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Dear Sonia

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your mother so early in life.  I know it's very difficult growing up without having a picture of your mother in your mind.

At present we have only tracked down staff who worked there from 1979 until 1995, though we do intend to keep on trying.  Due to Hatton being such a large institution, we have found it very difficult to get specific information on my mother, especially in the early years that she was there, the 1940's and 50's.

I have gone to the Warwick Records Office to request information on my mother.  I am still waiting for their reply.  When they do reply I'll let you know how useful their search has been, what type of information we have received.

I hope we can be of mutual support to each other in our correspondence.

Kind regards

Robtim

I have just had a reply from cath151 to a message I wrote to her about Hatton.  I have copied her reply so that others have the chance to see it.  I am relieved to keep on hearing about the community spirit there.

Thanks very much,

Robtim

Hi Robtim,
Both my mum and dad worked there occasionally my dad was a lab technician and my mum a medical secretary  (in the 1940s) . I m not sure how long they worked there, not long I think.
We lived a couple of miles away. Unfortunately i can t ask as they ve both passed away  and they said very little about it really. My Grandma died there and she had alzheimers or some form of dementia.
I think at one stage it was nt a very pleasant place to be but became a much much more patient friendly place in later years.
My mum said there where people there who should never have been there , for petty crimes ,very minor mental problems etc.
They tended the gardens and grew vegetables and a couple where well known in the area, absconding occasionally. In fact my dad chased a patient for about a mile  until he was thwarted when the unfortunate? ( I think not!) fellow stripped and swam the canal.
My mums abiding memory is arriving the first day and having to ride her bike up a long slow hill with residents cutting the hedges with massive billhooks, she was a bit worried but said she soon learnt that they were just unlucky and unfortunate to be there. Sorry to hear your Mother was there for such a time, i can t really say what life was like for her   , but there were staff there who cared greatly for the residents in later years ( and I m sure ,before that).
  Perhaps a look round on the web and you may find some info, there may be possible sources of records somewhere, especially if you are a relative.
Best wishes
Cathy

I recently found out that my unmarried mother was admitted to Hatton Mental Hospital shortly after my birth, during the war years.  I was brought up in care and discouraged from seeking out the truth.  Social Workers led me to believe that she had got married and had more children.  I didn't want to upset her new life.  My mother was at Hatton from the 1940's until the hospital closed in 1995.  She died in 1997 so I never met her.  I would like to know more about life at Hatton for patients at that time.  I would like to know whether they had jobs, their daily routine, whether they celebrated birthdays, whether they were taken for days out?  I would like more specific information on the welfare of my mother during her time at Hatton but I don't know if ex-staff would be allowed to discuss a former patient.  I have purchased a book called Central Hospital Remembered.  I have been in touch with the NHS, but her records have been destroyed.  I am also in touch with Warwick Records Office where they are searching for information about her.

If anyone does have any information about patients at Hatton Hospital from 1940's until 1995 I would be very interested.