Virtual Archive: Hidden Lives Revealed

I’ve just come across an online archive that I thought might be of interest to AHP readers: Hidden Lives Revealed. The site provides a range of archival material relevant to the history of the 22,500 children who were in the care of The Waifs and Strays’ Society throughout England and Wales between 1881 and 1918.

The site includes:

The case files provide a particularly interesting resource. They are searchable by keyword (ex. alcohol abuse, mental health, school, suicide) and include a variety of materials including descriptions of the individual children’s histories, their applications for admission to the Waifs and Strays’ Society, letters from family and community members, reports, discharge letters, etc. The text of the documents is available on the site as well as an image of the original. All files have been edited to protect the identity of the children.

About Jennifer Bazar

Jennifer Bazar is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. Her research focuses on the history of psychiatric institutionalization.