identifying the interconnectedness of policies affected by ageing, and the urgent need for a coordinated response between government departments. Underpinned by 22 evidence reviews (for example, on retirement income, life expectancy and inequalities, health and social care, lifelong learning and employment, prevention and wellbeing), four ‘think pieces’ and 14 seminar reports.

267

Fuller working lives: A partnership approach (DWP) –​strategy document aimed at the business community detailing government actions around the retention, retraining and recruitment of older workers. Age Action Alliance Employer Toolkit –​endorsed by the DWP, this interactive resource offers guidance for employers and managers of older workers. It includes information on the government’s three ‘Rs’, as emphasised in Fuller working lives –​retaining, retraining and recruiting older workers –​and on topics such as legal requirements, knowledge management and flexible working.

Independent review of the state pension age: Smoothing the transition –​final report from John Cridland (on behalf of the DWP) looking at changing longevity, affordability, inter-​and intragenerational fairness and the effects on particular groups, in order to inform the government’s review of the state pension age.

2017

Marmot Indicators 2017 –​the Institute of Health Equity releases a new set of indicators of health inequality. They show that, since 2010, life expectancy at birth and at age 65 have both ‘stalled’ and are below the upward trend established since 2000.

Unmet need for care –​Ipsos MORI report (with Age UK, Independent Age and NatCen), based on secondary analysis of data from ELSA and the Health Survey for England, exploring the unmet needs of older adults who live in their own homes. Evaluation of transitions in later life pilot projects (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch and Centre for Ageing Better) –​report evaluating a series of courses designed to help older people approaching retirement. A parallel survey of 1,000+ people across the UK who had retired in the previous five years, and 1,000+ who were anticipating retiring within the coming five years was commissioned from YouGov.

Appendix 1

EU referendum –​a referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU took place on 23 June; 51.9 per cent (of people who voted) were in favour of the UK leaving. Immediately after the result, Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign, and he was succeeded by Theresa May on 13 July. The date for withdrawal from the EU (known as Brexit) was originally scheduled for 29 March 2019.

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Year

Research, societies and research-​related events

Long-​term funding of adult social care –​a joint report from the House of Commons Health and Social Care, and Housing, Communities and Local Government Committees stressing that the social care system is not fit to respond to current or future needs, and that a cross-​party approach on reforming social care funding is now essential.

2018

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) –​new organisation bringing together the seven UK research councils, Innovate UK and Research England to provide a strategic vision and voice for science, boost productivity and foster interdisciplinary research. Has a combined budget of more than £7 billion. Healthy ageing is one of the themes identified for research investment in the UKRI Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

NHS Long Term Plan –​plan launched by NHS England at the start of the year reflecting the long-​standing consensus that the way forward is to shift towards earlier intervention and health promotion, integration and community support, and away from acute and hospital-​based services, duplication and competition. Concerns remain over the lack of progress regarding social care funding and investment in public health.

2019

The perennials: The future of ageing (Ipsos MORI, in partnership with Centre for Ageing Better) –​report looking at ageism and attitudes to older age.

Brexit day: 29 March –​the day the UK had originally been due to leave the EU. At the time of writing, the date had been extended to 31 January 2020.

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268

Policies, political events and organisations

Appendix 2

Conference themes, sub-​themes and selected topics, 1971–​2018

269

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THEMES WITH A CONTINUOUS PRESENCE SUB-​THEMES

SELECTED TOPICS

Carers (unpaid)

Gender and care

Men and care; women and care.

Impact of caregiving

Caring at a distance; emotional consequences; financial considerations; positive experiences; preparation to care; strain/​burden; training/​support; working carers.

Innovations

Respite care.

Policy, law and practice

Care Acts; legislation.

Specific needs

Deaf carers; dementia care; Parkinson’s disease; stroke care.

Who cares/​family care

Adult children; friends/​neighbours; kinship care; spouse/​partner care.

Advocacy

Campaigns; groups.

Assessment and tools

Behavioural; communication; decision-​making; diagnostic; functional; psychiatric; talking mats.

Care (formal)

Approaches; care workers; care workers and training; practice development; psychotropic medication; Senses Framework.

Care settings

Care homes; day care; day hospitals; home (community); long-​stay wards/​‘geriatric’ wards; specialist wards/​ ‘units’.

Cognition

Capacity and decision making; memory; perception.

Conceptualisation

Biomedicalisation; integrated; problem-​focused; psychological perspectives; social perspectives.

Discrimination

Burden; stigma.

Incidence/​prevalence

Rates; trends.

Lived experience

Black and minority ethnic groups; gender; living alone; people with learning disabilities; sexual identity.

Policy

Dementia standards; National Dementia Strategy.

Dementia

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270

MAIN THEMES

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Health and illness

Arts and creativity; biographical perspectives/​identity; dementia care mapping (approach/​underpinning principles; developments; evidence/​evaluation; uses); multi-​sensory environments; participation/​the voice of; risk taking/​risk avoidance; social exclusion; social networks.

Social dimensions

Biography and identity; citizenship; person-​centred; relationship-​centred.

Research

Impact of; practice development; user voice (see also participation main theme).

Who cares

Family care; spouse care (co-​creation/​making sense of dementia; co-​resident care; knowledge and understanding; long-​term marriage/​partnerships) –​see also carers main theme.

End of life

Care; challenges; support (see also end of life/​care main theme).

Ageing with a disability

Relationship with disability movement.

Biological and biomedical perspectives

Continence; falls; ‘frailty’; hearing and vision; what makes a person ‘geriatric’ (see also health and illness: long-​ term conditions sub-​theme).

Drugs

Care homes; metabolism; older people’s experiences.

Falls

Incidence and prevalence; prevention (attitudes of older people to; impact of; outcomes of; programme development); risk.

Long-​term conditions

Cancer; continence; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; delirium; heart disease; muscular/​skeletal conditions; sensory impairment; stroke.

Morbidity and mortality

Co-​morbidity; disability-​free years of life; ‘frailty’; living with long-​term conditions.

Community care

Assessment; care management; care provision; critical perspectives; evaluations and outcomes; impact; innovation; marketisation/​privatisation; need (choice and rights; measurement; perceptions); policy (Community Care Act 1990; eligibility criteria/​rationing; funding care; paying for care); problems and opportunities.

Continuing care

Continuing care wards.

Day care services

Day centres; day hospitals; ‘psychogeriatric’ day hospitals.

Appendix 2

271 Health and social care

Quality of life

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THEMES WITH A CONTINUOUS PRESENCE MAIN THEMES

Attitudes of older people; discharge (delayed discharge; discharge planning); experiences of care; ‘geriatric’ wards; people living with dementia.

Integration

Care pathways; care planning; evidence; models; policies; underpinning rationale.

Personalisation

Critical perspectives; direct payments; individual health budgets; home-​based care; personal assistants; personal budgets; self-​assessment; self-​directed care/​support.

