How to look for records of... Disability history
How can I view the records covered in this guide?
How many are online?
- Some
This is a brief guide to researching records of disability. For the purpose of this guide, disability is taken to include all types of sensory or physical impairment, including chronic health conditions and the long-term effects of war wounds. Deafness and blindness are also covered as these have historically been treated as disabilities.
Most of the records in our collection do not refer to disabled individuals but detail government policy and services.
What would it be useful to know before I start?
Research requires an awareness of the history of disability and how attitudes and terminology have changed over time.
Try to find out:
- the type of disability and how it was referred to in the past
- the dates and places associated with your research
- how and why the state was involved
Certain disabilities, such as those caused by inadequate medical treatment, are uncommon in Britain today but affected large numbers of people in the past.
Be aware that many terms used in historical records are now considered offensive.
Online records
Census records 1851–1911
Search and view census records from 1851 to 1911 through Ancestry (£) or free of charge at The National Archives building in Kew. From 1851, the information recorded for each individual on the census included a record of certain disabilities. Enter the following terms in the ‘Keyword’ search box to find these records:
- deaf
- dumb
- blind
- lunatic
- imbecile
- idiot
- asylum
- inmate
- patient
Cabinet Papers
Read our research guide to Cabinet and its committees for advice on searching our catalogue for cabinet papers.
The archived Cabinet Papers site has themed pages which you can browse, some with links to downloadable documents. Learn how legislation and services for the physically disabled evolved in the post-war period.
Records available only at The National Archives in Kew
To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for research (£) or, where you can identify a specific record reference, order a copy (£).
Some of the broad range of records of disability at The National Archives are listed below. Find others by searching Discovery (£), our catalogue. Use a wide variety of search terms, including combinations of words, historical terms, place names and institutions. Sometimes search terms only broadly connected to the subject matter can be the key to uncovering files. For example:
- Search for early records on the Paralympics using ‘Stoke Mandeville’
- Search for records of disability caused by industrial accidents with combinations such as mine AND rehab* or coal AND paraplegia
- Search for research carried out on debilitating illnesses using terms such as rickets or occupational injuries using terms such as ‘beat elbow’
Records of the Disabled Persons Employment Corporation and Remploy Ltd 1945–2001
Search our catalogue by keyword or browse the BM department for records of the Disabled Persons Employment Corporation and the non-profit company Remploy Ltd, set up under the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944. Search for related records in LAB 9, LAB 16 and LAB 20. The following search terms will prove useful:
- Cripplecraft
- Chailey Heritage
War pensions from First World War
Use our catalogue to search PIN 26 by nature of injury (for example, amputation or deafness) or by injured body part (for example, head or hip) for details of individuals awarded war disability pensions following the First World War. See the PIN 26 series arrangement for abbreviations used to describe some of these records. For more information see our guide to Disability and dependents’ pensions in the First World War.
Ministry of Labour files 1918–1980
Use our catalogue to search or browse the Ministry of Labour’s files on disabled persons (1919–1978) in LAB 20 and training schemes for the rehabilitation of the disabled (1922–1980) in LAB 18.
Charities for the disabled
Click on the series reference to search by charity name for charities which relate to disabilities in the Charity Commission files in CHAR 7 (1750–2002) and the files relating to public health services in MH 55 (1853–1970). Some charities have changed their names since the files were created and you will need to search by the old name.
Government Acts
Search our catalogue by the title of individual government acts relevant to disability issues in MH 55, T 161 and AST amongst others. One of the first pieces of legislation passed specifically for a disability was the Blind Persons Act of 1920. For a useful timeline, see the English Heritage website.
Development of assistive technology
Use the advanced search in our catalogue to search by name of product (for example, ‘hearing aid’, ‘invalid chair’ or ‘artificial limb’) for records of designs, copyright and funding of assistive technology in the following record series and departments:
- COPY 1
- BM 12 for patents registered by Remploy between 1950 and 1996
- BT 45 (and registers in BT 46) for representations of designs registered under the Utility Designs Act 1843 – see our guide to registered designs for more information on how to search these records
- MH for Ministry of Health records
- FD for Medical Research Council records
- BN for Department of Health and Social Security records
Ships’ medical journals 1785–1963
Use the search box contained within to search ADM 101 for surgeons’ journals, a very small number of which are available online. These journals were kept on board ships to track the health of the ship’s company. Among accounts of the medical or surgical treatments carried out on board, they also include details of long-term disabilities and some sketches. Search using historical terms (see ‘Did you know?’).
Records in other archives and organisations
Wellcome Library
Consult the wide variety of documents on disability in the Archives and Manuscripts Collection at the Wellcome Library, from the papers of societies and associations to studies of specific disabilities.
Royal College of Surgeons
Explore the Royal College of Surgeons archives for collections which include the personal papers and case notes of surgeons, a small number of hospital records, correspondence and diaries.
Records held elsewhere
The National Archives’ catalogue contains collections and contact details of local archives around the UK and beyond. To locate these records, search our catalogue with keywords and refine your results to ‘Other archives’ using the filters.
Other resources
Oral histories
Search the British Library’s collection of oral histories of personal and mental health and disability, for insight into the lives of people living with disabilities and their experiences of different levels of support and service provision over the 20th century.
Podcasts
Listen to The National Archives podcasts on disability and war in the 20th century, the Paralympics and mental health in the 19th century.
Books
Read the books on our disability book list, all of which are available in The National Archives library.
Timeline
Trace the timeline of disability on the English Heritage website, providing a brief overview of the main legislative and historical events affecting disabled people between the 1100s and the present day.
Glossary
Use the disability history glossary on the English Heritage website for useful search terms.
