Organisational names in Edwardian times were not intended to fit on Twitter! Always known by its significantly shorter acronym ‘WNMA’, the body was set up in 1910 by David Davies of Llandinam, as a national memorial following the passing of King Edward VII – who of the scourge of Tuberculosis (TB) had famously challenged leaders of the day by questioning: “if curable, then why not cured?”
By the time the Temple of Peace & Health was opened in 1938, the WNMA had grown to become one of the most respected health bodies in Europe and the Empire, and a world leader on causes and cures of TB. The WNMA occupied the south wing of the Temple from 1938-46, when in the aftermath of WW2 it became the NHS Transitional Authority in Wales, and was tasked with overseeing the merger of existing health provisions and services to create Wales National Health Service.
Following absorption into the NHS, the WNMA’s role as the ‘health’ arm of the Temple was succeeded by the Wales Hospitals Board (WHB, 1946-73), South Glamorgan Health Authority (SGHA, 1973-2006) and Public Health Wales (2006-2016).
Although few records remain in the Temple of Peace from the year’s of the WNMA’s occupation, this page has been curated to draw together sources and resources on the history of the organisation, and links to known archive materials.
