These items, examples of which can be found in the Hospitals section of the Museum, were developed by Dr Goodfellow, who was Medical Officer of Health for Brampton and Walton until 1911, when he retired because of ill health.
In 1905 he had been appointed by James Pearson’s widow as works manager for the Oldfield Pottery in Brampton. He returned to the district in 1922 to continue his research work into goitre, a disorder of the thyroid gland.
Known locally as Derbyshire neck, it was prevalent in this area because of a deficiency of iodine in the soil at a time when most food was produced locally. This led to local chemists selling iodised salt to add iodine to the diet.
Dr Goodfellow was also convinced of the possibilities of iodine as an aerial disinfectant to combat infections such as influenza. Through his connections with the Oldfield pottery in Brampton, he was able to launch the Xodo locket in 1932.
Most of the locket was glazed, allowing a small dose of the iodine vapour to be released slowly through porous openings. For a few years in the 1930s these, along with the mushroom-shaped iodine diffusers, enjoyed popularity. The lockets were designed to be worn under the clothes, and were also hung in public buildings such a banks and cinemas, on buses and even from trees.
Veda - museums assistant