Practitioner perspectives

Clinical psychology; geriatric medicine; nursing; psychiatry; social work; workforce issues.

Primary care

Detection and prevention; developments; interventions; role of the GP; social prescribing.

Assistive technology

Alarms; education; ICT use (developing IT skills; digital access/​divide); life-​course perspectives; SMART houses; telecare (enhancing independence/​wellbeing/​quality of life; maximising potential); prospects and possibilities; virtual reality; wayfinding.

Environments

Age-​friendly cities/​places; community connections; dementia-​friendly cities/​places; design; outdoor spaces and places; retirement migration; rural living; transport and mobility; urbanisation.

Housing/​specialist housing

Adaptations; alternative living arrangements; co-​housing; everyday living at home; gender; homes for life; housing biographies; meaning of home; policy and provision; quality; retirement villages (including extra care housing); sheltered housing; staying put/​ageing in place.

Residential and nursing homes

Activities and meaningful occupation; creativity/​arts; design (age-​friendly; dementia; personal space/​privacy; communal space); evaluation (of care, wellbeing, quality of life); funding/​paying for care (see also health and social care: community care and personalisation sub-​themes); lived experience; nutrition/​eating/​food; quality of care (dementia care mapping; inspection and regulation; leadership and care; person-​centred approaches; practice development; relationship-​centred approaches; service improvement; staff training and development); quality of life (empowerment; engagement; independence; participation); research (ethical issues; evaluative approaches; participatory approaches; voice of older people); social interaction/​communication; social relationships/​networks (unpaid carer role; family contact; friendship; isolation/​loneliness; sexuality/​intimacy; spouse/​partner relationships); transitions to care; value/​role/​future of care homes.

272

SELECTED TOPICS

Hospital care

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Place and space

SUB-​THEMES

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Work and retirement

Age and work

Ageism; barriers and challenges; changing patterns/​practices; economic factors; extending working lives; gender; migrant workers and care; social entrepreneurs; wellbeing.

Retirement

Adjustment; attitudes; early retirement; gender; impacts; lifestyles; pensions (private; state); policy and practice; pre-​retirement education; social participation; transitions.

THEMES THAT HAVE WAXED AND WANED Ageism/​ age-​based discrimination and human rights

Constructs and theory

Attitudes (for example, of staff); conceptualisation; everyday experiences; health and social care; impacts; legislation; manifestations; sources; work-​based (see also work and retirement main theme).

Benefits

Applying for; critical perspectives; poverty (for example, fuel poverty); take-​up.

Disability rights

Disability rights movement.

Human and civil rights

Infringements; Mental Health Acts; National Assistance Act 1948, Section 47; structured dependency.

Experiences and representations of ageing

Art; dance/​movement; drama; film and documentary; literature; media images; music; poetry; singing; visual images.

Therapeutic interventions

Art; music; participatory arts; singing.

Value to/​for older people

Community building; community memory; contributions of older people; coping strategy (in the context of, for example, long-​term illness, dementia, care settings); empowerment; improving and promoting wellbeing; in caregiving; participation; social capital; social inclusion.

Active ageing

As an asset; as an inclusive concept; critical perspectives; definitions; determinants; environment; evidence; outcomes; policy and practice.

Ageing well

Activity; definitions; diet/​nutrition; evidence base; exercise; public health; wider facets (for example, social relationships, networks, health and wellbeing).

Attitudes to ageing

Gerontophobia; myths and realities; perceptions of age/​old age; stereotypes; value judgements.

Critical gerontology

Dependency (measurement; structured dependency); economy and ageing; gender; globalisation; interdependence; policy and practice; political economy perspectives; precarity; third and fourth age.

Appendix 2

273

Arts/​creativity

Ageism/​age-​based discrimination

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THEMES THAT HAVE WAXED AND WANED MAIN THEMES

274

Elder abuse/​ safeguarding

SELECTED TOPICS

Identity

Individual, personal and social; intersectionality; professional; work and retirement.

Life-​course perspectives

Lifespan developmental psychology.

Successful ageing

Conceptualisation; critical perspectives; healthy ageing; models.

Educational gerontology

Conceptual underpinning; definition; research; role.

Gerontology education

Developing courses on ageing; models of learning; pedagogy; role of the British Society of Gerontology.

Learning in later life

Contributions to health and wellbeing; lifelong learning; models; peer mentoring; university (including University of the Third Age).

Elder abuse

Evidence; institutional; interventions; lived experience; policy and practice; prevalence/​incidence; risk factors; staff training.

‘Granny battering’ End of life/​care

Gender and ageing

Bereavement

Experiences; frameworks/​models; grief/​mourning; implications and impact; sexuality/​intimacy.

Death and dying

Attitudes; autonomy; awareness of finitude; care homes; cemeteries; choice; circumstances; dignity; ethics; euthanasia/​assisted suicide; hospice day care; mortality and mortality rates; palliative care; policy; power of attorney; religion and spirituality; the hospice movement/​hospice care.

Feminisation of ageing Inequalities

Class; health; income and poverty; lived experience; oppression; pensions/​retirement; race and ethnicity; resources and power; social capital; social inequalities.

Men and ageing

Ageing without children; masculinity and ageing; social connections; unpaid care.

Theorising gender

Feminism; gender identity; intersectionality.

Women and ageing

Embodiment; gendered bodies; lived experience; menopause; widowhood.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

Education and gerontology

SUB-​THEMES

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Gerontology research

275 Lifestyles

Mental health

Ethical practice; guidelines.

Impacts

Future directions; on older people; on policy; on practice; public engagement.

Methods and methodology

Archival resources; biographical/​narrative; creative; ethnographic; longitudinal; mixed methods; participatory; quantitative; qualitative; secondary analysis; survey; visual.

National programmes

Initiatives; research councils.

Perspectives

Biology; cross-​cultural; cross-​national; feminist; geography; humanities; medical; nursing; psychology; social policy; social work; sociology.

Training

Getting published; in methods; media; public engagement.

Health visiting Peer health counselling

Self-​management.

Role of the local authority

Public health.

Strategies

Ageing policy and practice (for example, falls promotion; age-​friendly places and spaces).

Everyday life

Activities and behaviours; alcohol consumption; arts/​creativity; citizenship; consumption; cooking; food consumption; gardening; routines; time; transport and mobility; volunteering.

Leisure

Constraints and opportunities; consumerism; exercise and physical activity; leisure lifestyles (for example, third age; see also work and retirement: retirement sub-​theme); purposeful; travel and tourism.

Depression and anxiety

Co-​morbidity; diagnosis; management; non-​pharmacological interventions; quality of life; treatment.

Old-​age psychiatry

Assessment; interventions; role and purpose of.

Psychosocial transitions and challenges

Bereavement; change and continuity; loss; resilience and risk; retirement; see also mid-​life/​middle age main theme.

