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McAdam , John Loudon , 1756-1836 , builder and administrator of roads

McArthur , Colin , b 1934 , lecturer and writer on visual media

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The name 'Middlesex' is first recorded in a charter of AD 704 in the Latin form of 'Middelseaxan'. In the Domesday survey of 1086 the county is divided into six Hundreds (Edmonton, Elthorne, Gore, Hounslow, Ossulstone and Spelthorne) which remained as administrative units until the 19th century. Government in the County was in the hands of the justices of the peace, whose administrative duties steadily increased from the 16th century. In the 19th century boards of guardians became responsible for the care of poor persons; highway boards and boards of health were created and the Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was set up in 1855 as the central administrative and coordinating body for the area which later became the Administrative County of London.

The Local Government Act of 1888 transferred the bulk of Middlesex wealth and population into the new County of London. Those areas which became part of London included Hammersmith, Chelsea, Kensington, Paddington, Fulham, Saint Marylebone, Saint Pancras, Westminster, Islington, Hackney, Bow, Bromley, Poplar, Mile End, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch. Remaining in Middlesex were Twickenham, Sunbury-on-Thames, Staines, Feltham, Heston, Isleworth, Brentford, Chiswick, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Hayes, Harlington, Southall, Acton, Ealing, Uxbridge, Ruislip, Northwood, Harrow, Wembley, Willesden, Hendon, Finchley, Hornsey, Wood Green, Tottenham, Edmonton, Southgate, Friern Barnet, Enfield and Potters Bar. The ancient Middlesex Guildhall was situated in Westminster, which was now part of the County of London. Nevertheless, the Guildhall buildings in Westminster remained the headquarters of Middlesex County Council.

The newly formed Middlesex County Council (MCC) first met in February 1889, with Mr Ralph Littler in the Chair. The principal functions of the County Council in 1889 were:

matters relating to the levying of rates for county purposes
control of the accounts of the County and of the County Treasurer
ownership of county halls, courts and premises used for the administration of justice
licensing of premises for public performances of stage plays, music and dancing and licensing of race courses
provision and maintenance of asylums for pauper lunatics
provision and maintenance of reformatory and industrial schools
maintenance of County bridges
matters affecting the County Surveyor, County Treasurer and all other County officers paid from the county rate
matters relating to coroners and their districts
division of the County into polling districts for Parliamentary elections and the appointment of polling places
execution of acts of Parliament relating to diseases of animals, protection of wild birds, supervision of weights and measures, explosives and gas meters
maintenance of all roads
purchase of land for County purposes and sale of surplus land
appointing of medical officers of health and other such officers as necessary
power to make byelaws.

Further powers were conferred on the Council by later Acts of Parliament, including:

responsibility for education and the administration of primary, secondary and technical schools (Education Act 1902)
supervision of midwives and maternity services (Midwives Act 1902, Local Government Act 1929)
supervision of employment agencies and ice cream vendors (1906)
child welfare (Children's Act 1908 and Children and Young Persons Act 1932)
regulation of cinemas and the storage of celluloid (Cinematograph Act 1909)
public health and housing responsibilities (1909 and 1930)
care of the mentally deficient; care of those suffering from tuberculosis (1913)
welfare of the blind (1920)
library services (1922)
administration of hospitals and institutions after the abolition of the Boards of Guardians (1929)
registration of births, marriages and deaths (1929)
provision of sports, recreation and physical training facilities (1937)
civil defence responsibilities (Air Raid Precautions Act 1938 and Civil Defence Act 1939)
town and county planning (1947)
fire and ambulance services (1947)

The Council also lobbied Parliament for powers it felt it required through the passing of the Middlesex County Council Acts, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1938 and 1950. Powers conferred by these acts included bridge construction, authority over mains drainage, authority over parks and open spaces, further controls over highways and licensing of wrestling and boxing entertainments.

Middlesex prospered until its growth from an area of small towns and villages to almost total urbanisation, which gradually eliminated all visible boundaries between London and Middlesex. This resulted in the merging of the two counties into a Greater London area in 1965, run by the Greater London Council (GLC).

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Civil Defence Department existed from 1938-1946 and from 1948-1965. It reported to the Air Raids Precautions Committee (1938-1939) and the Civil Defence Committee (1948-1965).

The development of aircraft and related weaponry in the early twentieth century brought with it the threat of attacks on civilian populations and property at times of war. London in particular had suffered a degree of enemy action from the air during the First World War. In the 1930s the political situation in Europe compelled the government to implement legislation for the protection of the civilian population in the event of a war. In July 1935 the Home Office issued a circular on Air Raid Precautions (ARP) to all local authorities which encouraged them to create ARP machinery and to recruit and train the public in ARP duties. The decision to work through the local authorities was a significant one. In Middlesex some of the lower tier authorities developed high calibre plans (Hornsey for example) while others did very little work. This was a pattern reflected by the whole country. The county of Middlesex was considered by the Home Office to be an area of "especial danger" where civil defence was very important.

Under the 1937 Air Raid Precautions Act local authorities were obliged to draw up ARP schemes in order to protect civilians and their property from air attack. In Middlesex the Air Raid Precautions Committee consisting of County Councillors was formed in 1938. The Committee decided that the lower tier authorities had a major part to play in civil defence and urged them to appoint their own ARP officers and formulate proposals which could be co-ordinated by the County Council. A small Civil Defence Department was set up by the County Council to deal with this work under the leadership of a Civil Defence Officer. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 gave fresh impetus to the development of Civil Defence activities. A recruitment drive for part time volunteers was initiated together with the construction of air raid shelters and the establishment of rest centres. It was anticipated, given what had happened in the First World War, that poison gas would be used so gas masks were issued. First Aid Posts were set up and trenches built in open spaces. The Middlesex County Council area was incorporated into the London Civil Defence Region to form Group 6. The Civil Defence Act 1939 gave further responsibilities to the local authorities. On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 a civil defence organisation was in being, although not equipped or ready for active service.

Evacuation plans for children and mothers were first drawn up in the late 1930s. The prime movers in this were the London County Council and the government, as Middlesex County Council was not responsible for all education provision at that date. The boroughs of Action, Edmonton, Hornsey, Tottenham and Willesden were included in the plans, and later also Enfield, Ealing, Brentford and Chiswick. Evacuation took place from 1-4 September 1939 and by this date many people had already left London privately. As no enemy bombing started in 1939 many evacuees returned to the capital before the end of the year and did not leave again until the start of the Blitz in September 1940.

