Disability History Festival: Mike Mantin - '‘Leisure, Play and Sport in Schools for Disabled and Deaf Children in the 19th and early 20th Centuries’

A recording of a public talk by Dr Mike Mantin. Part of our Disability History Festival for the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea. Although the popular image of Victorian and Edwardian special education was one of drab, indoor learning routines, there was also an important role for leisure, play and sport. This talk will explore its history using records from the Chailey Heritage School in Sussex and the Cambrian Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Swansea. Sports days for disabled children, the supposed ‘pure’ healing powers of outdoor play and fears of flirtation at Deaf athletics meetings will all be uncovered.