SPECIAL ceremony was held at Chard School on Monday to remember one of the school’s most famous sons.

To mark the 85th anniversary of the Old Cerdics Association, former pupils presented a framed portrait of Thomas Wakley, who is regarded as one of the most influential social and medical reformers of the 19th Century.

David Laws MP and the Mayor of Chard, Jenny Kenton, unveiled the portrait alongside the surviving members of the Wakley family.

After school, Wakley trained as a pharmacist in Taunton and walked to London where he qualified as a surgeon.

He was the founding editor of The Lancet medical journal in 1823. It has become the leading authoritative medical journal with a global reach.

He became a Member of Parliament in 1835 and was also the coroner for West Middlesex.

Graham Chamberlain, chairman of the Old Cerdics Association, said: “He was truly a remarkable man who has received scant public recognition for all he achieved.

“Sixty-seven years after his death, our association was formed. It seemed to honour our most famous son with a lasting memento that would be on display in his school in perpetuity would be worthy way in which to mark our 85th anniversary.”