ABSTRACT
This description by Patricia Potts of the career of Dame Evelyn Fox illustrates how much influence voluntary initiatives could have on local and central government committees, how they allocated resources, co-ordinated services and made significant changes in the legal status of the mentally deficient. It also illustrates how the training of relevant professionals was organised, officially recognised and rewarded; and how piecemeal was the way in which a system of special education developed, with the impetus frequently coming from voluntary associations.
