Born in Leicester to the Methodist minister Reverend Montgomery Rees and his wife Catharine Millar, John Rawlings Rees experienced frequent relocations during his early life as his father moved from manse to manse.[1] After a period spent at Leeds, most of Rees education took place at Bradford Grammar School. He then attended King's College, Cambridge, where he studied Medicine and Natural Science and played water polo.[2]
Hugh Crichton-Miller invited Rees to work with him at a private psychiatric nursing home, Bowden House, Harrow on the Hill. Rees married Mary Isobel Hemingway (10 September 1887 – 4 October 1954), the resident medical officer at Bowden House, in 1921. Their marriage occurred shortly after Rees and Crichton-Miller created the Tavistock Square Clinic for Functional Nervous Disorders, a voluntary hospital which opened in 1920.[2] Mary also joined the staff of the Tavistock Clinic. The clinic specialised in the new 'dynamic psychologies' of Sigmund Freud and his followers, and in particular the Object relations theory of Ronald Fairbairn and others. As well as educating others at the clinic, Rees took the DPH in 1920 and MRCP in 1936. Rees was one of the key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1933. He began to make plans to establish an Institute of Medical Psychology, with beds and more opportunities to train people in psychiatric methods, and bought a site in Bloomsbury to build it, but his plans were halted by the outbreak of the Second World War.[1]
Second World War
Rees was appointed consulting psychiatrist to the British Army during the Second World War, and obtained the rank of brigadier. According to Eric Trist, another key member of the original Tavistock group:
In 1941 a group of psychiatrists at the Tavistock Clinic saw that the right questions were asked in Parliament to secure the means to try new measures. As a result they were asked to join the Directorate of Army Psychiatry, and did so as a group.[3]
During the war, Rees oversaw his colleagues' experiments with group psychotherapy, 'therapeutic communities', morale, rehabilitation, and selection tests.[1][4]
Rudolf Hess affair
The work which occupied most of Rees time during the war was the case of Rudolf Hess. Together with Henry Dicks, a fellow member of the Tavistock Clinic group, Rees was charged with the care of Hitler's Deputy at the secret prison locations where he was held following his capture after landing in Scotland.[5] Over the four-year period from June 1941 to Hess' appearance at the Nuremberg trial, Rees apparently established a relationship with Hess: Hess' diaries record many meetings with Rees, referred to at this time as Colonel Rees, in which Hess accused his captors of attempting to poison, drug, and 'mesmerise' him.[6] In 1945 Rees was a member of the three-man British panel (with Churchill's personal physician Lord Moran, and eminent neurologist Dr George Riddoch) which assessed Hess's capability to stand trial for war crimes.[7]
After the war, the Tavistock Clinic underwent considerable changes, in which Rees played a key role. He was a member of a group who referred to themselves as the ‘invisible college’, in reference to the 17th century precursor to the Royal Society.[8] This group orchestrated "Operation Phoenix", making plans for Tavistock to rise from the ashes of war. After the war, this group, including Rees and five others, formed the Interim Planning Committee of the Tavistock Clinic. This committee was chaired by Wilfred Bion, meeting twice a week to formulate a new way forward for their work at Tavistock, based on war-time experience.[3] Rees’ plans for the Institute of Medical Psychology were never realised; instead, the group went on to found the Tavistock Institute, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation. Rees left shortly afterwards in 1947.
President of World Federation for Mental Health
After leaving the Tavistock, Rees’ first role was as the chief organiser of the 1948 International Congress for Mental Health, held in London. At this congress, the World Federation for Mental Health was founded, and Rees was elected as the first president. This organisation is now a non-governmental organisation with formal consultative status at the United Nations.[9] There is an annual Rees lecture in memory of Rees' wife, Mary Hemingway Rees, "among the first staff members at the Tavistock Clinic when it was founded in 1920" and "one of the founders of the WFMH" with her husband.[10]
Rees retired from his post in 1962, though he continued to act as a consultant. He died at his London home on 11 April 1969.
Footnotes
^ abcdDicks, Henry V. "John Rawlings Rees". Retrieved 23 March 2014.
^ abcdDicks, Henry V. (23 April 1969). "J. R. Rees, C.B.E., M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P. D.P.H.". British Medical Journal. 2 (5651): 253. JSTOR 20396889.
^ abEric Trist and Hugh Murray, The Foundation and Development of the Tavistock Institute to 1989, Tavistock Institute
^ ab"Lasker Award". British Medical Journal. 2 (4430): 764. 1 December 1945. JSTOR 20364732.
