Jane Wilson-Howarth
Encyclopedia
Jane Wilson-Howarth is a British physician, lecturer and author. She has written three travel health guides, two travel narratives and innumerable articles and scientific papers.
(working near London Bridge), and Joe's father as a lino-type setter (for the Belfast Telegraph). Wilson-Howarth is an alumnus of Stoneleigh East County Infants, Junior and Senior Schools, Cheam High School
and Ewell Technical College, now known as the North East Surrey College of Technology
where she studied for an Ordinary National Diploma in sciences.
; this funded a life-changing trip to Nepal
.
The Nepal connection led to a veterinary research job and she wrote a thesis about rabbit parasites for an MSc from Corpus Christi College, Oxford
. Through this work she developed an interest in immunology and a dream of working to help the poor in emerging nations. She then studied for a medical qualification, appropriately a BM, from the University of Southampton
.
She is an accredited general practitioner
with a Diploma in Child Health (Royal College of Physicians
, London 1992), a Diploma in Community Child Health (Royal College of Physicians, RCGP & Public Health Faculty, Edinburgh 1992), a Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
2007) and was elected a Fellow of the Faculty Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
in 2009.
In 1973 she won the British Universities and Colleges individual canoe slalom event and the same day also the seven mile whitewater canoeing
race. In addition she won the national colleges sailing championship.
In 1978-9 she rowed for Corpus Christi College, Oxford
and the ladies boat that year achieved three 'bumps'. In 2004 she took the sport up again and has been an active member of the Champion of the Thames rowing club in Cambridge ever since. She's rowed in the city bumps each summer as well as various head and sprints races on the Cam.
The first Madagascar expedition stimulated a second, and this work contributed to the Ankarana Massif's recognition as an important refuge for mammals including the endangered crowned lemur
, Sanford's brown lemur
, as well as smaller wildlife and a previously unknown blind fish. The Massif also proved to be a rich location where important sub-fossil giant lemur remains were discovered.
(GP) in Cambridgeshire and is Medical Director of The Travel Clinic Ltd., Cambridge. She lectures on travel health and about her writing, and has contributed to numerous travel guides and textbooks.
in the Times Literary Supplement. A Glimpse of Eternal Snows is a moving travel memoir set in Cambridge and Nepal
which has received praise in the press.
She has contributed to almost every issue of Wanderlust (magazine)
- that's over a hundred and twenty travel health features and recently has agreed to contribute regularly to HimalayasNepal magazine. Wilson-Howarth occasionally writes for The Independent
newspapers and other national publications. She is a member of the Society of Authors
, the innovative Walden Writers co-operative and Cambridge Writers.
The Walden Writers co-operative was set up in the beautiful market town of Saffron Walden
, Essex in 2008 to cross-promote the work of its members, to organise literary events, to exchange information and to give one another mutual support. It is a model of writers taking on and engaging directly with their public and embracing the challenges that were once fielded by their publishers.
Early life
Wilson-Howarth was born in Epsom Hospital, Surrey, the middle child of three; her older brother is David and her younger sister is Mary. Her parents are Londoner Peggy (Margaret) Thomas (born 1926) and Ballymena-born bibliophile Joe Wilson (1920–2011) whose marriage certificate records Peggy's father as a wharfingerWharfinger
Wharfinger is an archaic term for a person who is the keeper or owner of a wharf. The wharfinger took custody of and was responsible for goods delivered to the wharf, typically had an office on the wharf or dock, and was responsible for day-to-day activities including slipways, keeping tide tables...
(working near London Bridge), and Joe's father as a lino-type setter (for the Belfast Telegraph). Wilson-Howarth is an alumnus of Stoneleigh East County Infants, Junior and Senior Schools, Cheam High School
Cheam High School
Cheam High School is a mixed gender comprehensive school located in Cheam, Greater London, England. It consists of a lower school, for those aged between 11-16, and a sixth form for 17-18.The school holds dual Specialist Language College and Arts College status...
and Ewell Technical College, now known as the North East Surrey College of Technology
North East Surrey College Of Technology
The North East Surrey College Of Technology is a large further education and higher education college in Epsom and Ewell, Surrey, England that began as Ewell Technical College in the 1950s.-Facilities:...
where she studied for an Ordinary National Diploma in sciences.
Education
Day-dreamed through primary school. Failed the Eleven Plus examination but then as a mild dyslexic (before it had been invented) and late bloomer, secured a place to study biological sciences at Plymouth Polytechnic; there she concentrated on invertebrates, pollution studies, environmental resource management and completed a research project on cave climate and collembola which led to her first publication. She began caving in Devon and continued to enjoy cave exploration in the UK while making extensive collections of invertebrates to document the species that are able to thrive in lightless environments. In 1976 she was awarded a travelling scholarship by the Winston Churchill Memorial TrustWinston Churchill Memorial Trust
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill. They are based...
; this funded a life-changing trip to Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.
The Nepal connection led to a veterinary research job and she wrote a thesis about rabbit parasites for an MSc from Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
. Through this work she developed an interest in immunology and a dream of working to help the poor in emerging nations. She then studied for a medical qualification, appropriately a BM, from the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
.
She is an accredited general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
with a Diploma in Child Health (Royal College of Physicians
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
, London 1992), a Diploma in Community Child Health (Royal College of Physicians, RCGP & Public Health Faculty, Edinburgh 1992), a Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a professional association based in the UK. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is, pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexual and reproductive health...
