The Royal Albert Asylum, Lancaster : a training institution for the feeble-minded belonging to Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland fortieth annual report.

  • Royal Albert Asylum (Lancaster, England)
Date:
1904
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Royal Albert Asylum, Lancaster : a training institution for the feeble-minded belonging to Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland fortieth annual report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Jjong-Sei'vice Medals. Presentation by the Countess of Bective. A gratifying function took place at the close of the meeting, when long-service medals were presented to members of the staff: gold medals to 19 members who had been in the service of the Institution seventeen years and upwardsj silver medals to seven who had been on the staff twelve years and upwards; and bronze medals to 10 who had served seven years'or more. In a few gracious remarks of appreciation, the presentation was made by the Countess of Bective, President of the Westmorland Ladies’ Association, beginning with the Principal and Secretary (Mr. Diggens), who had performed his important duties for the long period of 38 years. Nurses’ After this ceremony, Lady Hibbert presented certificates (ertiflcates. nurses who had attended lectures by Dr. Coupland, Assistant Medical Officer, on “ Anatomy, Physiology and Practical Nursing, as applied to the Ailments of the Feeble¬ minded.” Extract The Quinquennial Luncheon was held in the handsome Eariof Derby’s Winmarleigh Hall, under the presidency of the Earl of Derby, .speech. -g ^ President and Trustee of the Asylum. The Company comprised those who had attended the earlier proceedings of the day. In the course of an able and sympathetic speech, his Lordship said : “ Voluntary Asylums were intended—and should be in his opinion — as Training Institutions, so that what powers there were latent in the mind should be brought out, the evil repressed, and sympathy, as far as possible, evoked. In one word, the child was to be trained not only to learn, but to become useful, and to be treated as a civilised being. Their object should be to produce feelings which responded to kind treatment, and to endeavour to open the mind and to advance the intelli¬ gence, In that Asylum, as they knew, the tendency was to expand and open the minds of the children. Those who had gone round the schools that morning would have seen in the different classes the pains taken by the teachers, and the cheerfulness of the children, and, their delight when they had got an answer to give, especially when it was a right answer— (laughter)—a remark which might apply to persons in later life in other quarters. (Laughter.) They would agree that the patients were well cared for in body, and that the importance of acquiring that bodily health which was a valuable accessory to the mental health they desired to bring back was by no means overlooked. The Annual Report gave many illus¬ trations of the good the Institution was doing. He commended the Report to their notice, not to be put aside till next year’s Report came to be read, but they should study the question for themselves, and they would find there was a great deal in that volume with the blue cover, a great deal of information useful for the future as well as for the present, and practical illustrations of the good the Asylum was doing. Year by year something had been added to tlie Asylum. At one time a wing had been given, at