^Daniel Pick, The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind: Hitler, Hess, and the Analysts, 2012
^Pick, p.158. Although the trial proceedings 25 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine refer to a T Rees, they also refer to "the English psychiatrist, Doctor Rees, who had Hess under observation from the first days of his flight to England". It seems certain that this English psychiatrist was John Rawlings Rees, though a T Rees may also have been present at the Nuremberg trials.
^Dicks, Henry V. (1970). Fifty years of the Tavistock Clinic. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 107.
^World Federation for Mental Health 24 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine
Fifty Years of the Tavistock Clinic, Henry V Dicks (1970), Routledge, ISBN0-7100-6846-8
The Shaping of Psychiatry by War (New York: Norton, 1945)
The Case of Rudolf Hess; A Problem in diagnosis and forensic psychiatry (1948), by John R. Rees, Henry Victor Dicks
Hess, the Missing Years, 1987, by David Irving, Macmillan Press (many references indexed to Rees) ISBN0-333-45179-1.
Rees, Colonel J. R. (October 1940). "Strategic Planning for Mental Health". Ment Health (Lond). 1 (4): 103–106. PMC5092653. PMID 28908962.
External links
Tavistock Anthology by Trist – refers to Rees
Generals of World War II
February 21, 2023
john, rawlings, rees, other, people, named, john, rees, john, rees, disambiguation, frcp, june, 1890, april, 1969, also, known, jack, british, civilian, military, psychiatrist, frcpborn, 1890, june, 1890leicester, englanddied11, april, 1969, 1969, aged, london. For other people named John Rees see John Rees disambiguation John Rawlings Rees CBE FRCP 25 June 1890 11 April 1969 also known as Jack or J R was a British civilian and military psychiatrist John Rawlings ReesCBE FRCPBorn 1890 06 25 25 June 1890Leicester EnglandDied11 April 1969 1969 04 11 aged 78 London EnglandNationalityBritishOccupation s Director of the Tavistock clinicPresident of the World Federation for Mental HealthNotable workHealth of the MindThe Shaping of Psychiatry by WarModern Practice in Psychological MedicineSpouseMary Isobel Hemingway m 1920 Contents 1 Early life 2 Inter War work at the Tavistock Clinic 3 Second World War 3 1 Rudolf Hess affair 4 End of the war and Operation Phoenix 5 President of World Federation for Mental Health 6 Footnotes 7 Selected bibliography 8 External linksEarly life EditBorn in Leicester to the Methodist minister Reverend Montgomery Rees and his wife Catharine Millar John Rawlings Rees experienced frequent relocations during his early life as his father moved from manse to manse 1 After a period spent at Leeds most of Rees education took place at Bradford Grammar School He then attended King s College Cambridge where he studied Medicine and Natural Science and played water polo 2 Following his degree Rees worked at the Victoria Park Chest Hospital studying tuberculosis Rees was finishing his medical education at the London Hospital when the First World War broke out He joined the Friends Ambulance Unit in 1914 and later became a Medical Officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps where he was awarded the Belgian Knight of the Order of the Crown for his work with Belgian civilians 1 After being invalided back to London for a time Rees was placed in charge of a motor ambulance unit in Mesopotamia until 1919 when he demobilised with the rank of captain 2 Inter War work at the Tavistock Clinic EditHugh Crichton Miller invited Rees to work with him at a private psychiatric nursing home Bowden House Harrow on the Hill Rees married Mary Isobel Hemingway 10 September 1887 4 October 1954 the resident medical officer at Bowden House in 1921 Their marriage occurred shortly after Rees and Crichton Miller created the Tavistock Square Clinic for Functional Nervous Disorders a voluntary hospital which opened in 1920 2 Mary also joined the staff of the Tavistock Clinic The clinic specialised in the new dynamic psychologies of Sigmund Freud and his followers and in particular the Object relations theory of Ronald Fairbairn and others As well as educating others at the clinic Rees took the DPH in 1920 and MRCP in 1936 Rees was one of the key figures at the original Tavistock Clinic and became its medical director from 1933 He began to make plans to establish an Institute of Medical Psychology with beds and more opportunities to train people in psychiatric methods and bought a site in Bloomsbury to build it but his plans were halted by the outbreak of the Second World War 1 Second World War EditRees was appointed consulting psychiatrist to the British Army during the Second World War and obtained the rank of brigadier According to Eric Trist another key member of the original Tavistock group In 1941 a group of psychiatrists at the Tavistock Clinic saw that the right questions were asked in Parliament to secure the means to try new measures As a result they were asked to join the