In 1998 Mr. Robin Brammar was the Principal Ocularist at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the head of the Department of Ocular Prosthetics. He took part in the meeting of the American Society of Ocularists and was inspired by its success. He got the idea of making a European Society. Looking for connections many European Ocularists were contacted but only three Ocularists namely Mrs. Erica Groet from Den Hague, Holland and Mrs.Phaedra Siniora from Athens, Greece and Mrs.Andrea Morris from Manchester UK showed interest. It was decided to meet, regardless of the poor response and in 1999 this tiny group gathered together in Manchester, England. At the meeting they decided that they would form an Association despite their small number.

It was decided that each subsequent meeting (to be titled “congress”) volunteers would be solicited from Ocularists from the attendees from the different European Countries represented to organize and host subsequent congresses. Nominations and volunteers to host would be voted upon. The next organizer/host selected would then become the president of the AEO and remain president until the next congress ended and then the whole progress will start again. It was generally felt among the attendees that a period of two years should elapse between congresses to allow time for adequate planning.

It was further agreed that there would not be a membership as such, rather a list of delegates that would be passed on by each outgoing presidents to the new president and congress organizer. In those early years there was a great deal of suspicion among some of European Ocularists. This meeting together to exchange ideas and share techniques was a foreign concept. However, in time the inevitable professional suspicion of those early years was proven to be unfounded. Those who support the AEO now realize that it is less likely that a competitor will attempt to steal another’s work and livelihood if the two have become friends. Any perceived competition was laid aside with the development of the mutual respect formed by these relationships.

The European Association of Ocularists has endured and has continued to grow steadily in numbers. One reason for its success, so far, has been due in part to this informality. It is perceived to be more of a club.

The initial plan was that this ethos would help encourage new Ocutarists to attend the congresses without placing demands upon them or expecting anything more of them than their attendance in the hope that once comfortable and without concern intimidation they would slowly wish to participate in the free exchange of ideas and information.

Looking forward to the future there is a hope to see a time when a trainee Ocutarist supplements their training in Ocularistry by training with other established Ocularists anywhere in Europe, in effect a practice of “swapping” respective trainees for an agreed period. This would enable each trainee to have their skills in another environment and learn alternative techniques and practices before they would be considered fully trained. This would prove to be a benefit for all and especially for the patients and their families who rely on the Ocularist to help rehabilitate and restore them to their former selves.

The field of Ocularistry may see the time when the Association of the European Ocularists and the American society of Ocularists come together, the idea of a Pan European standard may be another step in advancing the field of Ocularistry.