Optician Awards: Lifelong passion for optics

‘My first encounter with ophthalmic matters was when, at 11 years old in 1956, I was prescribed -1D to correct my myopia,’ says Professor Bernard Gilmartin, Emeritus Professor of Optometry at Aston University. ‘This was a complete mystery to me as I was not aware of any history of myopia in my family and very few of my school friends were myopic.’  

A trip to the Manchester library for a copy of Bates’ book Better Sight Without Glasses followed. This, says Prof Gilmartin, presented a variety of suggested treatments for myopia, which he says seeded his interest in an area of optics that would come to win him praise from the optical profession.