Family honour for Petticrew

A third generation Belfast optometrist, Frank Petticrew, has been awarded the prestigious Herschel Medal for outstanding contributions to contact lens design and fitting.

Petticrew has practised in the city for 50 years but his family's connection with eye care goes back to 1887 when his father and grandfather opened a jewellers and opticians in Bow Street Lisburn.

This is the first time the medal has been won by an Irish optometrist and it took Petticrew by surprise. 'I'm delighted to have good wishes from so many friends in the contact lens world, right across the spectrum of contact lens designers, manufacturers, scientists, educators and especially clinicians.' The Petticrew Optometrists tradition is carried on by his son Andrew (also pictured).