The Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency was a body overseeing the treatment of the

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

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. It was created by the Mental Deficiency Act 1913 to replace the Commissioners in Lunacy, under the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

however it was independent in that it reported to the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

who had responsibility for investigating breaches of care and integrity. The board was transferred to the Ministry of Health by the

Ministry of Health Act 1919 Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

, and reorganised in 1930. The board consisted of a chairman, two senior medical commissioners, one senior legal commissioner, six commissioners including lawyers and doctors, six inspectors and administrative staff. By law, at least one of these had to be a woman. The commissioners of the board travelled around England and Wales ensuring that those detained under mental health legislation were legally in custody, their care was appropriate, and moneys and other properties owned by patients were not being misused or stolen. The board was based in

Northumberland Avenue Northumberland Avenue is a street in the City of Westminster, Central London, running from Trafalgar Square in the west to the Thames Embankment in the east. The road was built on the site of Northumberland House, the London home of the House ...

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, until 1939 when it was moved to Hobart House,

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. Its functions were transferred to the Minister of Health by the

National Health Service Act 1946 The National Health Service Act 1946 ( 9 & 10 Geo. 6. c. 81) came into effect on 5 July 1948 and created the National Health Service in England and Wales thus being the first implementation of the Beveridge model. Though the title 'National Hea ...

Members

Announcements of members were carried in the major national newspapers, including ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. * On inception of the board in 1913, the chairman was Sir William Byrne with Arthur Rotherham and Mary Dendy joining the ''ex officio'' members of the previous Lunacy Commissioners; C.H. Bond, Marriott Cooke, S. Coupland, B. T. Hodgson, S. J. F. MacLeod, F. Needham L. L. Shadwell, A. H. Trevor * In 1916, due to Sir William Byrne moving on, Marriott Cooke became acting chairman, and Robert Welsh Braithwaite was appointed to the board. * In 1921, Dr Ruth Darwin was appointed to the board. * In 1926 due to Robert Welsh Braithwaite's retirement, Robert Cunyngham Brown was appointed a commissioner. * In 1928, due to the retirement of the chairman, Sir Frederick Willis, Laurence George Brock was appointed chairman. * In 1929, Dr Bedford Pierce was appointed a commissioner. From the start of 1931, the board was reconstituted, with a chairman and four other members. L.G. Brock continued as chairman, with S. J. Fraser MacLeod, C. Hubert Bond, Arthur Rotherham, Ellen Pinsent. * William Rees-Thomas was appointed to the board in 1931. *In 1931, Dr Isabel Wilson was appointed as a commissioner, holding the position until 1948. From 1949 to 1960 she was a Senior Commissioner, after which the board was abolished and her position was changed to the Principal Medical Officer, Ministry of Health.

References

* {{UK mental health legislation Mental health legal history of the United Kingdom Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom