28/09/2022
Who was Dr Edward Bach?
He was born on 24 September 1886 in Moseley, which back then was a small village just outside Birmingham UK. From an early age he had a love of nature, and as a schoolboy would head off alone, hiking and camping in the Welsh countryside. Nora Weeks* wrote "Any human being, bird or creature in pain or distress aroused in him such compassion and desire to help their suffering, that he determined he would be a doctor. His ideal of a simple way to heal all disease persisted, and as he grew older it became a conviction and the activating force behind his whole life's work, for throughout the years he practised as a pathologist, bacteriologist and homeopath his one aim was to find pure remedies."
For someone so sensitive it must have been very difficult to work in his father's brass foundry factory when he left school at 16. He did this for 3 years learning every aspect of the different departments while observing his fellow employees which gave him insight to human nature.
He eventually told his father of his dream to be a doctor and received his full support. Edward Bach trained at Birmingham University and the University College Hospital, where he qualified in 1912. He obtained the Conjoint Diploma of MRCS., LRCP., then in 1913 the degrees of MB., BS., and in 1914 the Diploma in Public Health (DPH Camb.)
As a medical student he had little time for books. He felt that "the true study of disease lay in watching every patient, observing the way in which each one was affected by his complaint, and seeing how these different reactions influenced the course, severity and duration of the disease. He learnt that the same treatment did not always cure the same disease in all patients. After further observation he realised that patients with a similar personality or temperament would often respond to the same remedy, whereas others of a different type with the same condition, needed other treatment for their cure."
His medical career included:
Casualty Medical Officer at University College Hospital (UCH)
Casualty House Surgeon at National Temperance Hospital
Assistant Bacteriologist at UCH - where he discovered that certain intestinal germs (which doctors considered of little or no importance) were closely connected with chronic disease and its cure). His discoveries revolutionised the treatment of chronic disease.
In 1917 he haemorrhaged, rushed into emergency surgery and told it was unlikely he would survive longer than 3 months. Desperate to complete his work, and still very weak he returned to the hospital laboratories and became
immersed in his experiments, working day and night. He grew stronger and astounded everyone by his recovery. He realised that "a definite purpose in life was the deciding factor of man's happiness on earth".
Responsible for over 400 war beds at UCH and in addition to his research work the Demonstrator and Clinical Assistant of Bacteriology at the Hospital Medical School.
During the 1918 influenza outbreak he was unofficially allowed to vaccinate the troops in certain home camps with his vaccines prepared from intestinal bacteria, saving thousands of lives. The death rate in other camps was appalling.
Pathologist and bacteriologist at the London Homeopathic Hospital
Thriving private research laboratory and clinic in London
His research was published in various professional journals: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine; Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology; The British Homeopathic Journal and in 1926 published his book Chronic Disease: A Working Hypothesis.
Papers presented at Congresses such as: Intestinal Toxaemia in its Relation to Cancer; The Problem of Chronic Disease; The Rediscovery of Psora.
His discoveries were healing people. He was seen as an outstanding genius in his work, medical doctors around the world were ordering his vaccines. And yet he still believed he could find the answers in nature. By the end of 1929, he had found Impatiens, Mimulus and Clematis with which his patients had great success. He was convinced that he could replace the bacterial nosodes with the pure and simple herbs of nature. In 1930 he sold his laboratory and left London to begin his search for the new system of medicine. He completed his work in 1936 - his two books The Twelve Healers and Other Remedies and Heal Thyself encapsulating his work. He died peacefully 27 November of that year. And today, 92 years on, people everywhere continue to use the simply wonderful Bach Flower Remedies.
A gifted man who gave us his extraordinary legacy. Thank you Dr Bach!🌺
* The Medical Discoveries of Edward Bach
