| Description | Signed minutes of a committee established in 1938 to act as a liaison between the University of Birmingham, local authorities and local 'mental hospitals' following the transfer of research in 'mental diseases' from Hollymoor Mental Hospital to the new Medical School buildings at the University of Birmingham. Internal evidence in minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 21 March 1946 states that research work in 'mental disease' had originally started in the laboratory at Hollymoor Mental Hospital under the direction of Sir Frederick Mott and continued after his death in 1926 by Dr Pickworth. The First Joint Board of Research in Mental Disease comprising representatives of the University and of the 'Birmingham Mental Deficiency Act and Mental Hospitals Committee, with Sir Frederick Mott and Dr Pickworth, was constituted in 1922 when Gilbert Barling, then Vice-Chancellor, was appointed chair, and held this post until the dissolution of that Board at the end of 1938
It was decided to transfer research work from Hollymoor to the Medical School, and was agreed by the Birmingham Mental Hospitals Committee because it felt that greater facilities could be provided and better results obtained by the enlargement of the scheme. Records of the Joint Board of Research in Mental Disease do not survive in the University Archives, but there are minutes at the Library of Birmingham covering the period 1922 to 1933, City of Birmingham: Joint Board of Research for Mental Disease Minute Book, No. 1’, 7 December 1922–30 May 1933, BCC1/FE/1/1/1.
An informal meeting was held on 3 September 1938 of representatives of local authorities, 'mental hospitals' and the University in connection with the proposed establishment of a Mental Diseases Research Department in the Medical School. Gilbert Barling was in the chair. Stanley Barnes took over this role in 1940, after the death of Gilbert Barling. The meeting was held as part of efforts to increase investigations into the problem of 'mental diseases' and the minutes refer to a conference held in Birmingham in October 1937. Representatives of 'mental hospitals' in Birmingham, the wider West Midlands, and the East Midlands were invited to make financial contributions to the department, and funds were used to employ a team of research workers. The minutes of this initial meeting include a copy of a statement setting out the terms of the transfer of the Joint Board of Research laboratory equipment from Hollymoor Hospital to the 'Mental Disease Research Department. The minutes also emphasise that control of staff should be under University Council, and that Stanley Barnes would be Honorary Director of 'Mental Diseases Research'. The Advisory Board would report to the Faculty of Medicine and to Senate and Council. University Council would not be involved in any cost other than the provision of research laboratories.
Minutes of the next meeting of the committee, held on 10 January 1939, mention that some local authorities were not subscribing to the research, and list the financial contributions of the authorities taking part in the scheme. There is also discussion of the transfer of apparatus from Hollymoor Hospital, and minutes set out the constitution of the Advisory Board. It was agreed that the Advisory Board would take the place of the Joint Board of Research for Mental Disease, and most of the former representatives of that body would be merged into the present constitution. A Scientific Committee, consisting of Medical Officers of 'Mental Hospitals' and scientific members of the University, was appointed to make recommendations to the Advisory Board 'as to staff appointments and other scientific matters'. The minutes refer to the appointment of research officers.
The first formal meeting of the Advisory Board was held on 9 February 1939. It was agreed that the Board would meet about once a year.
