Despite its prevalence and relevance to the current day, maternal mental illness in the twentieth century has attracted scant historical attention. This Wellcome Trust funded project ‘The Last Taboo of Motherhood?’ aims to address this absence, by exploring the history of maternal mental illness in twentieth-century Britain.

This research is being undertaken by Professor Hilary Marland, Dr Fabiola Creed and Dr Kelly Couzens. The project website has just been launched and new posts will be added in the coming months.

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Congratulations to Ute Oswald, postgraduate student in the Centre for the History of Medicine, who has been awarded an IAS Fellowship. She will use this to extend her research on the role of recreational and religious activities in nineteenth-century asylums, revealing their impact on the lives of patients and staff and the extent to which they were deemed restorative.

Congratulations to Ed Devane on the successful defence of his PhD thesis ‘Building the NHS: Planning, Publics and Britain’s New State Healthcare Facilities, 1945-74’, examined on 21^st June 2022 by Professor Alex Mold (LSHTM) and Professor Hilary Marland (Warwick).

Further good news is Ed’s appointment to a post in the Department of Health and Social Care where he can put his historical understanding of the NHS into action!