Bombing in Middlesex began on 12 July 1940 and the whole of the county was badly affected by the Blitz (September 1940 - May 1941). There was a lull in bombing between May 1941 and 1944 with only sporadic attacks. During this period a degree of reorganisation took place within the Civil Defence services. The stretcher party service was amalgamated with the rescue service, wardens were given First Aid training. Emergency feeding was established by the Home Office and its use pioneered in Middlesex with the Red Cross who equipped and staffed empty houses and then housed homeless people and those suffering from shock. In the summer of 1944 attacks from flying bombs and long range rockets began (V1s and V2s) and Middlesex suffered early on and badly from these. 16,000 casualties were recorded. Notable incidents included 29 September 1940 daylight attack (target presumed to be Northolt Airport), when 200 high explosive bombs were dropped on area around Ruislip Road, Ealing; 30 November 1940 133 high explosive bombs dropped in a night raid on Twickenham and 13 February 1941 housing estate bombed near the Welsh Harp, Hendon.

The Civil Defence (Suspension of Powers) Act, 1945, suspended some provisions of the Civil Defence Acts 1937 and 1939, notably the obligations the local authorities had to prepare air raid precaution schemes, build shelters, train civil defence volunteers and organise the blackout. Full time civil defence staff were no longer required. The Middlesex County Council Air Raid Precautions Officer's Department was dissolved and its remaining duties undertaken by the Clerk's Department and County Treasurer's Department. The Home Office continued to encourage the activities of local Civil Defence branches of volunteers. These branches were strong in the Middlesex local districts so the County Council appointed honorary liaison officers to work with the branches. This work continued until the passing of the Civil Defence Act 1947.

The Civil Defence organisation stood down after the Second World War ended in 1945. In December 1948 the Civil Defence Act 1947 came into force and the County Council again received civil defence responsibilities. The new Act had been passed as an attempt to offer a measure of protection to the civilian population in the event of another war and in particular to tackle the new atomic warfare. The functions of the County Council fell into two areas: the organisation of the Middlesex Division of the Civil Defence Corps and the preparation of plans for the operation of certain war-time services The Civil Defence Committee sat again and a small Civil Defence Department was established under the County Civil Defence Officer. The County Council was again made responsible for the five areas of Hertfordshire within the Metropolitan Police District.

The County Council was responsible for the enrolment and training of volunteers to make up the Middlesex Defence Corps. The Civil Defence Committee decided at a very early stage that the lower tier authorities should play a large role in civil defence and be responsible for enrolling and training volunteers under the County Council's supervision. It was felt that a better response would be received from the general public if volunteers were organised locally. The local authorities were arranged into three sub-groups - Group A: Barnet, Cheshunt, East Barnet, Edmonton, Enfield, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Hornsey, Potters Bar, Southgate, Tottenham, Wood Green; Group B: Bushey, Elstree, Harrow, Hendon, Rusilip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Wembley, Willesden and Group C: Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, Ealing, Feltham, Hayes and Harlington, Heston and Isleworth, Southall, Staines, Sunbury-on-Thames, Twickenham, Yiewsley and West Drayton. The Corps was divided by the Civil Defence Act into five sections: headquarters; warden; ambulance and casualty collecting; rescue; welfare. Recruitment began in November 1949 and by the end of the year 8,579 members had been enrolled. The County Council retained the responsibility for ensuring that the instructors were trained. Qualifications could be obtained at Home Office Technical Training Schools.

Volunteers received basic training and then proceeded to work within the section of the Corps in which they had enrolled. The County Council provided courses for instructors to use for the headquarters, warden and ambulance sections and guided the local authorities in selecting the instructors for the welfare section. To ensure that volunteers were properly trained the County Council encouraged the districts to establish civil defence training centres and authorised expenditure with this in mind. Likewise the purchase of equipment was encouraged. By the end of 1952 25 districts had incendiary bomb huts; 24 districts had gas chambers and 13 districts had gas compounds. The Civil Defence Corps was often called in to assist other emergency services, for example in transport accidents and searches for missing children.

The County Civil Defence Officer was the chief officer of the department. Under him were four assistant Civil Defence Officers, an Assistant Rescue Officer, six full time instructors with clerical and manual support staff. There were personnel within other County Council departments who were charges within the planning of the emergency services and were so involved in civil defence work. There was a sub-divisional Civil Defence Officer in each local authority for whose salary expenses the local authority was reimbursed by the County Council.

In 1962 central government initiated an overhaul of the running of Civil Defence Corps. The aim of this reorganisation was to enhance the status of the Corps, to improve efficiency, and to develop a nucleus of highly trained volunteers. These changes took effect from 1 October 1962 and the most significant effect was to improve the standards of training. The civil defence functions of the County Council passed to the new London Boroughs and the county councils of Hertfordshire and Surrey.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.

The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.

ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).

iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.

iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.

Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.

Adoption:

Until the Adoption Act 1926 legal adoption did not exist in English law. The 1926 Act gave no specific powers to local authorities, but the County Council was frequently, in its capacity as a local education authority, asked to act as a Guardian Ad Litem (that is to protect the child's rights before the law). When so requested, the County Council delegated this function to the officers of the Education Department. Other local education authorities could be approached instead in cases within their areas, or the Court's own probation officer might be appointed.

The Adoption of Children Regulation Act 1939 was designed to rectify some of the abuses of the 1926 Act and specifically, required adoption services to be approved and registered with local authorities. There were in fact only three such services in Middlesex in 1943 when the Act was finally implemented and only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, remained in operation for any length of time thereafter. Also from 1943 certain duties of supervision of private adoptions were placed upon the welfare authorities, of which the MCC was one.

The duties of the Education Department relating to adoptions passed to the newly created Children's Department in 1948. In the next year was passed the Adoption of Children Act 1949, which was immediately consolidated with the previous legislation as the Adoption Act 1950. This Act made significant changes to adoption procedures: that which most particularly affected the County Council was the requirement that no adoption order could be made unless at least three months notice of intention to adopt had been given to the welfare authority, i.e. the County Council. Therefore from 1950 the County Council was notified of every intended adoption within the County, regardless of who the guardian ad litem was. Further, on receipt of a notice of an intended third party adoption (that is to say an adoption placement made by a third party, not a registered adoption society or local authority; adoptions by parents of their own children - very commonly done by women with illegitimate children and subsequently married) an officer of the Children's Department would commence supervision of the child or children either until the granting of the Court Order, or, if the supervision revealed the prospective adopters as unsuitable, until the end of the statutory period. The Adoption Act 1958 extended the powers of supervision to all adoptions and from this date the County Council had, in theory, some record of every adoption that took place in the County. The Act also enabled local authorities to act as adoption agencies in their own right.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.

The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.

ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).

iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.

iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.

Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.