Wellbeing

Contributory factors; meanings in older age; psychological; role in social engagement.

Appendix 2

Health education and promotion

Ethics

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THEMES THAT HAVE WAXED AND WANED SUB-​THEMES

SELECTED TOPICS

Mid-​life/​middle age

Psychological adaptation/​ adjustment

Disengagement and activity theory; ‘empty nest’ syndrome; mid-​life crisis; personality.

Transitions

Psychosocial; male menopause; menopause; work/​pre-​retirement.

Contributory factors

Health and wellbeing; housing deprivation; poverty; resilience; sleep; social capital; social exclusion; social networks; wellbeing; see also social relationships main theme.

Definitions and indicators

Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit; dimensions; life satisfaction; measurement; methodological challenges; outcomes; Quality Adjusted Life Years; rating scales.

Loneliness and isolation

Evidence; interventions; lived experience; measurement; risk factors; trajectories.

Family

Adult children–​parent relationships; ambivalence and intergenerational relations; changing social structures; critical perspectives; inter-​and intragenerational ties; interdependency; intergenerational conflict/​solidarity; intimacy at a distance; reconstituted families; sibling relationships.

Friends

Experience of making/​maintaining friendships; gender; impacts; networks; quality of life.

Grandparents

Care provided by grandparents; continuity and change in grandparenting role.

Marriage/​long-​lasting partnerships

Ageing and identity in couples; bereavement; care and partner relationships; diverse partnership forms; infidelity; intimacy and sexuality; living apart together relationships; long-​lasting marriages.

Pets

Bonding and attachment; care homes; companionship; meaning of human–​animal bond; role of pets.

Widowhood

Adjustment; gender and loss; grief/​bereavement; lived experience; quality of life; social networks.

Art/​s and music/​singing

See arts/​creativity main theme.

Quality of life

276

Social relationships

Therapeutic interventions

Bereavement counselling Group therapy Psychological therapies

Cognitive behavioural therapy; psychotherapy; reality orientation; reminiscence (life-​history work; reminiscence therapy); validation therapy.

The Evolution of British Gerontology

MAIN THEMES

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NEW AND EMERGING THEMES Cultural gerontology

‘New’ populations

Sustainability

Culture; heritage sites; late-​life creativity; representations of ageing; see also arts/​creativity main theme.

Embodiment

Beauty; dress and age; gender and appearance.

Identities

Anti-​ageing; intersectionality and age; LGBT+ ageing; sexuality; see also constructs and theory: identity sub-​theme.

Theory and methods

Aesthetics; agency; biography; challenges; critical perspectives; cultures of ageing; definitions; history; materiality; narrative; visual methods; see also gerontology research: methods and methodology sub-​theme.

Ageing with a learning disability

Estimates; evidence base; lived experience; quality of life; policy and practice; support needs.

LGBT+ older people

Gay; bisexual; identity; intersexual; lesbian; needs; queer; social networks; transgender.

HIV and ageing

Diversity; history; lived experience; mental health; quality of life; relationships; stigma; support needs.

Migrant workers

Attitudes towards; in the care system.

Older homeless people

Lived experience; national and international perspectives; support needs.

Older people in prison

Cognitive impairment and dementia; health and social care needs; lived experience; mental health.

Travellers

Lived experience; health status; policy and practice; support needs.

Hearing the voice

In research (see also gerontology research: methods and methodology sub-​theme); of older people; patient and public engagement; people living with dementia (see also dementia: lived experience sub-​theme).

Participatory methods

Advisory groups; co-​production; co-​research and co-​researchers; critical perspectives/​debates; impact; knowledge exchange; public engagement; user involvement.

Policy and planning

Challenges and opportunities; critical perspectives; future prospects; training and preparation.

Climate change

Impact on older people; implications for older populations; ‘natural’ disasters.

Appendix 2

277 Participation

Consumption

newgenrtpdf

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302

Index A Abrams, Mark  23, 60, 244 academia  13, 17, 37, 60, 62, 83, 114, 145, 152–​156, 157, 160, 165, 202, 204, 216, 220, 232 nature of  197, 232 politics of  28, 102, 232 structures of  232 see also identity; university academic  22, 26, 48, 49, 56, 81, 152, 154, 194, 200, 201, 205 background  41, 151 colleagues  194 community  101, 108 curiosity  172, 185 department  76, 105 gerontology  155 interests  146, 198 knowledge  173, 175, 186, 198 life  16, 29, 37, 84, 156, 168, 181, 189, 193–​197, 199, 202, 205, 209 post  41, 44, 77, 152, 200 staff  194 training  185 writing  39, 89, 168, 175, 176 see also career; discipline; education; identity; institution; retirement; role; work academy  105, 111 active ageing  98, 131, 171, 191, 251, 252, 254, 255, 262, 263, 266, 273 activism  156, 217, 219, 221 grassroots  31, 157 see also participation; visibility activity  physical  176, 264, 275 see also theory adolescence  170 see also life stages adult social care  see social care Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit (ASCOT)  68, 261, 276 advanced directive  173 advocacy  5, 251, 270 organisation  46 Age Concern  see Age UK Age Concern Research Unit  23, 60, 150 age  age-​based discrimination  120, 135, 136, 139, 190, 194, 256, 260, 273 age studies  9

consciousness  see theory see also fourth age; third age ageing  active  see active ageing adjustment to  8, 82, 190, 203, 208, 276 and family, new patterns of  226 anxieties about  181, 186, 197, 198 attitudes to  11, 21, 134–​135 biological  6, 112 conscious  see theory experiences of  147, 167, 170, 175, 177, 179–​181, 220, 223, 236 fear of  43, 107, 182, 186, 228 gender and  104, 274 healthy  see healthy ageing managing  167, 173, 186 meanings of  170, 236 men and  190, 192, 274 own/​personal  10, 14, 21, 52, 91, 166–​168, 170–​172, 176–​177, 181–​182, 184–​186, 236 physical  see physical ageing population  see population ageing prism of  230 processes  4–​6, 105, 112, 217 realities of  6, 181, 186, 223 social  see social ageing successful  see successful ageing without children  81, 167, 176, 274 women and  274 Ageing & Society  107–​108, 117, 135, 245 ageism  33, 36, 65, 71, 120, 134–​137, 139, 141, 159, 182, 194, 222, 223, 229, 253, 255, 268, 273 see also age-​based discrimination agency  8, 195, 209, 277 AGE Platform Europe  37, 46, 49, 78, 252 Age UK  78, 111, 117, 138, 220, 240, 261, 264 AHRC  see Arts and Humanities Research Council allotment  54, 84, 205, 207 Alzheimer’s disease  3 Alzheimer’s Disease International  177 Alzheimer’s Research UK  248, 265 Alzheimer’s Society  69, 111, 258, 260, 264 see also dementia analysis  14, 139 archival  11, 118, 119, 213, 216

