Lives, Laboratories, and the Translations of War: British Medical Scientists, 1914 and Beyond

The traditional assumption that ‘war is good for medicine’ has generally been debated by examining specific medical innovations of the war years 1914–18.This paper focuses rather on the ways in which war affected the medical careers of those working in British microbiology before and after the Great War. Using a survey of the lives of medical scientists associated with The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine, the British Pathological Society, and the Pathological Laboratory of St Bartholomew's Hospital, this paper argues the case for war-related medical research of 1914–19 as a driver both for the creation of a knowledge base for future research and for changes in career trajectory of a number of individuals who were subsequently important for the scientific development of different areas of epidemiology, microbiology, and nutrition science after 1920

“An interval of comfort”: postamputation pain & long-term consequences of amputation in British First World War veterans, 1914-1985

The First World War resulted in the largest amputee cohort in history, with 41,208 amputees in the UK alone; the majority injured as young men and surviving into the late 20th century. Recent studies have estimated that significant residual limb pain affects up to 85% of military amputees: applying this figure to the First World War amputee cohort raises the possibility that up to 35,000 British veterans may have experienced chronic postamputation pain. Despite this and the fact that 13% of injuries in this conflict resulted in amputation, there has been little research into the long-term impact on veterans’ health and quality of life. Recently catalogued historical medical and pension files held at The National Archives offer the opportunity to follow up this type of injury in a large group of veterans for the first time. This thesis will use these files to document and explore long-term outcomes of amputation and chronic postamputation pain, developments made in the treatment of this condition, the impact of aging on amputee veterans and their likelihood of developing a concomitant condition from 1914 to 1985. It will examine these issues from three perspectives: that of the injured servicemen, the civil servants attempting to value and compensate those injuries, and from the clinicians’ responsible for the veterans’ medical care and rehabilitation. This research has been based on a unique model of interdisciplinary collaboration, incorporating research methods from history and clinical medicine, and will present its findings from historical material with recommendations for current practice. Given the similarities in injury patterns and prevalence of chronic residual limb, phantom and neuropathic pain between the First World War cohort and contemporary casualties, it is anticipated that the findings of the project will assist in the strategic assessment and planning for long-term pain conditions by medical staff and care providers for today’s and future blast injury amputee cohorts.Open Acces

Nutrition in Britain in the twentieth century.

The study is initially concerned with the origins and development of different approaches to nutrition science in Britain during the first three decades of the twentieth century. The contrasting approaches are shown to embody alternative "styles of thought" in the sense used by Karl Mannheim. An account of the work of the Advisory Committee on Nutrition of the Ministry of Health (founded 1931) is then given. The conflicts which occured during the deliberations of the Committee are interpreted as conflicts between those who advanced the contrasting "styles of thought." The focus of attention then shifts to the foundation and development of the Nutrition Society (1941). The disputes which occured in the Nutrition Society during its early years are shown to be largely concerned with alternative notions of the application of nutritional knowledge. Developments in the Society after the war, it is suggested, must be understood against the background of the post -war reaction against the "social relations of science movement ". The foundation of the first Nutrition Degree in 1953 at the Nutrition Department at Queen Elizabeth College of the University of London, is then considered. A hypothesis is presented which suggests an explanation of certain important features of the professional ideology of nutrition which has been associated with the College

Musical warriors: British military music and musicians during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Military music was pervasive in Britain and Ireland during the French Wars but has received limited attention from historians. This thesis interprets martial music-making as a core military activity and an integral part of wider musical culture. A critical tool of communication and discipline, music sounded the alarm, aided recruitment, and governed soldiers’ routines and bodily movements. Officers invested heavily in military bands, regarding them as social amenities, sources of prestige, and essential for maintaining soldiers’ morale. Regiments competed and cooperated in a seller’s market for musical labour, engaging knowledgeable civilian performers and training a mass of novice instrumentalists through a cogent instructional programme. Attention to music reveals the depth and reciprocity of interactions between the military and society. Regimental bands provided sought-after entertainment at myriad public events, staged free open-air concerts for socially diverse audiences, and amplified wartime expressions of patriotism. Military performers also promoted cultural dissemination and exchange, rehearsing eclectic repertoires and adopting melodies from other regiments, armies, and peoples. Military mobilisation palpably shaped nineteenth-century musical culture. Volunteer and militia bands established in wartime continued playing together for decades after Waterloo while discharged regimental instrumentalists actively contributed to provincial and colonial musical life as teachers, performers, and retailers. The expansion of military music-making also encouraged the post-war spread of amateur wind and brass bands, which were often led by old soldiers and modelled on regimental lines. Ingrained in popular culture after two decades of conflict, martial music was widely emulated by political reformers with the involvement of musically trained ex-servicemen. Military music, in sum, was an everyday and intrusive part of wartime life, a source of entertainment and opportunity, and a politically charged exponent of both patriotism and protest. The legacies of martial music-making, as this thesis argues, echoed far beyond the barrack gates

