Optics remembers Janet Helen Silver

Daniel P Ehrlich, head of optometry at Moorfields Eye Hospital, has paid tribute to Janet Helen Silver OBE, former principal optometrist at the hospital, who died on March 25, aged 73.

Silver joined Moorfields in 1964 and after reluctantly taking over as head of department in 1970, she set up the first hospital Low Vision Aid Clinic, assisted first by Liz Gould and then by Andrew Milliken. Under her leadership the department thrived, becoming a centre of international repute.

When Silver retired in 1995, her 'Visual Assessment Department' merged with the Contact Lens Department to produce the current Optometry Department, which now approaches 100 staff. She remained active in the field following her retirement and used her skills to help those in developing countries.