Research Corner- Forgotten Women, by Susan Birch

Hello everyone, sorry for the gap between posts. Work has been busy since lockdown eased!

 I have been trying to present my work to new audiences, and one conference I presented at was called ‘New Perspectives on New Challenges’. The online conference was run by the History of Education Society and the Children’s History Society on the 16th October.

There was a vast array of research connected to education, including computerisation in Indian schools and research combining computer science in Ohio and digital science in London. All the papers examined the impact of the pandemic on research and were heartening, demonstrating the resilience of researchers to carry on in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also featured presentations on publishing by Dr Heather Ellis and a key note speech from Dr Jonathan Doney on his research and use of Statement Archaeology.

I will now go through my paper and then give some more information on the conference organisers.

‘What Next? The Significance of Mass Observation During the Pandemic

My paper explored the issues I faced during the pandemic, namely that all the research material was only available through libraries and archives which were closed. There was also little written material online and I was very worried how I was going to get through my PhD. Luckily, one of my tutors mentioned Mass Observation and  this really helped me both in conducting my research and to meet new researchers.

Take a Tour - What is Mass Observation Online? - Mass Observation Online - Adam Matthew Digital (amdigital.co.uk)

Mass Observation is a social research project primarily from 1937 to the mid-1960s. It sought to gather public opinion through the study of writing, polls and surveys. I mainly used surveys on family planning conducted in 1944 and 1949, allowing me to see opinion during the Second World War and the post-war period. The surveys I accessed were all through Mass Observation online, but you can also physically see the material at the Keep (University of Sussex). I am looking forward to visiting the Keep soon!

I found the online surveys incredibly useful, demonstrating the contrast in birth control provision based on location. While many in London stated there was plenty of birth control support, many in the countryside challenged this by stating there was inadequate provision. This distinction is key to my research and Mass Observation allowed me to start my data collection with quality research. It also developed my research- I found that one of the founders, Charles Madge, supported the Family Planning Association in Birmingham and this is something I am looking forward to researching in the near future.

Secondly, Mass Observation allowed me to meet new researchers which really helped during the lockdown. I met researchers through conferences connected to Mass Observation. We also emailed and had online discussions about our research. The Mass Observation Online Archive has lots of pictures and photographs and these stimulated our discussions.

https://www.massobservation.amdigital.co.uk/Introduction/NatureAndScope  

I found Mass Observation extremely useful, it re- energised my love for research in the most troubling of times. Now I am visiting archives and am able to develop my research. This is happening in no small part because of Mass Observation and I am extremely thankful.

The conference organisers

The Children’s History Society will be holding a conference next year and further details will follow. The society is on Facebook and Twitter – ( Children’s HistSocUK @histchild) which has lots of interesting updates and information.

 The History of Education Society also has a Twitter account and website https://historyofeducation.org.uk/. The society has just recently had their annual conference which had lots of wonderful, engaging presentations. I will be writing about the conference and my paper in the next blog.

Research Corner- Forgotten Women, by Susan Birch

Hello everyone, as promised this second post is about family planning in Hampshire.

Joan Bonham Carter

Joan Bonham Carter (a relative of the famous Helena Bonham Carter from the television programme ‘The Crown’) was involved in many different aspects of social and welfare work connected to family planning and supporting women.

Joan was involved with maternal mortality and had leaflets concerning the issue in the 1930s.  Vitally for this research she was involved with the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child. The organisation advocated for the rights of single parents and provided help and assistance to them, including training and educational programmes after the Second World War. The Hampshire Record Office in Winchester has leaflets and reports concerning Joan’s participation in this charity, including care for illegitimate children in rural areas such as Hampshire.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

The Wellcome Library in London has records of the relationship between the National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child and the Family Planning Association and it will be intriguing to examine the relationship between the two organisations. The National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child is going today under the name Gingerbread, with J.K. Rowling as its patron. It is still fighting for single parents to be treated equally.

philanthropicpeople.com

Joan Bonham Carter is an extremely significant women and her other social involvement included:  the Public Morality Council, the Travellers’ Aid Society which offers safe hostels for individuals away from home and the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children which examines prostitution and labour victimisation. I look forward to undertaking more archival research into her work and achievements to further understand her contribution to women’s history.

Now that lockdown restrictions have been lifted further my next entries will examine my visits to the Wellcome Library in London and Birmingham Archives and the vast amount of different material I have discovered!

What will people in the future learn about the Covid-19 pandemic? Asks Historian Nadia Stone

When soldiers fighting in the First World War came home on leave in the spring of 1918 they most likely brought home with them what became known as the Spanish ’Flu.

