ABSTRACT
While the army had been willing to employ large numbers of psychiatrists in relatively influential positions during the war, the return to peace saw traditional prejudices resurface. As early as September 1945 Brigadier Sandiford expressed concern ‘about the future of psychiatry in the [Royal Army Medical] Corps’. He estimated that 60 to 70 psychiatrists were needed to provide adequate cover for the post-war army at home and overseas, but calculated that there were no more than two or three regular officers with relevant experience who would continue to serve once the hostilities had ended (Sandiford, 1945b). Civilian psychiatrists, who had volunteered in a spirit of patriotism, were keen to re-establish themselves in what promised to be a state-run health service. By November 1945 many experienced psychiatrists had been discharged and to fill the gap a scheme of short-service commissions for specialists was agreed. Formal recognition, if not unqualified approval, of the specialism followed in 1946 when a Department of Army Psychiatry was created within the Royal Army Medical College at Millbank (Pozner, 1961).
