Sarah Ganderton discusses the impact that the First World War had on Worcestershire's mental health
As part of the talks planned at The Hive on Saturday 10th November, we're delighted that Sarah Ganderton, our most recent bursary award holder for our third research project for the wider HLF project will be speaking about the impact of the First World War on the county's mental health.
Although it is accepted that World War One was a total war, just how completely did it affect the mental health of Worcestershire's civilian population? While previous research has discussed how war took over the everyday life of virtually everyone, it has not looked in depth at how they felt. Historians have considered the social and political change, movement of people, mobilisation of industry and recruitment of soldiers during the war. More recently, local historians have looked at how war affected the lives of local communities including Worcestershire. But surely all this change and upheaval affected the mental well-being of society, causing people to worry and stress? In more extreme cases, this left people broken down with nerves, depression and anxiety.
Sarah Ganderton will look beyond contemporary newspaper headlines, beyond the indexes histories about mental health and civilians on the home front, and between the lines of patient records for Worcester City and County Lunatic Asylum at Powick, to retrieve the untold story of civilian mental health during World War One. By examining little accessed medical records, reinterpreting historical newspaper reports and reimagining the lives of Worcestershire's civilians, she will look at the devastating emotional and psychological affects of World War One on Worcestershire's residents, and what efforts were made to counteract this.
 Sarah is currently studying a Masters in Local History at University of Birmingham following a first class degree in history at University of Worcester. Whilst volunteering for the George Marshall Medical Museum and The Infirmary, she has worked at The Hive (Worcester's Library) as Customer Service Advisor and her previous role in the Archive and Archaeology Service and research on the history of The Infirmary have been invaluable in her current research on mental health in Worcestershire during World War One.
See below for more details about drop-in activities and talks on Saturday 10th November, 2018 at The Hive, Worcester and click here to book: https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=571
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