Uncovering the social history of mental health care in Portsmouth and the surrounding area during the Great War 1914-18, funded by Heritage Lottery and delivered by the Good Mental Health Cooperative.
We started this research project in 2020 with a group of volunteers who all had their own individual connections to the Portsmouth area and a varied interest into the history of local mental health care. The stories uncovered are about patients, hospital staff, the differences between private and pauper treatment and the changing attitudes towards mental health care during WW1. We also researched pivotal moments such as when Portsmouth Mental Hospital was requisitioned by the American Armed Forces and how this impacted patients and the wider community. With this project, the Good Mental Health Cooperative and volunteer research group hoped to explore the stories of mental anguish suffered by so many men and women during the Great War and the wide reaching psychological effects of living through such a challenging time in history.