303

The Evolution of British Gerontology critical  234 feminist  104 forms of  216 genetic  6 policy  77, 101, 244 secondary  40, 202, 267, 275 sociological  103 anonymisation  13, 14 anthropology/​social anthropology  5, 15, 40, 53, 56, 84, 88, 161 apocalyptic demography  3 archive/​s  3, 10, 11, 114, 116, 121, 122, 126, 128, 134, 141, 232, 243 see also analysis arthritis  177 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)  109, 253 Arts Council  England  111, 240, 258, 265, 266 of Northern Ireland  262 Scottish  255 Arts and Older People Programme  262 arts, (the)  111, 113, 226, 273 participatory  111, 273 ASCOT  see Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit Askham, Janet  24, 199, 247 assessment  5, 138, 180, 183, 271, 275 self-​assessment  272 risk  61 assisted suicide  228, 274 assistive technology  see technology attitudes  85, 186, 220, 255 ageist  106, 182, 194 of professionals  134–​135 to older people  132, 135, 146, 268 austerity  99, 132, 226 autobiography  168, 169, 206, 235 auto-​enrolment  99, 191 see also pension/​s autonomy  22, 97, 195, 274 see also freedom Averil Osborn Fund  see Osborn, Averil

B Baring Foundation  111, 260, 262, 263, 266 barriers  133, 191, 273 institutional  222, 232 structural  232 BBC  see British Broadcasting Corporation BBSRC  see Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BCA  see British Council for/​ on Ageing benefits  273

system  99 welfare  83, 174 Beth Johnson Foundation  24, 41, 53, 116, 148, 150, 152, 176, 244, 253, 263 bereavement  228, 274, 275, 276 counselling  276 see also loss Beveridge Report, The  96, 240 BGS  see British Geriatrics Society Bigot, Arthur  113 biographies  15, 21, 90, 151, 168, 169, 175 housing  272 see also autobiography biography  42, 86, 169, 171, 271, 277 biographical approaches  55 biographical perspectives  55, 271 see also biosketches; identity; methods; research biogerontology  see gerontology biology  5, 15, 57, 58, 84, 110, 145, 151, 161, 165, 216, 275 of ageing  84, 100, 101, 102, 112, 217, 252, 255, 256, 260 biomedical  approaches  5, 100 perspectives  125, 271 sciences  58 see also gerontology biosketches  168 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)  109, 110, 250, 252, 253, 255, 256, 259, 260, 261 Birren, James  43, 101, 149, 168, 169 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)  23, 27, 49, 58, 112, 152 British Council for/​on Ageing (BCA)  74, 116, 117, 120, 123, 134, 235, 244, 256 British Geriatrics Society (BGS)  58, 87, 101, 116, 120, 121, 125, 127, 169, 241, 244, 256 British Society for Research on Ageing (BSRA)  58, 87, 100, 116, 120, 121, 125, 256 British Society of Gerontology (BSG)  10, 12, 14, 19, 36, 58, 65, 87, 95, 113–​117, 119, 185, 217, 220, 223, 234–​235, 245, 247, 256, 266 archive  3, 11, 114, 141, 232 Emerging Researchers in Ageing (BSG-​ERA)  67, 117, 121 Executive  25, 53, 54, 64, 67, 69, 72, 78, 82, 84, 121

304

Index Founding Fellows  13, 33, 43, 57, 62, 75, 79, 87, 259 Outstanding Achievement Award  13, 35, 39, 47, 49, 56, 75, 79, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 163, 258 President  25, 37, 71, 74, 75, 87 Secretary  37, 55, 87 Treasurer  68 survey  9 British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology (BSSBG)  10, 34, 113, 114, 120, 123, 127, 134, 244, 245 Brocklehurst, John  41, 116 Brody, Elaine  168 Bromley, Dennis  113, 134 BSG  see British Society of Gerontology BSG-​ERA  see British Society of Gerontology BSRA  see British Society for Research on Ageing BSSBG  see British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology Butler, Robert  47, 169, 252 BUZBUG  see British Society of Social and Behavioural Gerontology

C Canadian Association on Gerontology (CAG)  74, 116 Canadian Institute of Aging  60, 259 Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)  60, 109, 259 care  community  32, 34, 38, 64, 97, 103, 127, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 254, 271, 272 end of life  124, 161, 180, 228, 271, 274 gender and  270 home/​s  44, 53, 56, 57, 67, 68, 69, 72, 87, 89, 123–​125, 127, 156, 174, 177, 245, 259, 270, 271, 272, 274, 276 informal  40, 82, 180 long-​term  51, 53, 62, 69, 99, 150, 251, 262 package/​s  97, 174, 175 palliative  228, 274 self-​funded  225 system  103 see also family; home; social care career  academic  16, 59, 73, 84, 88, 151, 161, 193, 198 career path/​s  15–​17, 69, 100, 102, 149, 150–​157, 165 career-​young  19, 40, 117, 199, 213, 224, 230–​231

early career  13, 116, 235 professional  10, 154 care networks  see relationships carer/​s  54, 69, 89, 134, 207, 245, 249, 252, 270 guidelines for  54, 180 stress  69 working  25, 73 see also assessment; care caring  69, 86, 125, 134, 167, 180, 184, 245 at a distance  270 relationships  see relationships resources  45 responsibilities  17, 191 role  184 cell  ageing  58 damage/​senescence  6 centenarians  4 Centre for Death and Society  56, 228 Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA)  11, 35–​36, 56, 61, 65, 70–​71, 80, 101, 107, 111, 114, 117, 241, 245 certificate  see courses CIHR  see Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chown, Sheila  34, 113 citizen participation  see participation citizenship  97, 98, 125, 271, 275 class  see social class Clifton Assessment Procedures for the Elderly  44 clinical psychology  see psychology clothing  and age  82, 177 coalition government  99, 261 cognitive psychology  see psychology Cohen, Gene  169 cohort  14–​15, 66, 105, 167–​168 see also generation collaboration  221, 226, 234, 235 international  132 community  activism/​activists  121, 148 faith  63, 228 of practice  150, 185 organisation  53, 56, 205 research  223, 228 work/​er  48, 66, 74, 105, 147, 155 see also care Community Care Act (1990)  97, 248, 271 concept  see theory connections  see collaboration conscious ageing  see theory conscious criticality  see theory

305

The Evolution of British Gerontology Conservative government/​s  55, 96, 99, 242, 243, 245, 261, 266 consumerism  51, 65, 97, 98, 275 consumption  see consumerism co-​production  see research course/​s  adult education  31, 247 gerontology  17, 25, 26, 66, 87, 105, 117, 164 postgraduate  17, 40, 104, 105, 205 CPA  see Centre for Policy on Ageing creative writing  27, 206 creativity  arts and  271, 272, 273, 275, 277 in later life  9 loss of  200 critical gerontology  see gerontology cultural gerontology  see gerontology culture  30, 12, 277 material  57 research  64 CVA  see stroke

