| Description | The Right Reverend Monsignor Newsome was born Thomas Aldhelm Newsome in 1880, Birmingham, Warwickshire. His parents were Thomas W and Agnes Newsome who were the superintendent and matron of St Philips Orphanage respectively. He attended St Mary’s Roman Catholic College in Oscott, Birmingham. Following this had his first position at St Patrick’s, Walsall beginning in 1905 followed by a position at St Francis of Assisi until about 1911. From 1911 to 1914 he had the mission of Ashley at Our Blessed Lady and St John the Baptist.
From 1914 he was involved in the development and administration of Besford Court, which he continued to be involved in for much of his life. Donations were sought for the completion and furnishing of the facilities in 1917. The school was only open to Catholic children. By the beginning of 1918 there were twenty-six children and by December of that year there were seventy-six children. Newsome was strongly of the view that children should not be threatened or physically punished.
In 1924 he travelled to the United States to learn about practices that could be useful at Besford Court. There, he visited both the Rockefeller Foundation and the National Committee for Mental Hygiene. Newsome was given the Apostolic Blessing by the Pope in 1927. He had a number of publications relating to Besford Court. The Story of Besford Court (1927), ‘The Method and Spirit of Besford Court: The Problem of Mental Defect’ – a monograph for the British Medical Association visit in 1932, ‘Sterilisation and Mental Defect’ (1933) and ‘Besford Booklets’ on ‘Medical and Nursing Problems of an Institute for Medium and High-grade Mental Defectives’ and ‘Gland Imbalance and Mental Deficiency’ (both 1934).
He died in Beaconsfield in 1942 at the age of 62.
Contents: Evidence regarding of Monsignor Newsome, Besford Court, regarding ‘Sterilisation and mental defect’, 1933. |