Approved schools and remand homes:

In the first half of the nineteenth century, child offenders were sent to gaols along with adults; no differentiation was made. In the late 1840s and 1850s however, largely as a result of the Ragged School movement, various philanthropic groups and individuals began to experiment with schools for the reformation of delinquent children: also advocated were industrial schools where the children of the poorest classes whose mode of life was such that there was the probability of their becoming offenders might be fed and gainfully occupied in the acquisition and exercise of some means of making an honest livelihood. The movement bore fruit in the form of the Reformatory Schools (Youthful Offenders) Act 1854 and the Industrial Schools and Reformatory Schools Act 1857 reinforced by two further statutes of 1866. Under these acts, county justices were obliged to commit young offenders to such institutions, and local authorities to maintain them there, as well as being empowered themselves to maintain or contribute to the maintenance of such institutions (most were run by philanthropic or religious bodies).

On the creation of the Middlesex County Council in 1889 it was allotted the justices' functions regarding the maintenance of juveniles in reformatory and industrial schools. These functions were made the responsibility of the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Committee (after 1908 the Reformatory Schools Committee) until 1933.

The 1908 Children Act in effect abolished the difference between industrial and reformatory schools, which had more or less ceased to exist in 1899, when the Reformatory Schools Amendment Act did away with the requirement that juveniles committed to a reformatory school should spend a preliminary period in prison. More importantly the 1908 Act set up juvenile courts as an integral part of the legal system and redefined the reasons for which children might be brought before the Courts to include a much wider range of welfare (as opposed to punitive) committals. For example children being non-offenders might be brought before the juvenile courts as needing protection, if found begging in the streets; wandering and having no proper guardian; destitute, with parent(s) in prison; in the care of drunken or criminal parents; the daughter of a father convicted of the carnal knowledge of any daughter under 16; frequenting the company of a reported thief or prostitute; living in a house frequented by prostitutes or living in circumstances likely to lead to the seduction or prostitution of the child. Such children would then be committed if necessary to an industrial or reformatory school and maintained by the County Council. Further, whereas juveniles awaiting trial had previously been kept in prisons, it was now incumbent upon the police authorities to provide separate places of detention.

In the case of Middlesex the police authority was the Standing Joint Committee, who provided the Place of Detention, Willesden, located at 49 Church Road, Willesden. It opened in 1911 for the accommodation of remanded boys and girls. In 1913 the London County Council agreed to place the girls and the establishment thereafter was for the boys only. It closed in January 1921, when the LCC agreed to accommodate remanded boys for Middlesex County Council.

Major reforms were brought about by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 which remained in force with amendments for the rest of the Council's existence. This Act replaced places of detention by remand homes, and reformatory and industrial schools by approved schools (i.e. approved by the Home Office). Juvenile offenders were committed by the juvenile courts by an approved school order to the care of the managers of an approved school. The placements were ultimately under the aegis of the Home Office, and could in theory be made anywhere in the country. The County Council was responsible for children and young people in its area. It was also responsible for making good any shortage in approved school accommodation, at the direction of the Home Office. Middlesex children might thus be committed to an approved school anywhere in the country, including those maintained by the MCC; the approved schools maintained by the MCC might receive children from and maintained by any authority in England and Wales. These new duties were given to the Education Committee, and the Reformatory Schools Committee was wound up.

On the eve of the Act the MCC were using the LCC Remand Home at Ponton Road, Nine Elms. They paid for the upkeep of Middlesex juveniles but as far as running a reformatory themselves their only involvement was an eighth part in Northcotts (North London) School, Walthamstow, the other seven eighths being divided between the Boroughs of Edmonton, Haringey, Tottenham and Wood Green. After some gentle prompting from the Home Office, the MCC agreed in 1935 to take over Northcotts entirely and provide new accommodation for it, and to provide another boys' approved school and an approved school for senior girls. In 1936 therefore the Council decided to rent the premises of the School for Jewish Boys in Hayes as an approved school for boys. The initial lease was for 8 years, on the expiry of which in 1944 the Council bought the freehold. The establishment was known from 1937 as Saint Christopher's Approved School.

Meanwhile the LCC had had to transfer their Ponton Road establishment to the Goldhawk Road, and had asked the MCC to find their own remand accommodation for boys, although the LCC still took MCC girls. The Council therefore decided as a temporary measure, to use the Manor House at Hayes (acquired in 1934) as a boys remand home. It began operations in November 1936 as the Manor House Remand Home and was renamed Saint Nicholas Remand Home in November 1938. It was decided in the same year that the establishment should be made permanent.

The question of the transfer of Northcotts was becoming urgent by reason of the inadequate accommodation in Walthamstow, but the Council were experiencing considerable difficulty in finding suitable premises. In 1938 Popes Farm in South Mimms was proposed but discarded in favour of Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth, which was purchased in May 1939. Hardly had the work of adaptation begun however when the Saint Nicholas' premises at the Manor House, Hayes was severely damaged by a fire in July 1939. Pishiobury had therefore to be pressed into service as an emergency shelter for the remand home, and the date of the removal of Northcotts set back indefinitely: it was however agreed that the MCC should become responsible for the entire management of Northcotts as from 1 January 1940. Remand accommodation for girls was now becoming a problem. The number of remanded girls was increasing, and besides the limited LCC places available, the MCC had to use several privately run establishments and pay accordingly. No solution was found until April 1940 when agreement was reached with the Anglican Sisters of the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin that remand cases could be received at their premises at Saint Helena's, West Ealing. The MCC took the premises on a long lease in December 1941. The original date for the transfer of Northcotts to the MCC had been 1 January 1940. Because of the war, the transfer was put back to 1 April 1941, and duly took place on that date. As stated above Northcotts had in fact been moved to their new premises at Pishiobury earlier than planned and were already established there by the date of the transfer of management. From January 1942 the school was known as Pishiobury School.

The MCC had also agreed in 1935 to provide an approved school for senior girls. At length it was decided that the mansion of Denham Court might be suitable and approval for the conversion was given in the autumn of 1937. Work continued through 1939, up until the outbreak of war. In the first wave of evacuations in the autumn of 1939, Saint Nicholas' boys were transferred from Pishiobury to Denham Court, and Northcotts were moved from Walthamstow to Pishiobury; the girls approved school was temporarily shelved, although staff had already been appointed. In April 1940 the Home Office objected to the use of Denham Court for boys and required their removal. The original premises of Northcotts in Walthamstow were at first suggested but the onset of the Blitz put them out of consideration. Alternative accommodation was eventually found in 1941 at North Lodge, Enfield, formerly occupied by Kilvinton Hall School. Adaptation was authorised in July 1941, the new establishment to be known as Saint Nicholas Home, North Lodge, Enfield; it was in operation by January 1941.