D death  5, 274 dying and bereavement  228 taxes  99 see also assisted suicide; euthanasia degree/​s  see course/​s dementia  3, 29, 43, 44, 47, 61, 62–​63, 71, 89–​90, 125–​126, 180, 226, 246, 258, 260, 261, 263, 264, 265, 266, 270, 272, 277 centres  62, 89, 157, 202, 248, 251 fear of  200 see also Alzheimer’s disease demographic change  4, 47, 213 demography  49, 50, 103, 250 apocalyptic  see apocalyptic demography see also population ageing depression  30, 180, 275 developmental psychology  see psychology devolution  98 devolved legislatures/​administrations  98 digital  world  226, 229 see also technology diploma  see courses disability  17, 24, 48, 223, 249, 271 age-​related  192 learning  85, 270, 277 politics  48 rights  48, 273 social model of  62

discipline/​s  5, 8, 9, 15, 19, 58, 59, 103, 109, 110, 116, 117, 151, 213, 215, 216, 221, 233 academic  9, 213 applied  5, 9 core  161, 165, 215 cross-​disciplinary  40, 87, 116, 137, 221, 232, 234 disciplinary histories  10 foundational  5, 100, 101, 103, 151, 165, 216 gerontology as  4, 9 integrative, gerontology as  215, 232 traditional  5, 214, 216, 233 see also identity discrimination  see age-​based discrimination disengagement  see theory doctors  16, 32, 79, 221, 233 see also medicine doctoral  research  16, 37, 64, 151 student/​s  40, 70, 86, 117, 202 study  33, 49, 71, 84, 86, 146, 149, 151, 236 supervision  22, 35, 61, 154, 196, 202

E early career  see career Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)  17, 22, 33, 54, 109, 134, 246, 251, 253, 255 economics  15, 38, 55, 79, 103 education  15, 19, 53, 65, 95, 100, 103–​ 106, 108, 225, 229, 232–​233, 274 academic  233 comparative  27 gerontology  274 health  275 higher  77, 193, 232 nurse  69 pre-​retirement  74, 243, 273 see also courses, learning Emerging Researchers in Ageing (BSG-​ERA)  see British Society of Gerontology employment  paid  192, 196, 198, 200 end of life  167, 173, 180, 228, 271, 274 see also care; hospice Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)  59, 109, 249 environment/​s  50, 122, 126, 128, 130, 134, 271, 272 age-​friendly  131

306

Index built  59, 110, 122, 124, 131, 229 physical  123, 130 policy  95, 118 residential  124 rural  132 social  7 urban  131, 132 see also home; identity environmental gerontology  see gerontology EPSRC  see Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council EQUAL (Extend Quality of Life)/​ Research Network  59, 110, 249 KT-​EQUAL  59, 260 ERA  see Emerging Researchers in Ageing Erikson, Erik  7, 170 ESRC  see Economic and Social Research Council ethics  see research ethnic  community/​ies  30, 36 elders  138, 225, 275 relations  27 ethnicity  30, 88, 225, 250, 274 see also pensions; race EU  see European Union Europe  8, 16, 110, 111, 121, 222, 260 European Economic Community  52, 244 European Framework Programmes  110, 246 European Research Area in Ageing  86, 110 European Union (EU)  95, 137, 246 European Year of Older People (first)  53, 248 euthanasia  228, 274 evaluation  see research national  111, 139, 140, 256, 266 exhibition/​s  121, 138 poster  121 extended working life/​lives  191, 194, 198, 201 see also retirement; work

F faith  185 see also community; religion; spirituality family  3, 5, 30, 167, 170, 174–​175, 186, 195, 197, 207, 226, 276 care/​giving  43, 69, 270, 271 experiences  15, 145, 146, 167, 175, 179, 180, 186, 223, 236 history  24, 33, 89

life  25, 73 occasions  176 photographs  176 stem families  226 step-​families  32 see also relationships family relationships  88 grandchild/​ren  22, 24, 38, 63, 64, 67, 68, 85, 176, 179, 189, 207 granddaughter/​s  60, 207, 208 grandfather  17, 23, 25, 146 grandmother/​s  34, 70, 86, 146 grandparent/​s  15, 176, 226, 276 grandson  179 intergenerational  15, 2, 25, 276 feminism/​feminist  8, 9, 104, 218, 274, 275 see also gender Foresight Review on Ageing  50, 229 Forum on the Rights of Elderly People to Education (FREE)  foundational disciplines  see discipline fourth age  45, 51, 106, 107, 227, 273 see also third age frail/​ty  81, 86, 97, 125, 178, 180, 182, 227, 271 mental  125 see also dementia FREE  see Forum on the Rights of Elderly People to Education freedom  22, 31, 32, 35, 53, 58, 61, 70, 81, 158, 207 see also autonomy friends  5, 30, 31, 45, 53, 54, 55, 71, 81, 115, 129, 167, 170, 175, 176, 185, 186, 205, 270, 276 see also family; relationships friendship/​s  16, 25, 148, 222, 236, 272, 276 functionalist perspective  98 see also theory funding  99, 124, 150, 152 initiatives  108, 111 see also research future, the  19, 118, 183, 196, 199, 226, 228, 229, 230, 233 of ageing  183 of/​for gerontology  26, 215, 224, 226, 228 see also research

G gender  8, 16, 25, 190, 270, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277 bias  7, 8 gap  190 inequality  46, 190, 225

307

The Evolution of British Gerontology invisibility of  22, 103 see also ageing; ageism; care; feminism generation  14, 17, 18, 54, 84, 230, 236 baby boom  26, 183 generational conflict  229 generational intelligence  see theory lucky  32, 189 see also cohort Generations Review  43, 50, 54, 57, 244, 248 genome  sequencing  6 see also biology geography  15, 103, 151, 275 geriatric medicine  4, 5, 12, 32, 41, 76, 105, 272 geriatrician/​s  34, 66, 105, 163, 169 Gerontological Society of America (GSA)  37, 74, 100, 116, 169, 235 gerontologist  see gerontology gerontology  biogerontology  221, 226 biomedical  161 boundaries and territory of  5, 213, 216 critical  8–​9, 75, 106, 168, 218, 232, 236, 273 cultural  9, 82, 113, 218, 234, 277 definition of  4 environmental  73, 122, 131, 132, 151, 168 evolution of  10, 14, 19, 100, 122, 134, 224 history of  4–​10, 159 humanistic  9 nature of  5, 9, 16, 185, 214, 217 origins of  4, 15 political context  19, 95, 118 scope of  9, 215, 217, 224 social  see social gerontology status of  9, 162, 215 see also pathway/​s; theory Gerontologist, The  100 geropsychology  168 Glendenning, Frank  25, 105, 247 global  20 recession  96, 99, 217 Gray Panthers  33, 72, 75, 220 see also Kuhn, Maggie Growing Older (GO) Programme  49, 85, 109, 152, 251 GSA  see Gerontological Society of America