2007) and was elected a Fellow of the Faculty Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, is an institute of physicians and surgeons in Glasgow, Scotland.Founded by Peter Lowe after receiving a royal charter by James VI in 1599, as the Glasgow Faculty, this institution originally existed as a regulatory authority to ensure that...
in 2009.
Sports
Wilson-Howarth represented her school in swimming and athletics and also enjoyed some success in dinghy sailing on the upper reaches of the Thames at Hampton. She started caving and also SCUBA diving in 1972 while an undergraduate in Plymouth and enjoyed combining adventurous activities with ecological studies.In 1973 she won the British Universities and Colleges individual canoe slalom event and the same day also the seven mile whitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or...
race. In addition she won the national colleges sailing championship.
In 1978-9 she rowed for Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
and the ladies boat that year achieved three 'bumps'. In 2004 she took the sport up again and has been an active member of the Champion of the Thames rowing club in Cambridge ever since. She's rowed in the city bumps each summer as well as various head and sprints races on the Cam.
Expeditions
Wilson-Howarth spent six months on an overland trip to the Himalayan region; this was with a small team intent on finding new caves and documenting what lived inside them. She did some research on histoplasmosis, on bat rabies and made extensive zoological collections mostly for the British Museum (Natural History). While an undergraduate at Southampton she was involved in further expeditions - to Madagascar and (leading a team of eleven) Peru. She also organised a medical elective with Save the Children in Ladakh. In 1983 she was awarded the BISH Medal by the Scientific Exploration Society for “courage and determination in the face of adversity.”The first Madagascar expedition stimulated a second, and this work contributed to the Ankarana Massif's recognition as an important refuge for mammals including the endangered crowned lemur
Crowned Lemur
The crowned lemur is a lemur that is 31–36 cm long and weighs 2 kg. Its tail is about 42–51 cm long). The crowned lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous forests of the northern tip of Madagascar. It eats a diet of mostly flowers, fruits, and leaves...
, Sanford's brown lemur
Sanford's Brown Lemur
Sanford's brown lemur , or Sanford's lemur, is a species of prosimian primate in the Lemuridae family. The Sanford's brown lemur was previously considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur but as of 2005 many of the brown lemurs have been elevated to a full species status...
, as well as smaller wildlife and a previously unknown blind fish. The Massif also proved to be a rich location where important sub-fossil giant lemur remains were discovered.
Career
Since qualifying as a doctor of medicine, Wilson-Howarth has held posts in hospital medicine in Swindon, orthopedics in Salisbury, obstetrics and gynaecology in Swindon and paediatrics in Oxford. She has worked on various child survival and hygiene promotion projects in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Nepal. Currently she is a general practitionerGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
(GP) in Cambridgeshire and is Medical Director of The Travel Clinic Ltd., Cambridge. She lectures on travel health and about her writing, and has contributed to numerous travel guides and textbooks.
Writing
Wilson-Howarth's writing all has a travel theme. Her first big trip was to the Himalayas at the age of 22 and this wasn't a cure for itchy feet, but an appetitizer. Over a succession of further expeditions, Jane’s letters home evolved into published prose. She has published three travel health guides which have appeared in numerous revised forms. The Essential Guide to Travel Health is now in its fifth edition and was originally launched as Bugs Bites & Bowels in 1995. Your Child Abroad: a travel health guide is an accessible family manual written in collaboration with paediatrician Dr Matthew Ellis. How to Shit Around the World is a compilation of toilet tales, many humorous. Her first book, when she wrote as Jane Wilson, Lemurs of the Lost World (1990, 1995) is about two expeditions to Madagascar and was described as the finest travel book thus far written about Madagascar by Dervla MurphyDervla Murphy
Dervla Murphy is an Irish touring cyclist and author of adventure travel books for over 40 years.Murphy is best known for her 1965 book Full Tilt: Ireland to India With a Bicycle, about an overland cycling trip through Europe, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India...
in the Times Literary Supplement. A Glimpse of Eternal Snows is a moving travel memoir set in Cambridge and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
which has received praise in the press.
She has contributed to almost every issue of Wanderlust (magazine)
Wanderlust (magazine)
Wanderlust is a British travel magazine, covering adventurous, cultural and special interest travel. It is published eight times a year....
- that's over a hundred and twenty travel health features and recently has agreed to contribute regularly to HimalayasNepal magazine. Wilson-Howarth occasionally writes for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
newspapers and other national publications. She is a member of the Society of Authors
Society of Authors
The Society of Authors is a trade union for professional writers that was founded in 1884 to protect the rights of writers and fight to retain those rights .It has counted amongst its members and presidents numerous notable writers and poets including Tennyson The Society of Authors (UK) is a...
, the innovative Walden Writers co-operative and Cambridge Writers.
Work with Walden Writers
It used to be that writers wrote, and publishers printed and sold their books. 'Gentlemen publishers' befriended and nurtured their authors, guiding their unworldly talents through the harsh realities of the commercial world. Now budgets are tight, bookshops are closing down and authors are under even greater pressure, yet they are ever more isolated. Neither publishers nor even agents are able to provide the support that was once the norm. Not only do authors have to write their books, they often have to pay an editor to help with the final polishing of the prose, they then have to sell and promote the book - a latter day recluse like J.D. Salinger would never have published or made a success of the Catcher in the Rye.The Walden Writers co-operative was set up in the beautiful market town of Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
, Essex in 2008 to cross-promote the work of its members, to organise literary events, to exchange information and to give one another mutual support. It is a model of writers taking on and engaging directly with their public and embracing the challenges that were once fielded by their publishers.