Denham Court had become vacant in 1941 on the removal of Saint Nicholas' to Enfield, and the long delayed girls approved school commenced operations. Unfortunately it was not a success - mainly it appears because of the isolated location away from all urban amenities, and in January 1948 it was proposed that the school be discontinued, and the premises used instead as a hostel for children in care awaiting foster homes: this happened later in 1948.

On 5th July 1948 when the Children's Department came into being it took over two remand homes from the Education Department (Saint Helena's Ealing (girls); Saint Nicholas Enfield (boys)); and two approved schools (Saint Christopher's Hayes (junior boys) and Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth (senior boys)). All these homes remained in use until the MCC was abolished in 1965.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.

The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.

ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).

iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.

iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.

Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.

Children's Homes:

Middlesex County Council adopted the policy of closing large institutional homes and opening small residential homes on ordinary streets. These homes were scattered throughout the County so that children in care could be distributed among different schools. The homes were mixed in order to approximate family life and to keep brothers and sisters together. There were over 40 small children's homes, three intermediate homes and a reception centre in Middlesex. There were also residential nurseries.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.

The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.

ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).

iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.

iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.

Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury

Adoption:

Until the Adoption Act 1926 legal adoption did not exist in English law. The 1926 Act gave no specific powers to local authorities, but the County Council was frequently, in its capacity as a local education authority, asked to act as a Guardian Ad Litem (that is to protect the child's rights before the law). When so requested, the County Council delegated this function to the officers of the Education Department. Other local education authorities could be approached instead in cases within their areas, or the Court's own probation officer might be appointed.

The Adoption of Children Regulation Act 1939 was designed to rectify some of the abuses of the 1926 Act and specifically, required adoption services to be approved and registered with local authorities. There were in fact only three such services in Middlesex in 1943 when the Act was finally implemented and only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, remained in operation for any length of time thereafter. Also from 1943 certain duties of supervision of private adoptions were placed upon the welfare authorities, of which the MCC was one.

The duties of the Education Department relating to adoptions passed to the newly created Children's Department in 1948. In the next year was passed the Adoption of Children Act 1949, which was immediately consolidated with the previous legislation as the Adoption Act 1950. This Act made significant changes to adoption procedures: that which most particularly affected the County Council was the requirement that no adoption order could be made unless at least three months notice of intention to adopt had been given to the welfare authority, i.e. the County Council. Therefore from 1950 the County Council was notified of every intended adoption within the County, regardless of who the guardian ad litem was. Further, on receipt of a notice of an intended third party adoption (that is to say an adoption placement made by a third party, not a registered adoption society or local authority; adoptions by parents of their own children - very commonly done by women with illegitimate children and subsequently married) an officer of the Children's Department would commence supervision of the child or children either until the granting of the Court Order, or, if the supervision revealed the prospective adopters as unsuitable, until the end of the statutory period. The Adoption Act 1958 extended the powers of supervision to all adoptions and from this date the County Council had, in theory, some record of every adoption that took place in the County. The Act also enabled local authorities to act as adoption agencies in their own right.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The County Council was required by statute to appoint a Finance Committee, and a recommendation from the Finance Committee was required to enable payments to be made. This prevented the Council committing itself to expenditure beyond its means. In addition to the duty of examining and approving estimates, the Committee also examined and approved all accounts for payment, made arrangements for financing expenditure and raised loans.

The chief financial officer was the County Treasurer. He had responsibility for the conduct of the Financial Department and the control and organisation of the staff. He also prepared, in conjunction with other chief departmental officers, estimates of the expenditure of each committee for the ensuing year.

The County Council had three sources of revenue: the income from charges of various kinds which they are allowed by law to levy; government grants and rates. Charges for services included school tuition, for accommodation at old people's homes, for children maintained in Council homes, for home helps and other health services, although some of these charges were stopped or changed over the course of the Council's operations. Other charges included rentals of properties, smallholdings, fines and court fees, and various licences. Government grants included contributions from the Ministry of Transport towards upkeep of roads, assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture for small holdings, payment from the Ministry of Education for school meals and teacher training, a grant from the Home Office for the Fire Service and a grant from the Ministry of Health for health services.

The balance of the Council's requirements was raised by rates. These were obtained not by a direct levy on the tax-payer but by a precept on each borough and urban district council, as the rating authority. This precept required each authority to pay to the County Council a rate of so many pence in the pound by instalments spread over the financial year. For the bulk of services the County precept was levied over the whole County, but for some services a 'special county rate' was levied. For example, the borough of Acton was responsible for its own public libraries, therefore it would have been unjust for the rate-payers of that borough to pay a County charge for libraries outside their area.

Everyday expenditure on the upkeep of schools and roads, on salaries and wages and on the many other services was known as 'revenue expenditure', as distinct from 'capital expenditure'. The building of a new school or similar project was 'capital expenditure'. In most cases this would be too heavy to charge to the rates in one year, and the money was borrowed in the form of stock issues or mortgages.

The Edmonton Latymer Foundation was the legacy of Edward Latymer (1557 or 1558-1627), an official of the Court of Wards, who by his will dated 1624 left property in the Hammersmith area to provide, amongst other things, clothing and education for eight poor boys of Edmonton and eight of Fulham. Separate groups of trustees administered the property on behalf of the boys in the two parishes.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

In 1889 County Council policy was directed by 72 members and administered under the leadership of Sir Richard Nicolson, Clerk of the County Council, and a handful of staff. The number of members had risen to 116 by 1952 and by 1965 the County staff numbered some 32,000, of whom 2,000 head office staff occupied the Guildhall and five other offices in Westminster. This indicates the tremendous increase in administrative work under successive Clerks of the County Council.

In the years between the two wars a semi-rural county became an almost completely urbanised area. The introduction of new legislation made ever increased demands upon members of the administrative staff, involving in later years monthly meetings of some 50 committees and sub-committees.

In 1957 the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Edwin Herbert. Their terms of reference were 'to examine the present system and working of local government in the area' and 'to recommend whether any, and if so what, changes in the local government structure and the distribution of local authority functions in the area, or any part of it, would better secure effective and convenient local government'. After nearly three years consideration of these issues the Commission reported in 1960, recommending a radical reorganisation of London's and Middlesex's local government. All existing local authorities except the City of London Corporation were to be abolished, a council for Greater London (including most of Middlesex, now largely part of the urban sprawl of London) was to be established, and new boroughs were to be created, each within a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. The councils of these new boroughs were to be the primary units of local government and to have the most normal local government functions, including housing, personal health, welfare and children's services, environmental health, roads other than main roads, libraries and functions in relation to education and planning. The council for Greater London was to have certain functions of education and planning, and be the authority for traffic, main roads, refuse disposal, fire and ambulance services; as well as having supplementary powers for housing, parks, entertainments, sewerage and land drainage. When the Bill for the Local Government Act, 1963, based on the Royal Commission report, was introduced into Parliament it was met with considerable opposition. Some amendments were passed, but the Bill was passed into law without major alterations.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Education Department of the Middlesex County Council may be described as one of the most important, progressive and vital public services provided by the council throughout its history. The Middlesex Education Authority, following its inception in 1903, stood as a pioneer in numerous aspects of its work. Previously various attempts had been made to provide public education, since the passing of legislation in 1870. Before 1870 schools were run as private concerns including small private schools and dame schools, the endowed grammar schools, and the beginning of the development of the Public Schools, and for the very poor there existed schools run by religious organisations.

Forster's Education Act of 1870 marked a watershed in the history of English education. It was based on the principle of elementary education for all. It aimed 'to cover the country with good schools and to get the parents to send the children to the schools', and principally to provide instruction in basic literacy and numeracy until the age of 12. The Act provided for the division of England and Wales into school districts. Wherever surveys showed that existing voluntary schools could not provide enough places for all the school age children within their districts, the ratepayers elected school boards, which were required to supplement the existing schools with (what became known as) Board Schools. Funds to build and maintain were to come from fees, government grants and the rates. This was the starting point of local responsibility for education expenditure, and of the partnership of central and local authorities.

School Boards were abolished by the 1902 Education Act and replaced by Local Education Authorities (LEAs), which were, in effect, the county councils or county borough councils. They were given charge of all elementary and much secondary education throughout the country. The Act was in many respects a great step forward, but Part II did create administrative complications in elementary education, that particularly affected Middlesex. For all higher education the LEA was to be the county council or county borough. However, the local variations in the needs of elementary education demanded closer local responsibility, and it was also felt that well populated urban areas deserved some degree of autonomy. Part III of the Act therefore laid down that within a county council area any boroughs of population over ten thousand or urban districts of population over twenty thousand should themselves be the LEA for elementary education in that area. The county council was left as the authority for any parts of the county that remained outside these areas. This produced anomalies in Middlesex where the County Council was directly responsible for secondary and technical education throughout the County (rural and inner city), but was only the elementary education authority for rural and agricultural areas, where the need was radically different. Generally, the Act instigated a period of great educational activity, as the LEAs were obliged to survey the needs of their areas, to shape their policies and implement them. The subsequent legislation described below modified and extended the power of the county council.

1918 Education Act

The fundamental principle of this Act was the right of the intelligent child to receive extended education to suit his age and ability. The minimum leaving age was raised to 14, and authorities were to increase the number of their secondary schools. The counties and Part III authorities were to co-operate in producing 'joint schemes of education', and the Board of Education was to make annual grants-in-aid to authorities related to their recognised expenditure on education as a comprehensive service. It was this Act which founded the Burnham Committee as the joint negotiating body for teachers salaries, which had previously been decided by the individual employing authorities.

The Hadow Report 1926

The recommendations of this Report were in accordance with Labour Party policy, although Labour were no longer in power. It proposed that elementary schooling should be renamed 'primary schooling' and end at the age of 11 or 12; and that children should then progress to one or other of two types of secondary school: grammar schools or 'modern schools' which would have a simpler curriculum in preparation for employment at 14 or 15.

The Butler Act of 1944

This Act called for the raising of the school leaving age to 15; for primary and secondary education to be provided in separate schools; for the provision of nursery classes for under 5's; for special facilities for the mentally or physically disabled and for the opportunity of boarding school education where parents desired it or where special circumstances made it advisable. The Act ended the autonomy of Part III authorities and made County Councils full Local Education Authorities for primary, secondary and further education with the duty to prepare comprehensive Development Plans for education in their areas and to implement them. The over-riding responsibility for all stages of education now lay with the County Council.

1945-1965
The 1944 Act triggered off a period of intense educational activity. There was a pressing need for school building, to replace premises damaged during the Second World War and to provide separate primary and secondary schools demanded by the Act.

On 31 March 1965 the Middlesex County Council ceased to exist under the terms of the 1963 London Government Act. Education became the responsibility of newly created London boroughs covering the area of the former Middlesex.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Housing and Town Planning Act 1909 provided that every County Council should establish a Public Health and Housing Committee and appoint a Medical Officer of Health. the MCC Public Health and Housing Committee first met in February 1910. Health services organised by the Committee included:

a) treatment and care of persons with tuberculosis, including the management of two sanatoria

b) maternity and child welfare services

c) ante-natal clinics

d) birth control clinics

e) day nurseries

f) school medical services

g) general hospital service (particularly post 1930 when Poor Law institutions were transferred to the management of the Council)

h) inspection of nursing homes

i) medical care of the sick poor

j) testing of milk

k) oversight of refuse collection.

After the introduction of the National Health Service in 1946 the Middlesex County Council hospital service was transferred to the control of the Minister of Health. However, the MCC was still a Local Health Authority and as such was given the task of organising a whole range of services, many of which it had also administered before 1946. Under the terms of the National Health Service Act and various other Acts the Council was responsible for the provision of the following services:

a) health centres

b) care of mothers and young children

c) midwifery

d) health visiting

e) home nursing

f) vaccination and immunisation

g) ambulance services

h) prevention of illness, care and after-care

i) domestic help

j) mental health services

k) the School Health Service

l) registration of nursing homes

m) registration of nurseries and childminders

n) supervision of midwives

o) health control services at Heathrow Airport.

The Health Committee retained central control of services but divided the County into ten districts, each with a Local Area Committee to oversee administration of the service in their district. The County Health Department had both central offices and offices in each health area and had a large staff of doctors, dentists, nurses and technical staff, under the supervision of the County Medical Officer of Health.

Care of mothers and young children: maternity and child health clinics were set up in convenient places throughout the County. As well as receiving expert advice on caring for their babies, mothers also received milk foods and vitamins. Ante and post natal clinics provided for the supervision and care of expectant and nursing mothers and the Council employed a staff of midwives to attend maternity cases where the babies were born at home.

Day nurseries: these were provided to meet the needs of children for whom it was considered that nursery provision was required on health grounds, such as the children of unmarried mothers or widows who were obliged to work to support their family.

Care of unsupported mothers: four residential homes for mothers and babies were provided and maintained by the MCC. Three almoners gave social help to such mothers and a grant was paid to the London Diocesan Council for Moral Welfare who also engaged in this work.

Home nursing: male and female nurses were employed to visit the homes of patients and provide nursing care, under the instruction of the general practitioner responsible for the patient.

Vaccination and immunisation: the MCC provided vaccination or immunisation against smallpox, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and polio.

Ambulance service: until 1952 the Fire Service was responsible for the Ambulance Service on behalf of the Health Committee. The MCC maintained a large fleet of ambulances for the removal of accident cases to hospital and for the routine transport of sick persons to appointments.

Care and after-care, prevention of illness: care and after-care of patients with tuberculosis was undertaken at chest clinics and at the patients' homes. The MCC also maintained colonies for rehabilitation and had its own rehabilitation workshop. Care for the mentally ill was proved by mental welfare officers who arranged for hospital admission if necessary. The Council also ran five adult training centres and eight junior training centres. Other care services included chiropody provided at the MCC clinic in Edmonton; sending convalescent patients on recuperative holidays or stays in rest homes; and providing certain items of nursing equipment on loan to patients being nursed at home. To prevent illness schemes of health education were organised for adults and school children. A full time health education officer was employed to organise and co-ordinate health education.

Domestic help in the home: the MCC provided home helps to assist with the normal duties of running the household when this was required because of the presence in the home of one who was ill, an expectant mother, mentally defective, disabled or elderly. A charge was made but this was adjusted according to income.

Heathrow Airport: the main object of the health control service was to prevent the entry of infectious diseases into Britain. The airport medical staff also carried out medical examinations for aircrew and provided a medical service for employees at the airport.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

In 1907 the Local Education Authorities were made responsible for providing medical inspection; however, it was not until the Education Act 1918 that the majority of Local Education Authorities established school clinics. The Health Department of the MCC was responsible for the medical supervision of children in secondary and technical schools throughout the County, and for elementary schools where the County was the authority. The service was carried out by a staff of assistant school medical officers and trained nurses who combined the care and treatment of school children with their duties as assistant medical officers and health visitors under the Council's maternity and child welfare scheme.

Children attending elementary schools underwent four routine medical inspections at the ages of five, seven, ten and when they left school. In secondary school medical checks were performed annually. Clinics were established for the treatment of minor ailments and was given free of charge. Facilities also existed for dental and ophthalmic treatment. From 1942 orthopaedic defects were treated with assistance from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital at Stanmore.

Blind, deaf, physically disabled or epileptic children were sent to special schools. The Talbot Special School in Southall was the MCC day school for mentally defective children. A Child Guidance Clinic was established at Harrow. Two full time psychiatrists were appointed, working under the general supervision of the County Medical Officer.

A nominal charge was made for attendance at clinics and courses of treatment, although this was lifted altogether in cases of hardship. Parents were asked to make what contribution they could afford towards the cost of treatment and of surgical appliances, spectacles, braces and so on.

The Milk in Schools scheme allowed each child to obtain in school a third of a pint of milk daily at a cost of a halfpenny. The Second World War led to a great expansion in the school meals service. By 1943 the number of school children receiving school meals was 36,575.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

A section within the Clerk's Department became the Public Control Department in 1920 and existed until 1965. The Department reported to the General Purposes Committee and the Head of the Department was the Chief of Weights and Measures Staff 1908-1920 and Chief Officer of the Public Control Department 1920-1965.

Weights and Measures:

Before 1889 the Justices of the Peace had powers and responsibilities over the verification and inspection of weights and measures. The Weights and Measures Act 1878 provided for a national standardization of weights and measures and the Weights and Measures Act 1889 provided legislation for the verification of weighing machines. Under the Local Government Act 1888 the County Council became responsible for the inspection and verification of weighing and measuring apparatus used by traders in Middlesex. Under the terms of the Middlesex County Council Bye-laws the County Council also had responsibility for weighing coke. Further responsibilities were added so that by 1965 three quarters of the Departments work was concerned with weights and measures functions.

The functions of this section were:

1 To keep and maintain in good condition the weights, scales and balances used by the County Council inspectors

2 To test apparatus to be used by traders

3 To check the quantities of pre-packed goods in wholesale and retail transactions. Foods not pre-packed, coal, sand, and ballast in retail transactions also had to be checked.

The County Council owned and operated two public weighbridges at Brentford and Willesden. As a highway authority the County Council was also responsible for ensuring that overweight vehicles were not driven on roads and this work was dealt with by the Public Control Department.

Food and Drugs:

Here too the Justices of the Peace had responsibilities to protect the public against the adulteration of food. The County Council inherited these functions in 1889. During the lifetime of the County Council these responsibilities were added to and consolidated. The Department was responsible for ensuring that food and drugs sold were genuine; that they did not contain unlawful substances; that they were correctly labelled; and that the special provisions for the production and sale of milk were carried out. Milk was the substance most commonly tested.

Middlesex County Council was the biggest Food and Drugs authority in the country and resisted attempts by its local authorities to take over these functions. The Department established a system of informal sampling (formal sampling had to be done by the County Analyst and was more expensive). These departmental tests were made as preliminary surveys to decide on the best selection of formal samples to be procured. Under Food and Drugs legislation the County Council was obliged to appoint a County Analyst. The County Analyst was not a full time employee.

Merchandise Marks:

The Merchandise Marks Act 1887 prohibited the use of false or misleading trade descriptions being applied to goods. The Merchandise Marks Act 1926 gave food and drugs authorities permission to use this legislation in relation to imported foods. This legislation was consolidated later in the century.

Pharmacy and Poisons:

The Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1933 made local authorities responsible for the control of poison sellers (other than pharmacists) and poisons in Part II of the Poison List. The Pharmaceutical Society was responsible for pharmacists. Stringent provisions regarding the packaging, storage, labelling and sale of poisons were introduced. Poisons on the Part II list were mainly domestic in type - ammonia, carbolic disinfectants, insecticides and weed-killers.

The Public Control Department:

Until 1920 the work of the Department was done as a section of the Clerk's Department. In 1920 the Chief of Weights and Measures staff became the Chief Officer of the Public Control Department. The Department was, by the 1950s, run on two tiers with a small Headquarters staff and below that three divisional offices administered on an area basis.

Western Division: Brentford and Chiswick; Ealing; Feltham; Hayes and Harlington; Heston and Isleworth; Southall; Staines; Sunbury-on-Thames; Twickenham; Yiewsley and West Drayton.

Central Division: Acton; Harrow; Hendon; Ruislip-Northwood; Uxbridge; Wembley; Willesden.

Eastern Division: Edmonton; Enfield; Finchley; Friern Barnet; Hornsey; Potters Bar; Southgate; Tottenham; Wood Green.

