Children's homes

It was vitally important for The Children's Society to ensure that the children in its care were healthy. Records that relate to the running of The Children's Society's children's homes reflect this, making these records very useful for the study of medical history.

Annual reports created for each home often have a section detailing the health of the children in the home, which makes it easy to follow the occurrence of diseases at individual homes over time. The report from Connaught Home For Girls, Lowestoft, Suffolk, discusses outbreaks of ringworm and also mentions when children underwent operations or required glasses.

Many homes also have a medical file. The content of these files varies, but most contain correspondence and documents relating to the appointment of medical officers for the home. Some also contain correspondence about other medical issues, such as outbreaks of diseases or discussions about treatments. The note from St Hugh's Home, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, gives an insight into the scheduling of tonsillectomy operations for children and how these were stopped during the summer in an aim to reduce the risk of infantile paralysis [poliomyelitis].

Some of the children's homes operated by The Children's Society were specific convalescent homes, aimed at helping children to regain their strength after illnesses or surgery. The records of these homes can be particularly interesting.

The annual reports for St John's Home For Convalescent Children, Kemp Town, Brighton, give statistics showing which diseases and which operations the children in the home were convalescing from each year. In 1937, we can see that the largest numbers of children were suffering from bronchitis, rheumatism and something classed as 'general debility'.

Some homes, including St Peter's Orphan and Convalescent Home, Broadstairs, Kent, kept medical books. These books detailed the health of the children at the home and were used to log when children caught diseases or underwent treatments, giving a very good overview of what diseases and medical procedures were prevalent at the time.

When it comes to sources for the study of medical history, the records shown on this page are just a small selection. There are many other children's home records within the collection that shed light on a variety of medical issues for children in care, including children's diseases, medical treatments, and related areas such as sanitation and attitudes towards health.