"Out of the darkness into light": A Critical Evaluation Of Scottish Prison Reorganisation For Long Term Imprisonment 1988 To The Present

During the mid 1980s official accounts stated that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was experiencing an unprecedented 'crisis' which primarily concerned: overcrowding, poor conditions, serious disorder and prisoner unrest, low staff morale and consequently loss of public confidence in the ability of the SPS to manage prisons effectively. Added pressure was placed on the SPS by a substantial increase in sentenced short term offenders together with an increase in long termers and a commitment in the courts to longer sentences. Although the 'crisis' in Scottish prisons emerged on a range of levels, producing one of the most bitter penal controversies in Europe, the SPS identified long term adult male imprisonment as fundamental to its problems and central to its programme of reform. Once it became evident that the SPS had 'lost control' of its main male prisons, a period of evaluation and self appraisal was initiated. This research examines the manifestations of the 'crisis' and considers the response of the SPS, outlining and evaluating the subsequent policy changes and new initiatives adopted to alleviate the 'crisis'. The theoretical framework of this study is derived specifically in critical analysis within criminology, which prioritises the significance of the structural relations of production and distribution, reproduction and patriarchy, and neo colonialism, as primary determining contexts, within which the inter-relationships and mutual dependencies of structural forms of oppression can be considered. In examining the relationship between the law, crime, punishment and the state, the politics of marginalisation and the processes of criminalisation are prioritised. Within this context, the means through which imprisonment is conceived and legitimated and the implications of a growing authoritarianism are discussed. This study focuses on the dynamics of long term male imprisonment in Scottish prisons. The views and experiences of long term male prisoners are contrasted with those of senior management, Governors and prison staff in order to understand the 'crisis', and ascertain the impact of policy changes and new initiatives on both the Prison Service and the experiences of men serving long sentences in Scotland's prisons. The research places official discourse, which incorporates the 'view from above', alongside the views of those individuals whose experiences provide essential testimony concerning the daily reality of operational policy on regimes

The development of British civil affairs and its employment in the British sector of allied military operations during the Battle of Normandy, June to August 1944

Civil Affairs and its more robust sibling, Military Government, were military organisations designed to ensure that basic civil order and welfare were maintained in those allied and enemy states encountered on operations during the Second World War. In so doing, they enabled formation commanders to focus on defeating enemy forces without being distracted by possible civilian problems. Using the battle of Normandy as a case study, this research assesses the utility of Civil Affairs in supporting military needs during operations. This contrasts with previous studies that concentrate on aspects of social and diplomatic history. If the need for Civil Affairs was generally axiomatic, there was much debate as to the extent and method of delivery required. Civil Affairs quickly recognised that in dealing with direct problems such as “disorganisation, disease and unrest” it was necessary for seemingly indirect aspects of civilian life to be maintained. Various forms of bureaucratic friction resulted and several Civil Affairs approaches were used, before the model for the North West Europe campaign was agreed. Nevertheless, the organisation employed in Normandy was arguably the most extensive and best prepared of the war. However, it also had to deal with many different civilian problems and in trying military circumstances. Consequently, the battle is fertile ground for the examination of the extent and nature of the organisation’s operational utility. Using primary and secondary sources, this paper argues that Civil Affairs was militarily both useful and necessary. Furthermore, it was able to provide wider diplomatic and political benefits as well as serving core military needs. The research concludes by acknowledging that whilst mistakes were made, the various improvements made to Civil Affairs in preparation for, together with the lessons learnt during, Normandy stood the organisation in good stead for the significantly larger problems encountered later in the war.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo