The development of the training and qualification of the British Optician

The following paper which was prepared for an International Optical gathering outlines very briefly the historical development of the optician and the optical profession in the United Kingdom. It also breifly describes the part played by the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, one of the Livery Companies of the City of London, founded by Royal Charter in 1629, and which still retains a very close connection with optics--one of the few City Livery Companies still to be closely allied to its "original purpose in life." The Company still strives to further "optics" in all its many fields.