Divisional offices were in Willesden, Brentford and Tottenham. At each divisional office thee was a Divisional Chief Inspector; a Senior Inspector of Weights and Measures with up to half a dozen inspectors; a Coal and Sale of Food officer and trained assistants. The direction of policy came from the County Headquarters. On the abolition of the County Council in 1965 the functions of the Public Control Department passed to the new London Boroughs.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Public Assistance Department was set up under the 1929 Local Government Act which followed the recommendations of the Macclean Report. Under section 1 of the Act the functions of the existing Poor Law Guardians were transferred to the County Council from 1 April 1930. Section 4 of the Act required that a scheme for the administration of such functions be submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval. The Middlesex (Public Assistance) Scheme 1929 was approved and the first meeting of the Public Health, Housing and Public Assistance Committee sat on 16 January 1930.

The 1929 Act did not abolish the Poor Law system, but transferred its administrative functions. Poor Law had its origins in the 1601 Poor Relief Act which put the responsibility for providing relief onto the parish. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act established Boards of Guardians and grouped parishes together into Poor Law Unions for which the Guardians took responsibility. The single most important function of the Poor Law Guardians was to administer, regulate, and dispense relief to the poor and destitute. Other functions included child care (the 1872 Infant Life Protection Act and 1908 Children Act] and the administration of hospitals, care of the homeless and single mothers.

Under section 1 of the 1929 Act the Middlesex County Council took responsibility for the following: consideration and examination of applicants for relief, determination of the nature and amount of any relief granted, determination of any reimbursement to the council; making arrangements for the casual poor and administration of casual wards; and managing institutions and staff, visitation and inspection and making arrangements with other counties for joint use of institutions. The office of Director of Public Assistance was created. The Director was responsible to the Public Assistance Committee and Clerk of the County Council and had the following tasks: control of the staff dealing with Poor Law administration; keeping records and indexes; supply of goods, materials and provisions to the poor law institutions; arranging settlement, emigration, casuals, schemes for dealing with the able bodied unemployed; adoption, boarding out and apprenticeship of children and reporting to the Public Assistance Committee and Supervising Guardians meetings.

Before the 1929 Local Government Act the following Poor Law Unions existed in Middlesex: Brentford; Edmonton; (which had the out county parishes of Cheshunt and Waltham); Hendon; Staines; and Willesden. The parishes of Hampton, Hampton Wick and Teddington were in Kingston Union and the parishes of Finchley, Friern Barnet and South Mimms were in Barnet Union. The Middlesex (Public Assistance) Scheme 1929 divided the County into the following 6 areas for the purposes of administration: North Middlesex; North east Middlesex; Central Middlesex; Willesden; West Middlesex and South Middlesex.

Each area had a Guardians Committee of 18 members to administer the relief functions transferred to the County Council, namely to interview all applicants for relief and distribute it. The Committees also inspected and reported on institutions in their areas. In 1931 the Committees were delegated the function of making determinations of relief for the unemployed under the Unemployment Insurance (Transitional / Payments) Regulations 1931.

Middlesex County Council Act 1934:

In 1934 the Public Assistance Department was overhauled. Problems had arisen with the Guardians Committees because large scale migration into Middlesex had increased the number of relief applications. In addition the committees varied in their generosity towards applicants. In October 1932 the Ministry of Health criticised the out relief system in one Middlesex area and this resulted in County Scales and Regulations being introduced. When a Guardians Committee wished to deviate from these rules they had to submit their case to the Public Assistance Committee. As large numbers of submissions were made by certain committees the County Council decided it would be more effective for them to run the service directly.

The Middlesex County Council Act 1934 gave the County Council direct and complete control over the administration of relief by means of abolishing the Guardians Committees. The work of the Guardians Committees was assumed by a Relief Sub-Committee made up entirely of Council Members. The County was re-divided into 8 new areas, grouped in 4 sections: Area 1: North Middlesex and North East Middlesex; Area 2: East Middlesex; Area 3: North East Middlesex and Central Middlesex and Area 4: South Middlesex, West Middlesex and South West Middlesex.

Each area had an Area Officer and a Deputy Area Officer. The Area Officers were in charge of the staff in their regions and advised the County Council Committees on granting relief. The area offices were allocated to Edmonton (area 1), Tottenham (area 2), Kilburn (area 3) and Brentford (area 4). An Adjudicating Officer was appointed to each area to interview applicants for relief and investigate liable relations. Hospital Almoners sent financial details about patients to the Area Officers. Appeals by relief applicants could be made and were heard by the Sub Committees.

National Health Service Act 1946 and National Assistance Act 1946:
The National Health Service Act transferred the County Council's responsibility for the provision of a countrywide hospital service to the new regional hospital boards. The Act came into force in July 1948. In the same month the National Assistance Act was enforced and transferred the responsibility of the County Councils for relieving financial distress to the National Assistance Board. Thus the functions of the Public Assistance Department were radically overhauled and a new Welfare Department was set up as its successor. The first meeting of the Welfare Committee took place on 5 July 1948.

Under the National Assistance Act the Welfare Department had the following functions: provision of residential accommodation for the aged and infirm; provision of temporary accommodation for the homeless; promotion of the welfare of people with disabilities such as blindness; administration of the registration of all homes for the elderly and disabled and responsibility to insure the homes were suitably maintained; registration of charities for the disabled and provision of temporary protection of moveable property of certain persons.

The following areas were used to administer these responsibilities within Middlesex: Area 1: Enfield, Edmonton; Area 2: Southgate, Wood Green, Potters Bar, Friern Barnet; Area 3: Tottenham, Hornsey; Area 4: Hendon, Finchley; Area 5: Harrow; Area 6: Wembley, Willesden; Area 7: Ealing, Acton; Area 8: Uxbridge, Rusilip-Northwood, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9: Brentford and Chiswick, Southall, Heston and Isleworth and Area 10: Twickenham, Staines, Feltham, Sunbury on Thames.

On 1 April 1965 on the abolition of the Middlesex County Council the functions of the Welfare Department were transferred to the newly established London Boroughs.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Middlesex County Staff Club was founded in 1911 and was the first such organisation for County Council staff. The Club had 97 members and was admitted as a member of the National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO) in October 1911. A Secretary was appointed to carry out the administration of the Club. The majority of the Club's activities in the years before the First World War were social and sporting.

The Club fell into abeyance in 1914. In 1919 the staff of the County Council grew in number and the need for a united body was widely expressed. The Middlesex County Officers Association was formed and acknowledged by the County Council in May 1919. The Association was managed by an Executive Committee (a Council from 1949) which had representatives from all departments as well as ex-officio officers. Numerous sub-committees were set up in succeeding years until the Association was reconstructed in 1949. Thereafter the functions of the sub-committees were divided beween a handful of committees.