H handbook/​s  11, 48, 101, 109 health 

and illness  122, 186, 271 and social care  9, 17, 68, 76, 97–​99, 103, 105, 186, 219, 248, 253, 259, 263, 271, 273, 277 and wellbeing  5, 191, 225, 273, 275, 276 mental  see mental health public  see public health see also policy healthy ageing  43, 98, 110, 274 Help the Aged  31, 48, 80, 131, 137, 139, 242 Hepworth, Mike  14, 168 higher education  see academia history  8, 15, 103, 109 oral  31, 32, 157, 163 see also gerontology, history of Hobman, David  23, 47, 60, 149 Holland, Caroline  126, 131 home  24, 79, 122, 126–​127, 133, 270 adaptations  59, 63 meaning of  71, 126–​127, 272 nursing  29, 272 residential  35, 71, 44, 56, 67, 69, 89, 128, 272 see also care homelessness  87, 126, 277 Homeshare  56, 126, 184 Horizon 2020  111, 246, 265 hospice  274 see also care; end of life hospital  15, 41, 180, 272 day  44, 69, 270, 271 discharge  33, 62, 146 geriatric  51, 70, 74, 146 psychiatric  44, 69, 71, 89 psychogeriatric  74 housing  64, 79, 111, 126–​128, 133, 138, 223, 257, 259, 260, 263, 272 co-​housing  128, 272 extra care  127, 129, 130, 272 policy  127, 138, 153 retirement  26 sheltered  127, 128, 130, 133, 272 SMART  133 see also history human rights  120, 134–​137, 250, 273 humanistic gerontology  see gerontology humanities, the  8, 15, 111, 113, 275

I IAGG  see International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics identity  26, 72, 83, 117, 137, 153, 161, 185, 196, 271, 274, 276, 277 academic  42, 176, 185, 197

308

Index gerontological  37, 73, 103, 160–​164, 215 individual/​personal  19, 25, 198 maintenance  131, 193 professional  19, 25, 165, 193, 215, 216 ILC UK  see International Longevity Centre UK immune system  109 impairment  age-​related  192 cognitive  51, 277 sensory  177, 271 visual  133 inclusive  design  59, 110 independence  133, 272 financial  208 independent sector  96, 124 inequality/​ies  40, 75, 100, 125, 132, 151, 158–​159, 224, 274 class  22 health  98 income  22, 192 pension  45 social  26, 191 see also gender; race informal caring  see care institution/​institutional  academic  24, 194, 213, 267 institutional barriers  222, 232 inter/​multidisciplinary  55, 73, 232 collaboration  22, 232, 234 nature of gerontology  3, 9, 17, 117, 214, 215, 226, 234 research  59, 213 intergenerational  see generation see also family international  associations  74, 116 colleagues  21, 22, 26, 29, 45 conferences  201 links  11, 16, 73, 75, 87 literature  18, 19, 101 research  3, 95, 118, 119 see also collaboration International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG)  117, 234, 241 International Longevity Centre UK (ILC UK)  47, 65, 117, 124, 200, 252 intersectionality theory  see theory interventions  272, 274, 275, 276 psychosocial  90 social  227 therapeutic  273, 276

interviews  3, 10, 11, 13–​14, 19, 21, 91, 95, 113, 141, 159, 180, 182, 216 biographical  126 filmed  10, 13–​14, 169 job  102, 164 life history  32 narrative  12, 236

J Jefferys, Margot  22, 50, 55, 108, 109, 129, 148 journals  106, 108, 112, 169 see also Ageing & Society

K KCL  see King’s College London Keele University  13, 104, 105 keynote  paper/​s  124, 125 presentation/​s  121, 127, 130, 137, 138, 139, 141 speakers  117, 120, 121 King’s College London (KCL)  104, 105, 125, 247 knowledge  11, 18, 36, 76, 95, 165, 186, 195, 217, 223, 233 base  5, 10, 130, 134, 224, 232, 235 exchange  145, 150, 155–​156, 162, 216, 277 professional  167, 170–​175, 180–​182, 184–​186 see also academic; research KT-​EQUAL  see EQUAL (Extend Quality of Life)/​Research Network Kuhn, Maggie  33, 72, 75 see also Gray Panthers

L Labour government/​s  96, 98, 240, 242, 244, 249 labour market  99, 225 Laslett, Peter  65, 105, 106, 149, 242, 246 Lawton, M. Powell  72, 168, 169, 230 learned society  11, 113, 235, 246 learning  lifelong  66, 105, 274 see also education legislation  see devolved legislatures lessons  19, 100, 134, 184, 220 Leverhulme Trust  111 LGBT  128, 277 life course  6–​7, 22, 26, 40, 170, 185, 189, 190, 227, 229, 231 perspective/​s  52, 106, 233, 272, 274 Lifelong Health and Wellbeing (LLHWB) Programme  100, 259 lifelong learning  see learning

309

The Evolution of British Gerontology lifespan developmental psychology  see psychology lifestyle/​s  46, 147, 190, 203, 204, 275 healthy  173 retirement  192, 198, 226, 273 LLHWB  see Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Programme Lipman, Alan  123 lived experience/​s  9, 139, 186, 252, 270, 272, 274, 276, 277 longevity  6, 28 long-​term care  see care loss  139, 173, 176, 275, 276 see also bereavement luminaries  16, 55, 169, 230

see also identity MRC  see Medical Research Council multidisciplinary  see interdisciplinary Munnichs, Joep  34, 102

N

M Maltby, Tony  136, 138 Marmot, Prof Sir Michael  40 Marmot Indicators  267 Marmot Review  98, 261 media  3, 35, 47, 58, 115, 158, 208, 273, 275 representations of ageing  135 Medical Research Council (MRC)  43, 44, 109, 110, 259, 264 medical sociology  55, 108, 148, 153 medicine  4, 40, 76, 154, 217, 227 see also doctor; geriatric medicine men  134, 190, 192, 270 older  4, 69 see also ageing; gender mental health  30, 45, 70, 80, 89, 98, 191, 226, 242, 246, 273, 275, 277 see also dementia mentor  46, 66, 199, 230 Metchnikoff, Elie  4, 5, 7, 214 methodology  224, 235, 275, 277 see also theory methods  8, 29, 220 biographical  32, 275 mixed  68 participatory  122, 132, 137, 275, 277 research  5, 8, 22, 40, 122, 137, 231, 275, 277 mid-​life  18, 41, 42, 165, 170, 275, 276 migration  49, 225–​226 retirement  86, 87, 128–​129, 272 milestone/​s  11, 95, 103, 104, 106–​108, 112, 118, 223 Millard, Peter  44, 51 millennium  95, 110, 111, 120, 122, 124, 128, 130 136, 137, 168 mixed methods  see methods motivation/​s  10, 129, 145, 156–​162, 165, 178, 193, 198, 214

