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St Margarets Hospital - Great Barr

jan that could be sandys fathers death...she cant find one for his uncle william frank palser about 10 years ago ...i will have a look later unless you can find it
 
The references are from the GRO if you want to risk buying the death cert. However, a phone call or email to Yardley might help first. I did look for St Margaret's records and those that exist are at Walsall Records office but are subject to 100 year closure.
 
I was at St Margaret's School in the 1976 (70-76 I think) and was very aware of the hospital. My best friend's stepdad was a psychiatrist there, his name was Tom Couston. He sadly died while I was still at school. There were two modern houses at the start of the drive way to the hospital, next to the church. My friend Nick and his family lived in one of them. I was a frequent visitor to the house and I remember on one occasion we were allowed to ride into the hospital on our bikes. Sad to say my memory isn't very clear, but I do remember the feeling of surprise at the expanse of the place and it being so green. I also think I remember being chased on our bikes by a male patient, who Nick knew to be harmless, but being frightened none the less.

A lot of what's been said on this site chimes with me. The hospital was definitely a source of fear and intrigue to us at school. As a child I didn't reflect on the lives of the patients but as an adult I very much have. I've been researching my family tree recently and have discovered I had a Great Aunt at the hospital. Her name was Edith Gladys Moore and she is recorded as living there in the 1939 survey. Like all the patients listed, in the 'occupation column' there are the words 'mentally defective'.

This discovery confirmed a longstanding family story about my paternal Grandfather having a sister at the hospital. He was estranged from his family and never talked about them to anyone. Through my research I have found that he was the youngest of four children, which was news to my own father, his son. We have never known the reason for this estrangement, although there was some speculation it was down to my Grandmother, who forbade him from seeing them as they 'lived in a slum'.

The story hinged on two things. First, my Dad's brother bought my Grandparents' house from them in I think the 1950s. One day a letter arrived for Mr B Moore. It was opened in error as it was thought to be for my Uncle. In fact it was for my Grandfather, whose name was William but was known as Bill. It seemed to be from a child on the basis of the handwriting and content, but apparently it was clear it was from my Grandfather's sister.

The second part of the story is that my Grandad picked up my Mum and Dad in his car one day as their motorbike had broken down. He was wearing a black tie and was very evasive when my Dad jokingly asked if he'd been to a funeral. The assumption has always been that it was his sister's funeral but I have now found that his Mother died in 1961, which fits with the time. So it could have been either.

It's made me very sad to find out about Edith Gladys. Especially as it's quite possible she was still there when I was at school. And she almost certainly was there when my Dad was at the same school in the 1940s. Sad also to find that her sister Lily looks to have died in 1918 at the age of 19, and her brother Charles Wilfred in 1929 aged 28. I know absolutely nothing about Edith Gladys and am wondering whether there's any way I can find out more. I think her records will be subject to 100 year disclosure.

Thanks and apologies for the relatively long post!
 
This is very much a long shot. I'm trying to find information about my Father who told me he used to work as a Hospital Porter at St Margaret's Hospital just after the 2WW but I can find no trace of him there in any of the paperwork I have here. His life is a bit of a mystery between 1940 - 1945 when he would have been in his early teens. He did live very locally so if anyone remembers a Stanley Whale working there or where I can find hospital records I'd love to know.
 
burbngrips said:
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions,My Sister was Tracey Jane Rowe,Tracey passed away in 2006,Tracey spent majority of her life in St Margarets until she was moved to Springside in Pelsall,
I only have memories of my Sister,no photographs,as far as i'm aware Tracey spent her life on Chase and Derby ward,
Unfortunately now St Margarets and Springside have both closed i have no idea who to get in touch with in regards to finding photographic evidence of my Sister,Needle in a haystack springs to mind,Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Pete.
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Hi I worked on Chase home and nursed your sister Tracy ,I loved my time at St Margarets where I worked for many years I was 17 when I started working there.We would take them on holiday and I have photographs of Tracy from my time at St MARGARETS and when on holiday.
 
burbngrips said:
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions,My Sister was Tracey Jane Rowe,Tracey passed away in 2006,Tracey spent majority of her life in St Margarets until she was moved to Springside in Pelsall,
I only have memories of my Sister,no photographs,as far as i'm aware Tracey spent her life on Chase and Derby ward,
Unfortunately now St Margarets and Springside have both closed i have no idea who to get in touch with in regards to finding photographic evidence of my Sister,Needle in a haystack springs to mind,Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Pete.
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Hi I don't know if you got message nursed your sister and have photographs of her at St Margarets and on holiday.i worked at St Margarets from age 17 for 14 years loved it.hope you get this and I can give you photos of Tracy.
 
burbngrips said:
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions,My Sister was Tracey Jane Rowe,Tracey passed away in 2006,Tracey spent majority of her life in St Margarets until she was moved to Springside in Pelsall,
I only have memories of my Sister,no photographs,as far as i'm aware Tracey spent her life on Chase and Derby ward,
Unfortunately now St Margarets and Springside have both closed i have no idea who to get in touch with in regards to finding photographic evidence of my Sister,Needle in a haystack springs to mind,Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Pete.
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Hi Pete , I used to work on Chase home and I loved it.i used to look after Tracy and we would take them on holiday to hotel lesley in Kent.i have photos of Tracy on the ward and on holiday.if you get in touch I can let you have them.
 
burbngrips said:
Unfortunately, the same can be said for the children that spent their lives at St Margarets,My sister was born mentally and physically handicapped in 1965 a year younger than me,i think from 1967 onwards she spent her life at St Margarets until it closed down,Then got moved to a unit in Pelsall.Every age group was catered for at St Margarets, In todays society a child born mentally and physically handicapped would be sat at home with their family,Looking back i now realise that medically, hospital was the best place for my sister,we used to go and visit my sister every week when i was very young,i have fond vivid memories of playing with the other children when on a visit,it was like a family environment there.St Margarets was labelled many different things over it's lifetime,but for me it was just a hospital.
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Is your name Pete who had a sister on Chase home.Tracy Rowe?
 
You can't do any more - unless he has opted for email notification. In that case he might see it and come back on here. Great pity.
 
I have recently found out that most patients who died in St Margaret's Hospital were buried in St Margaret's Church, Chapel Lane, Great Barr. There is a plaque somewhere in the church yard. I am waiting to hear exactly where a relative of mine was buried. She was a resident for 70 years at least. Told that most records were destroyed. According to the death certificate Great Barr was under Walsall at the time in 1991. There is a list of patients on the 1939 Register.
Di
 
SandyAFT said:
Hiya,
Does anyone know when Joseph Birch died or how I could find out?
Thank you.
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hi sandy..could you post your enquiry under our surname interests of the forum please and if possible give us a bit more information about joseph birch

lyn
 
I went to Beeches Road school, and have mentioned this before. I recall the murder, and as we were not far from the Asylum, we had to hurry straight home after the school closed for the day.
 
My grandfather, Sidney Abnett, used to be the hospital's head nurse. I worked in the hospital for two months (school holidays) in 1973 in a ward that specialised in severe mental disability (mental age five and under). My memories of the time are vague, but I'll answer any questions I can.
 
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