MP backs call for a national mental health memorial for Britain's "Lost Souls"
Calls grow for a new memorial to be created, similar to that of the Unknown Soldier following our investigation.
Last updated 8th Jul 2025
Our investigation into the fate of a quarter of a million graves belonging to people who died in the Victorian mental asylum era has sparked calls for a new national memorial to remember them.
Our Lost Souls investigation, headed by MFR's Senior Correspondent Mick Coyle, lifted the lid on what's been described as a "national scandal" and a "national shame".
It found many of the sites where people were buried without headstones now lie neglected, forgotten or in some cases have been sold off.
The bodies were placed 3-4 deep, and only marked by a number, but over time even those have been lost.
Mick Coyle's investigation heard from historians, researchers, and families of those who lay in these so-called "pauper lunatic" graves.
Now, there are calls for a national memorial to be created to honour the "Lost Souls": to act as a focal point for those who've been forgotten, and as a clear national symbol that their lives have been recognised.
Calls for national memorial for forgotten asylum patients
Danny Chambers is the Lib Dem Spokesperson for Mental Health.
After hearing about the investigation he told us: "A lot of people will be shocked by this, thanks for bringing this to my awareness.
"It's a national shame how we've treated people with mental illness throughout history.
"People are now tracing family trees and want to know who these people are and now to find they've been erased from history, or that someone's tried to erase them from history, is really concerning and quite tragic.
Read the full story on our Lost Souls investigation
"Those sites that still exist should be treated with the same level of respect and reverence as any other grave site. People should be able to access it, and if they can trace their loved ones visit them and pay their respects."
Danny believes a new national memorial for so-called 'pauper lunatics' would be a fitting tribute, and represent a much more modern way of looking at the issue of mental health, adding: "We don't know the names of all these people, and for some of them we'll never be able to find them now.
"But we still do this in the military, we have the memorial to the Unknown Soldier and I think a national memorial could do the same for these 'pauper lunatics'."
Alongside that, campaigners we've spoken want to empower local communities to adopt and repair local grave sites, so that they can be protected and enhanced to provide educational information and resources for people exploring their family trees.
One example, at High Royds Cemetery in West Yorkshire, saw a group of volunteers create an award winning memorial garden for those who died at the local asylum.
Read full details of our investigation into the Lost Souls including links to where you can find out more about local asylums.