The airborne virus, which almost certainly did not originate from Spain, killed 50-100 million people worldwide over the following year, including some 1,660 from the Worcestershire area.

 Between 2018-2019, on the centenary of the virus finally subsiding, the George Marshall Medical Museum looked back at the virus, the public health response, and the impact it had on the county. In a document prepared by health and medical historian Laura Mainwaring, it published:

In 1933 an effective influenza vaccine was developed, however today, with ever-emerging strains of ’flu and the declining effectiveness of antibiotics, there are fears that a new ’flu pandemic could cause widespread havoc across the globe. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises that influenza is a threat to the modern world due to urbanisation, mass migration, developments in biological weapons, global transport and trade. It is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

Nobody could have predicted that within a year, the world would again be sent reeling by a pandemic that would claim the lives of millions. This new pandemic, of course, is Covid-19.

Even at a quick glance, there are similarities between the Spanish ’Flu and Covid-19. Both experienced numerous waves exacerbated by seasonal weather, both are suspected of originating in animals, and both badly affected the lungs. The public health responses were also broadly similar – schools closed, communities were locked down, and people were urged to keep distanced from each other and not congregate in small groups.

 Covid-19’s sufferers included Prince Charles, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and actor Tom Hanks, while charity fundraiser and former solider Captain Sir Tom Moore contracted Covid-19 and subsequently passed away in February 2021, aged 100. The Spanish ’Flu’s victims included Spanish king Alfonso XIII, UK Prime Minster David Lloyd George and actress Greta Garbo, while William Leefe Robinson, a member of the Worcestershire Regiment and famous for being the first pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain, passed away from the Spanish ’flu in December 1918, aged 23.

The reporting of the viruses had similarities; there exist today Covid-19 deniers and misinformation is rife, while in 1919, the censorship of many newspapers during the First World War meant the widespread existence of the virus across Europe was kept largely under wraps. The large-scale reporting of the virus in Spain led to it being named the Spanish ’Flu, when in fact its more likely origins include migratory birds or a farm in Kansas.

When researching the Spanish ’Flu as experienced in Worcestershire, Dr Mainwaring turned to newspaper reports, advertisements for flu ‘remedies’, diary entries and obituaries of people who succumbed to the virus. S. Powell, a gunner for the army, contracted the flu when home on leave for two weeks visiting his parents in Kidderminster. After battling the Spanish ’Flu, he developed pneumonia. On already weakened lungs, the pneumonia proved too much. He passed away 13 days after the war ended.

Sergeant Mason, a gardener from Kidderminster, contracted the virus while fighting in France. He died in September 1918, leaving a wife and two children.

The diary of Worcestershire nurse Amelia Constable, working in Salisbury, gives a small insight into the view of medical professionals. It provides an insight into the risks and attitudes, the experiences and victories, but it is just one voice in a battle fought by many.

If the study of history is to better grasp the present through an understanding of the past, is a supplementary role for today’s historians to gather evidence to inform the future? Throw your minds forward to the year 2120 and the stories your descendants will unearth about Covid-19.

The accounts of clinicians working during this pandemic are being collected, using oral history, so their experiences are told in their own words, using their own voices. Among the stories will be Kirstie Maxted’s. She helped train clinicians to return to the frontline of healthcare when they had not worked in a hospital for decades. There will be the words of Heather Sharp, whose job was to care for the sickest of those affected, many of whom never recovered; and Cassie Broughton, who had to tell her staff that one of their colleagues had died from Covid-19. Those who have volunteered to share their stories include doctors, nurses, paramedics, midwives, and physiotherapists.

In Spring 1918, Spanish ’Flu swept through the UK, claiming an estimated 250,000 British lives. There was no vaccine, and due to its unknown origin, doctors were powerless to fight it. As medical professionals contracted the virus, staff shortages put more pressure on those well enough to tend to the very sick. One newspaper reported:

“Many are so overworked that they scarcely have time to eat a meal from breakfast until they finish for the night.”

In 2020, medical professionals faced a similar battle, but because of technological advances, their experiences can be captured in a way that allows them to tell their stories themselves.

*Nadia Stone will be collecting oral histories of clinicians treating affected patients in Worcestershire. To tell your story, contact the George Marshall Medical Museum.

Covid-19 update - Monday 19 July

From Monday 19 July, unless exempt, all visitors to George Marshall Medical Museum will be required to wear a mask. We will also still ask you scan the QR code for Test and Trace (or fill in a form), and we will still have a strict limit on visitors (max ten at any one time).

We are a small museum and want all of our volunteers, staff and visitors to feel safe in our space and enjoy their visit.

Please continue to keep your distance, and have a great visit while also helping to protect health services for those who need them.