Living with Dying: Everyday Cultures of Dying within Family Life in Britain, c.1900s-1950s

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In twentieth-century Britain, dying was both extraordinary and an 'everyday' experience. Whilst the death of a loved one was a momentous emotional event for the family involved, within the wider community death occurred regularly. This period of study, from 1900 to 1950, includes two world wars and the advent of the nuclear age and the Cold War. Life expectancy was increasing for most groups across Britain in the first half of the twentieth century. The crude death rate fell from 16.0 per thousand in 1901-05 to 12.8 in 1941-5, though mortality rates remained highly dependent on region and social class. Infant mortality dropped rapidly, from 142.0 per 1000 live births in 1900 to 31.2 per 1000 live births in 1950. Furthermore, these decades saw the development of different medical technologies and care options for individuals who were elderly and dying. This process culminated in the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, as the welfare state brought about a new level of care for all, 'from cradle to grave'. What did this mean for families themselves? This research will explore the testimonies of individuals to think about how death and dying were perceived and experienced in modern Britain. It also involves research into public discussions of dying, such as in the press, and how medical practitioners cared for dying patients. The research explores how attitudes to and experiences of dying and death could vary for different groups of people. In particular, I will compare experiences and attitudes to dying across three different regions within Britain, through case studies of Lancashire, Glasgow and Leeds. Furthermore I will consider how factors like an individual's social class, gender and religion affected perceptions and experiences of death and dying.Through this research, I will also investigate how families communicated about dying, and in particular how children learnt about death. The testimonies I will study will allow me to analyse how families coped with caring for a dying relative, and to consider their relationships with medical practitioners at these difficult times. Finally, the research will also consider how family memories and histories were used to help alleviate emotional stress associated with relatives dying. This fellowship will enable me to develop my leadership in the field of modern British social and cultural history. As well as allowing me to commence research in a new area and develop a book proposal as a result, the fellowship will open up new opportunities for me to apply for a larger grant in the long term, to investigate dying in comparative perspective, across different parts of Britain, and between different societies across the world, and to pilot new methods of engagement to maximise the impact of this research. In particular, the fellowship will involve development of an exhibition at Abbey House Museum in Leeds; develop new exhibition content and a loan box of handling items with the Thackray Medical Museum; organise a number of events for different audiences, including conferences and 'death cafes'; and work with amateur historians as they investigate their family histories.