Directorate of Army Psychiatry and did so as a group 3 During the war Rees oversaw his colleagues experiments with group psychotherapy therapeutic communities morale rehabilitation and selection tests 1 4 Rudolf Hess affair Edit The work which occupied most of Rees time during the war was the case of Rudolf Hess Together with Henry Dicks a fellow member of the Tavistock Clinic group Rees was charged with the care of Hitler s Deputy at the secret prison locations where he was held following his capture after landing in Scotland 5 Over the four year period from June 1941 to Hess appearance at the Nuremberg trial Rees apparently established a relationship with Hess Hess diaries record many meetings with Rees referred to at this time as Colonel Rees in which Hess accused his captors of attempting to poison drug and mesmerise him 6 In 1945 Rees was a member of the three man British panel with Churchill s personal physician Lord Moran and eminent neurologist Dr George Riddoch which assessed Hess s capability to stand trial for war crimes 7 End of the war and Operation Phoenix EditAs a result of his war work Rees was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 He received awards including the Thomas Salmon Memorial lectureship of the New York Academy of Medicine in 1944 the William Withering lectureship at the University of Birmingham in 1945 and shared the first new Lasker Award with Brock Chisholm in 1945 2 4 After the war the Tavistock Clinic underwent considerable changes in which Rees played a key role He was a member of a group who referred to themselves as the invisible college in reference to the 17th century precursor to the Royal Society 8 This group orchestrated Operation Phoenix making plans for Tavistock to rise from the ashes of war After the war this group including Rees and five others formed the Interim Planning Committee of the Tavistock Clinic This committee was chaired by Wilfred Bion meeting twice a week to formulate a new way forward for their work at Tavistock based on war time experience 3 Rees plans for the Institute of Medical Psychology were never realised instead the group went on to found the Tavistock Institute with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation Rees left shortly afterwards in 1947 President of World Federation for Mental Health EditAfter leaving the Tavistock Rees first role was as the chief organiser of the 1948 International Congress for Mental Health held in London At this congress the World Federation for Mental Health was founded and Rees was elected as the first president This organisation is now a non governmental organisation with formal consultative status at the United Nations 9 There is an annual Rees lecture in memory of Rees wife Mary Hemingway Rees among the first staff members at the Tavistock Clinic when it was founded in 1920 and one of the founders of the WFMH with her husband 10 Rees retired from his post in 1962 though he continued to act as a consultant He died at his London home on 11 April 1969 Footnotes Edit a b c d Dicks Henry V John Rawlings Rees Retrieved 23 March 2014 a b c d Dicks Henry V 23 April 1969 J R Rees C B E M A M D F R C P D P H British Medical Journal 2 5651 253 JSTOR 20396889 a b Eric Trist and Hugh Murray The Foundation and Development of the Tavistock Institute to 1989 Tavistock Institute a b Lasker Award British Medical Journal 2 4430 764 1 December 1945 JSTOR 20364732 Daniel Pick The Pursuit of the Nazi Mind Hitler Hess and the Analysts 2012 Irving Hess the missing years Pick p 158 Although the trial proceedings Archived 25 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine refer to a T Rees they also refer to the English psychiatrist Doctor Rees who had Hess under observation from the first days of his flight to England It seems certain that this English psychiatrist was John Rawlings Rees though a T Rees may also have been present at the Nuremberg trials Dicks Henry V 1970 Fifty years of the Tavistock Clinic London Routledge amp K Paul p 107 World Federation for Mental Health Archived 24 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine Newsletter 2005Selected bibliography EditThe Social Engagement of Social Science a Tavistock Anthology Vol 1 1990 E L Trist Free Association Books ISBN 0 8122 8192 6 Fifty Years of the Tavistock Clinic Henry V Dicks 1970 Routledge ISBN 0 7100 6846 8 The Shaping of Psychiatry by War New York Norton 1945 The Case of Rudolf Hess A Problem in diagnosis and forensic psychiatry 1948 by John R Rees Henry Victor Dicks Hess the Missing Years 1987 by David Irving Macmillan Press many references indexed to Rees ISBN 0 333 45179 1 Rees Colonel J R October 1940 Strategic Planning for Mental Health Ment Health Lond 1 4 103 106 PMC 5092653 PMID 28908962 External links EditTavistock Anthology by Trist refers to Rees Generals of World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Rawlings Rees amp oldid 1114801425, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
