For 40 years it has been the custom in the Yorkshire Health Region for the consultant psychiatrists working in the Region to have the opportunity to meet together informally at regular intervals. Over the years different consultants have voluntarily acted as sole co-ordinator, convener and secretary of this Association of Regional Consultants. Sadly, for various reasons in changing times, the Association has recently decided to disband. In its lifetime the Association has made an important considerable contribution to the development of psychiatric services in the Yorkshire Region. It has influenced policies and it has inspired the continuing loyalty of many consultants. It is appropriate to acknowledge the place of this Association, unique in many respects, and supremely democratic in its organisation, in the history of psychiatry in the Region.