The activities of the Advisory Board and Research Department were obstructed by the outbreak of the Second World War. Minutes of the committee are interspersed with correspondence dated September 1939, December 1939, and January 1940 discussing the likely loss of staff due to national service, and the appointment of a replacement research officer. Minutes of a meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Advisory Board on 25 January 1940 contain discussion about the appointment of a researcher in 'hormone research'. Further discussion of individual candidates is contained in minutes of a meeting of Scientific Members of the Advisory Board which was held on 29 February 1940, which also discuss general policy to be followed in 'Mental Disease Research' and propose widening the field of candidates
Minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Board held on 16 May 1940 mention the difficulties in obtaining the services of research workers specially qualified to carry out investigations on the lines agreed by Scientific Members of the Board. These minutes include the report of the Research Officer, giving an account of research carried out by members of staff
Minutes of subsequent annual Advisory Board meetings include reports of individual research officers. Minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 1941 also include a report of the Department of Mental Disease Research which refers to visits to hospitals and to case studies of patients there. In addition, these minutes contain an offprint of an article by R. Klein, one of the research officers, 'Compensatory Enlargement of the Posterior Communicating Artery Following Ateriosclerotic Changes of the Posterior Cerebral Artery' reprinted from the Journal of Mental Science, November 1940, and a list of 'post-mortem material required by the Mental Disease Research Department'
Minutes of the meeting held on 15 June 1944 include offprints of articles by F. A. Pickworth, Chief Research Officer, 'The Significance of The Cerebrospinal Fluid' reprinted from The Medical Press and Circular June 16 and 23 1943, and 'The Histobacteriology of Chronic Nasal Sinusitis' reprinted from The Journal of Laryngology and Otology May 1943
Minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 1945 discuss the future organisation of the department including finance and staff, and include a copy of the income and expenditure account, discussion of the deficit and ways of funding the department, and speculation about whether contributions would continue from local authorities considering the probability that mental health services would be linked up with the new National Health Service. These minutes also include reports of the research officers and offprints of articles by F. Schutz 'A Crystalline Serum Mucoprotein With High Cholinesterase Activity (R. Bader, F. Schutz and M. Stacey) reprinted from Nature August 5 1944, and 'Serum Choline Esterase in Barbiturate Addiction and Epilepsy' reprinted from Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology and Cognate Medical Sciences, September 1944
Minutes of an additional meeting held on 1 August 1945 discuss finance and future policy and include copies of correspondence between University and Ministry of Health in relation to future funding of the department
The Scientifice Committee of the Advisory Board met on 11 October 1945 for the first time in more than four years, to consider the objects of the Advisory Board, the work of the department for the last four years, and suggestions for future developments. A further meeting of this Committee was held on 17 January 1946 to discuss the quality of the research work of the Chief Research Officer which members thought 'had suffered from the absence of adequate and reasonable control observations'. Minutes of the next meeting, held on 7 February 1946, contain further assessment of the Chief Research Officer's work.
Minutes of the Advisory Board meeting held on 28 February 1946 announce the decision of the Birmingham Mental Hospitals Committee to withdraw support from the scheme run by the Department of Research in Mental Disease and discuss the likely withdrawal of Worcester. The minutes state that the department could not continue with reduced funds, and suggest the dissolution of the department, but also suggest that the Advisory Board or a Scientific sub-committee might explore ways of improving the organisation of the Mental Disease Research Board 'to make it satisfactory to both the Local Authorities and the University'. The minutes also contain further discussion of the repercussions from the decision of the Birmingham Mental Hospitals Committee to withdraw from the scheme for research in 'mental diseases'. Minutes of subsequent meetings discuss ways to retain Birmingham's cooperation in the work of the department, and the formulation of a future programme for the department, including research areas to investigate and the extension of the work into the clinical field, and the department's financial position
Minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 1946 include a copy of the report of the Director of Research in Mental Diseases which refers to the uncertain future of research due to uncertainties about funding. The minutes mention that the Advisory Board had asked local authorities for financial support for at least one more year but by the time of the meeting held on 11 March 1947 the funding was still uncertain. These minutes record that the University Grants Committee had agreed to the establishment of a Department of Neurology and to support establishment of a Chair of Psychiatry, and it was agreed that the activities of new department would link with work of the Board, and to continue its activities for another year. Minutes of the meeting held on 12 July 1947 include a copy of the report of the research officer, who was now a member of staff in the Department of Pharmacology, and minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 1947 contain discussion of applications for grants.
No further meetings of the committee are recorded, and it is possible that the Advisory Board did not meet again after this date because its functions had been absorbed into academic departments within the Medical School |