ABSTRACT
Based on interviews that can be found in the archives, as well as published memoirs and a monthly newsletter established by a group of members, this chapter turns to the actual users of the centre. It highlights their motives and their interpretations of the Peckham Experiment. As the chapter reveals, these motives and interpretations were very heterogeneous. Some individuals showed little interest in the research aspects of the Pioneer Health Centre, enjoying their spare time dancing or swimming, while taking advantage of the centre’s nursery. Others were extremely interested in its scientific side and the medical information available to them. Some members were even framing their own lives according to the doctors’ developing theories, feeding these back as social norms into the centre. The chapter concludes by pointing to the fact that even though “Peckham” was an astonishingly democratic place, there were definite limits to the members’ freedom. This is revealed by a close look at the doctors’ interventions regarding the “Centre school” that was set up by some members after the war.