The single most important function of the Association was to represent the views of the members to the County Council. The mood of these consultations varied according to circumstances. During the lifetime of the Association all aspects of service came under discussion; grading; working hours; overtime; leave; rest rooms; post-entry training; long service awards. Particularly contentious was the debate over the County Council's membership of the Whitley Council. From 1960 onwards the Association was primarily concerned to safeguard the interests of staff in the approach to the implementation of the Report of the 1958 Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London.

The Association always took an active interest in sports and recreation, particularly in the 1920s and 1930s. Cultural societies were formed from time to time. Within county offices restaurants and canteens were sponsored. From 1920 representatives were sent to NALGO conferences and in 1958 a Middlesex member was elected to the National Executive Committee.

MCC , Middlesex County Council x Middlesex County Council

The Civil Defence Department existed from 1938-1946 and from 1948-1965. It reported to the Air Raids Precautions Committee (1938-1939) and the Civil Defence Committee (1948-1965).

The development of aircraft and related weaponry in the early twentieth century brought with it the threat of attacks on civilian populations and property at times of war. London in particular had suffered a degree of enemy action from the air during the First World War. In the 1930s the political situation in Europe compelled the government to implement legislation for the protection of the civilian population in the event of a war. In July 1935 the Home Office issued a circular on Air Raid Precautions (ARP) to all local authorities which encouraged them to create ARP machinery and to recruit and train the public in ARP duties. The decision to work through the local authorities was a significant one. In Middlesex some of the lower tier authorities developed high calibre plans (Hornsey for example) while others did very little work. This was a pattern reflected by the whole country. The county of Middlesex was considered by the Home Office to be an area of "especial danger" where civil defence was very important.

Under the 1937 Air Raid Precautions Act local authorities were obliged to draw up ARP schemes in order to protect civilians and their property from air attack. In Middlesex the Air Raid Precautions Committee consisting of County Councillors was formed in 1938. The Committee decided that the lower tier authorities had a major part to play in civil defence and urged them to appoint their own ARP officers and formulate proposals which could be co-ordinated by the County Council. A small Civil Defence Department was set up by the County Council to deal with this work under the leadership of a Civil Defence Officer. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 gave fresh impetus to the development of Civil Defence activities. A recruitment drive for part time volunteers was initiated together with the construction of air raid shelters and the establishment of rest centres. It was anticipated, given what had happened in the First World War, that poison gas would be used so gas masks were issued. First Aid Posts were set up and trenches built in open spaces. The Middlesex County Council area was incorporated into the London Civil Defence Region to form Group 6. The Civil Defence Act 1939 gave further responsibilities to the local authorities. On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 a civil defence organisation was in being, although not equipped or ready for active service.

Evacuation plans for children and mothers were first drawn up in the late 1930s. The prime movers in this were the London County Council and the government, as Middlesex County Council was not responsible for all education provision at that date. The boroughs of Action, Edmonton, Hornsey, Tottenham and Willesden were included in the plans, and later also Enfield, Ealing, Brentford and Chiswick. Evacuation took place from 1-4 September 1939 and by this date many people had already left London privately. As no enemy bombing started in 1939 many evacuees returned to the capital before the end of the year and did not leave again until the start of the Blitz in September 1940.

Bombing in Middlesex began on 12 July 1940 and the whole of the county was badly affected by the Blitz (September 1940 - May 1941). There was a lull in bombing between May 1941 and 1944 with only sporadic attacks. During this period a degree of reorganisation took place within the Civil Defence services. The stretcher party service was amalgamated with the rescue service, wardens were given First Aid training. Emergency feeding was established by the Home Office and its use pioneered in Middlesex with the Red Cross who equipped and staffed empty houses and then housed homeless people and those suffering from shock. In the summer of 1944 attacks from flying bombs and long range rockets began (V1s and V2s) and Middlesex suffered early on and badly from these. 16,000 casualties were recorded. Notable incidents included 29 September 1940 daylight attack (target presumed to be Northolt Airport), when 200 high explosive bombs were dropped on area around Ruislip Road, Ealing; 30 November 1940 133 high explosive bombs dropped in a night raid on Twickenham and 13 February 1941 housing estate bombed near the Welsh Harp, Hendon.

The Civil Defence (Suspension of Powers) Act, 1945, suspended some provisions of the Civil Defence Acts 1937 and 1939, notably the obligations the local authorities had to prepare air raid precaution schemes, build shelters, train civil defence volunteers and organise the blackout. Full time civil defence staff were no longer required. The Middlesex County Council Air Raid Precautions Officer's Department was dissolved and its remaining duties undertaken by the Clerk's Department and County Treasurer's Department. The Home Office continued to encourage the activities of local Civil Defence branches of volunteers. These branches were strong in the Middlesex local districts so the County Council appointed honorary liaison officers to work with the branches. This work continued until the passing of the Civil Defence Act 1947.

The Civil Defence organisation stood down after the Second World War ended in 1945. In December 1948 the Civil Defence Act 1947 came into force and the County Council again received civil defence responsibilities. The new Act had been passed as an attempt to offer a measure of protection to the civilian population in the event of another war and in particular to tackle the new atomic warfare. The functions of the County Council fell into two areas: the organisation of the Middlesex Division of the Civil Defence Corps and the preparation of plans for the operation of certain war-time services The Civil Defence Committee sat again and a small Civil Defence Department was established under the County Civil Defence Officer. The County Council was again made responsible for the five areas of Hertfordshire within the Metropolitan Police District.

The County Council was responsible for the enrolment and training of volunteers to make up the Middlesex Defence Corps. The Civil Defence Committee decided at a very early stage that the lower tier authorities should play a large role in civil defence and be responsible for enrolling and training volunteers under the County Council's supervision. It was felt that a better response would be received from the general public if volunteers were organised locally. The local authorities were arranged into three sub-groups - Group A: Barnet, Cheshunt, East Barnet, Edmonton, Enfield, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Hornsey, Potters Bar, Southgate, Tottenham, Wood Green; Group B: Bushey, Elstree, Harrow, Hendon, Rusilip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Wembley, Willesden and Group C: Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, Ealing, Feltham, Hayes and Harlington, Heston and Isleworth, Southall, Staines, Sunbury-on-Thames, Twickenham, Yiewsley and West Drayton. The Corps was divided by the Civil Defence Act into five sections; headquarters; warden; ambulance and casualty collecting; rescue; welfare. Recruitment began in November 1949 and by the end of the year 8,579 members had been enrolled. The County Council retained the responsibility for ensuring that the instructors were trained. Qualifications could be obtained at Home Office Technical Training Schools.