narrative  decline  6, 106 grand  107 internal  184 see also interviews national  cross-​national  132, 176, 275 research  3, 12, 95, 108, 111, 222, 233, 275 National Archives, The  11 National Corporation for the Care of Old People (NCCOP)  36, 65, 70, 77, 101, 111, 114, 116, 241 National Health Service (NHS)  4, 12, 29, 41, 96, 97, 240, 241 National Pensioners’ Convention  46, 164, 245 National Service Framework for Older People  49, 76, 98, 139, 253 NCCOP  see National Corporation for the Care of Old People NDA  see New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) Programme Network of Gerontology Students (NOGS)  117 network/​s  European  37, 47 personal  12, 115 professional  12 research  222, 233 see also social network Neugarten, Bernice  168 Neville, Yvonne  127, 129 New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) Programme  22, 48, 85, 109–​110, 140, 222, 255 newsletter  11, 43, 50, 57, 65, 75, 244, 248 NHS  see National Health Service NOGS  see Network of Gerontology Students Nuffield Foundation  65, 100–​101, 111, 240 nurses/​nursing  5, 15, 16, 134, 161, 233, 272, 275 see also education nursing home  see home

O old age psychiatry  275 see also dementia Open University (OU)  104, 243

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Index oral history  see history origins of gerontology  see gerontology Osborn, Averil  44, 137 Averil Osborn Fund  138, 220, 221, 234, 249 Averil Osborn Symposium  138 OU  see Open University Outstanding Achievement Award, BSG  see British Society of Gerontology (BSG)

P PACE  see Psychology Applied to the Care of the Elderly palliative care  see care paradigm  216 change  113, 233 normal ageing  221 shift  118, 232, 234 see also theory pathway/​s  hybrid  145, 156–​157 knowledge exchange  145, 155–​156 practitioner  145, 150, 154–​155 research  145, 150–​154 see also career; gerontology participation  159, 217, 219–​221, 271, 272, 273, 277 citizen  65, 97, 120, 156 of older people  18, 103, 120, 131, 133, 139, 225 social  273 user  138 see also activism; visibility participatory research  see research pen portraits  10, 14, 15, 19, 21, 27, 91, 145, 147, 150, 165, 215 pension/​s  4, 45, 65, 98, 135, 217, 223, 228, 230, 265, 273, 274 age  99, 190–​191, 267 ethnicity  22 private  99, 190, 273 means-​tested  96 policy  99 private  190, 273 public  96 scandal  99 scheme  99, 190–​191 state  99, 273 system  99 wealth  190–​191 workplace  99, 191 see also inequality Pensions Commission  99, 254 personal  and professional  16, 85, 167–​169, 175, 179, 181, 183

intersections between personal and professional  19, 170, 183–​187 reflection  see reflexivity resources  195 space  123, 272 see also ageing; identity; networks Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU)  38, 130, 244 perspective  see discipline; theory photograph/​s  21, 91, 176 pioneer/​s  4, 32, 41, 76, 137, 145, 148, 157–​158, 168, 169, 232 place/​s  148, 160, 174, 179 ‘age in place’  126, 130, 133, 134, 139, 272 and space  120, 122, 125, 131, 141, 272 people and  15, 31, 145, 147, 148, 160, 174 see also home; time policy  31, 47, 98, 125, 136, 191, 219, 225, 270, 272, 273, 275, 277 analysis  77, 101 and practice  4, 10, 16, 18, 19, 73, 96, 122, 123, 127, 130, 132, 154, 156, 182, 216, 233, 235, 273, 274, 275, 277 documents  12, 95, 99 environment  95, 118 health  29, 42, 50 landscape  4, 234 makers/​making  36, 38, 59, 61, 110, 119, 141, 213, 222, 223, 236 process  77, 102, 138, 165 social  65, 96, 97, 100 timeline  12, 95, 141 see also housing; pensions political economy  see theory politics  15 population ageing  3, 4, 11, 20, 96, 100, 191, 233, 242, 250 positivist tradition, the  8, 101 power of attorney  173, 274 practitioner/​s  4, 36, 59, 64, 68, 101, 114, 116, 117, 119, 123, 141, 154, 155, 160, 169, 213, 221, 235 medical  76, 114, 235 see also doctors; identity; pathway/​s; social work profession/​s  12, 15, 16, 69, 105, 151, 160, 221 professional  awareness  167, 172, 184 life/​ves  16, 115, 167, 169, 170, 175, 185, 190, 202, 204, 209, 236 photographer  10, 13 qualifications  150, 154

311

The Evolution of British Gerontology see also identity; knowledge; network/​s; personal programme/​s  see course/​s PSIGE  see Psychologists’ Special Interest Group with the Elderly PSSRU  see Personal Social Services Research Unit psychology  5–​7, 15, 34, 101, 107, 109, 114, 145, 151, 157, 165, 181, 214, 216, 235, 275 clinical  15, 44, 89, 90, 114, 156–​157, 246, 272 cognitive  114 developmental  6, 7, 35, 106, 161, 171, 217, 274 lifespan developmental  6, 7, 106, 171, 274 Psychology Applied to the Care of the Elderly (PACE)  114, 244 Psychologists’ Special Interest Group with the Elderly (PSIGE)  114, 246 public health  96, 102, 273, 275

Q quality of life  82, 124, 125, 130, 133, 271, 272, 275, 276, 277 measures  72

R race  8, 27, 225, 274 see also ethnicity reflection  on ageing  10, 21, 90, 167–​170, 172, 175, 184, 186, 220 see also reflexivity reflexive seniority  see theory reflexivity  156, 167–​170 Reith lectures  58, 112 relationships  reciprocal  148 social  273, 276 working  148 see also family relationships; friends; friendship/​s religion  35, 71, 274 see also faith; spirituality reminiscence  35, 170, 276 reports  12, 36, 47, 96, 99, 109 research  biographical  207, 275 consent  13, 14 co-​production  139, 178, 277 empirical  3, 10, 13, 169, 202, 219 ethics  275 exercises  233 evaluation  103, 272 funding  27, 108, 117

interdisciplinary  see inter/​ multidisciplinary methods  8, 122, 137, 231, 277 multidisciplinary  see inter/​ multidisciplinary networks  222 participatory  18, 120, 122, 137–​141, 220 programme/​s  12, 19, 110, 111, 138, 140, 222 research councils  109, 110, 268, 275 see also Arts and Humanities Research Council; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Economic and Social Research Council; Medical Research Council; Social Science Research Council residential home  see home retirement  8, 18, 40, 74, 101, 135, 189–​209, 273, 274, 275 academic  193–​196 activities in  157, 189, 195, 204–​207 age  136, 191, 193 attitudes to  194 challenges  208–​209 communities  25, 127–​130, 134 early  190, 191, 273 individualisation of  195, 203, 209 mandatory  191 phased  199, 201 planning  191–​192, 195 transition/​s to  19, 22, 189–​193, 198, 201, 203, 209 unretirement  191–​192 women and  190 see also housing; lifestyle; migration risk  see human rights role  academic  193, 194, 199 key  101, 105, 117 professional  193, 204 see also caring; identity; theory routes  see pathway/​s

S scholar/​s  4, 6, 169, 193 Second World War  4, 12, 38, 96, 100, 118, 168, 240 self  see identity senescence  5, 6 serendipity  16, 145, 149–​150, 165 sheltered housing  see housing skills  190, 195, 203, 205 academic  203 motor  6 research  153

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Index transferable  147, 153, 189 social care  9, 38, 61, 67–​68, 97–​99, 103, 186, 252, 253, 255, 259, 263, 264, 265, 271, 273 adult  97, 257, 262, 268 social exclusion  98, 271, 276 social gerontology  101, 104, 149, 162, 168, 229, 247 social network/​s  174, 271, 276, 277 social policy  5, 15, 103, 107, 109, 162, 275 Social Science Research Council (SSRC)  108, 243 social sciences  9, 113, 214, 226, 235, 263 social work  5, 12, 15, 150, 272, 275 social worker  17, 114, 162 sociology  5, 15, 22, 51, 83, 102, 103, 107, 109, 145, 151, 153, 162, 165, 214, 216, 275 solidarity  see community of practice space -​  see place SPARC  see Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity spirituality  35, 185, 206, 228, 274 see also faith; religion SSRC  see Social Science Research Council stereotypes  97, 106, 209, 273 Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity (SPARC)  59, 110, 255 stroke  98, 176, 270, 271 structural functionalism  see theory structural lag  223 structured dependency  see theory students  104, 107, 117, 121, 177, 193, 202 doctoral  154, 202 graduate  16 mature  18, 52 undergraduate  16 successful ageing  see theory summer school  104

T teachers  16, 147, 169, 230 technology/​ies  79, 222, 226, 249 assistive  59, 87, 126, 133–​134, 272 digital  134 smart  130 telecare  134, 229, 272 theory  activity  8, 276 age consciousness  236 conscious ageing  236 conscious criticality  236

critical gerontology  8–​9, 75, 106, 218, 236, 273 cultural gerontology  9, 82, 113, 218, 234, 277 disengagement  8, 276 disposable soma  58, 217 feminist  8, 104, 218, 274, 275 generational intelligence  26, 236 ‘grand theory’  233 intersectionality  8, 274 political economy  8, 103–​104, 107, 218, 273 reflexive seniority  236 role  189 structural functionalism  8 structured dependency  107, 218, 273 successful ageing  8, 98, 106, 274 see also Erikson; life course third age  65, 105, 106–​107, 190, 248, 273, 275 see also University of the Third Age time  and place  14, 16, 167 see also place timeline  see policy topic guide  13 Townsend, Peter  28, 85, 107, 124, 135, 137, 148, 218 traditional disciplines  see discipline traffic  see transport transcripts  14 transition/​s  151, 154, 171, 229, 272, 273, 275, 276 see also retirement transport  43, 70, 132–​133, 139, 223, 226, 229, 272, 275 triangulation  14 triple lock  99 see also pension/​s Turner, Adair  99, 254

U undergraduate  see student University of the Third Age (U3A)  65, 105, 106, 169, 204, 246, 274 unretirement  see retirement user  community  59 involvement/​participation  97, 138, 277 voice  178, 271

V Venn, Sue  138 visibility  3, 111, 195, 217, 219–​221 see also activism; participation

313

The Evolution of British Gerontology vision  214, 232 voluntary  31, 120, 133 organisation  28, 41, 47, 105, 114, 150, 154, 156 redundancy  27, 208 sector  16, 17, 61, 114, 235 see also work volunteer/​s  11, 60, 66, 74, 83, 146, 189, 197

W Warren, Marjorie  4, 169, 242 WEA  see Workers’ Educational Association welfare  benefits  83 compact  96 mixed economy of  96 policy  11, 46 production of  38, 68 provision  96 rights  66 services  63, 78 social  27, 99, 113 state/​s  4, 8, 12, 23, 96, 100, 176, 240 White Riley, Matilda  168 WHO  see World Health Organization Willcocks, Dianne  56, 115, 123, 138, 246

Wilmott, Peter  23, 28 Williamson, Jimmy  76, 148 widowhood  8, 37, 274, 276 women  older  4, 22, 30, 36, 72, 126, 128, 138, 169 see also ageing; gender word of mouth  16 see also networks work  academic  26, 39, 76, 154, 155, 156, 182, 205 flexible  191 from home  191 full-​time  192, 196, 199, 202 lives  166, 167 paid  see employment part-​time  189, 191, 192, 198, 202 unpaid  189 voluntary  38, 61, 85, 145, 206 Workers’ Educational Association (WEA)  31, 157 World Health Organization (WHO)  77, 131 World War Two  see Second World War

Y Young, Michael  23, 28, 64, 65, 106, 242, 243, 246

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“The people, the times, the contexts - these all come ‘alive’ through the voices and insights of prominent UK gerontologists who shaped their field. Their ‘reflexive seniority’ makes for a splendid read!” Anne Martin-Matthews, The University of British Columbia “This book is a wonderful journey through the dynamic and ongoing life of the discipline of gerontology in the UK, viewed through the eyes of familiar colleagues and friends.” Athina Vlachantoni, University of Southampton Half a century of UK gerontology research, theory, policy and practice are under the spotlight in this landmark critical review of the subject that places the country’s achievements in an international context. Drawing on the archives of the British Society of Gerontology and interviews with dozens of the most influential figures in the field, it provides a comprehensive picture of key developments and issues and looks to the future to plot new directions in thinking. This is the story of the remarkable progress of gerontology, told through the eyes of those who have led it. Miriam Bernard is Emeritus Professor of Social Gerontology at Keele University. Mo Ray is Professor of Health and Social Care at the University of Lincoln. Jackie Reynolds is Research Impact Manager at Staffordshire University.

ISBN 978-1-4473-4312-7

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The Evolution of British Gerontology Miriam Bernard, Mo Ray and Jackie Reynolds

“I am in awe of the authors’ ability to produce such a compelling and nuanced account of the development of gerontology in the UK.” Thomas Scharf, Newcastle University

EVOLUTI E VOLUTI E VOL U TON ION

The The The

BR I TI ITSI SHH BR GERONTOLOGY GE R O N T O L O G Y of of of

Bernard, Moand Ray Jackie and Jackie Reynolds Miriam Bernard, Mo Reynolds MiriamMiriam Bernard, Mo Ray Ray and Jackie Reynolds