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Mystery at Lennox Castle.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:17 pm
by Elke
Hello to you all!
I would like to solve a problem which has darkened my life over the decades, and which has very much to do with Glasgow, therefore I post my query here.
If another forum would be more suitable, please moderator, can you move it?

I lived with my young family in Pussil Park until 1963, and had my third son Peter on October, 15th 1957 in the Maternity Hospital of the old Lennox Castle, which was mainly a hospital for the mentally handicapped, a very large one indeed.
I have searched all websites I found about Lennox Castle, but cannot find a solution to my problem, I hope an older person, a woman perhaps who also had a baby there at that time, or someone who belonged to the staff of the hospital can help me.

This is what I know that happened: when my little Peter was three days old one of the inmates of the mental wards seems to have attacked several babies. The mothers were not informed what exactly had happened but my Peter was taken to The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. His Dad went to see him there, but held me back to go to see Peter, I was quite ill, and had two other boys to look after, and my husband said I should not see what state our baby was in. I know that my husband threatened to sue the hospital in Lennox Castle, but someone ( a doctor?) told him not to even start because it would cost him every penny he had, and he would not win.

Rumours were running wild, at one time it was said that five of the babies had actually died from the attack - I don't know.
Our Peter had very bad head injuries, and spent a long time in Edinburgh.
He is now nearly 50 years old, and I am still concerned and bewildered as to what happened in Lennox Castle on or around the 18th, of October 1957?

Can anyone help with information?

Could one of you direct me onto the website of a Glasgow Newspaper which I could read online, perhaps an edition of around that time, please?

Thank you very much in advance.

Kind regards across the sea from Germany where I live now.

Elke

PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:58 pm
by Margaret
Write to
Mr Alistair Tough
Greater Glasgow NHS Board Archivist
Archive Services
University of Glasgow
77-87 Dumbarton Road
Glasgow G11 6PW
Scotland
U.K.

With as much information including specific dates.
Medical records have a 75 year closure but you should be able to access your own records.
If the records still exist Alistair Tough will be able to tell you.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:10 pm
by Josef
Margaret wrote:Medical records have a 75 year closure but you should be able to access your own records.


Are you sure, Margaret? I thought that records were commonly destroyed within 5-10 years of death?

PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:47 pm
by Margaret
Not all records are available. I don't know if there was a system for destroying records but I have been able to access some medical records for ancestors in line with family history research. i.e. my great grandmother's from 1900.
I found out about the 75 year closure rule when my mother, who was adopted at birth, met her brother for the first time when they were aged 70 & 71. They wanted to access their mother's hospital records from their births.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:50 am
by MadMac
I'm interested in this, I was born in Lennox Castle on November 4th that year. I'll talk to my mother about it.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:43 am
by Margaret
Have a look at this site


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/sjay.macl/BookOfLennoxCastle/

There is a link on the site to "Hidden Glasgow" so no doubt many of you have already seen it

Mystery at Lennox Castle

PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 5:37 pm
by Elke
Thank you very much Margaret, Josef, and Mad Mac!

I am already composing my letter to the archivist, Margaret - what a tangible advice, I am very grateful to you.
Also for the URL about the 'Book of Lennox Castle' which is of course about the building and the opening of the Institution, but nevertheless very interesting.

If you would remember to ask your Mum if she at that time had heard anything about what shortly before her stay in the Maternity Wing had happened, Mad Mac I would appreciate it very much.

Josef, I hope Margaret is right about the time that records are kept by the NHS.

Thank you all very much.

Please anbody else, if you have just the slightest idea what else could help me in my efforts to draw light to these shadows in my past, come forward. Thank you!

Elke

PostPosted: Sun Nov 12, 2006 9:34 pm
by DVF

Mystery at Lennox Castle

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:53 pm
by Elke
Thank you DVF - what an interesting video.
My eyesight is not all that good, but my friend went through it with me.

Kind regards
Elke

Mystery at Lennox Castle

PostPosted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:56 pm
by Elke
Hello MadMac,
MadMac wrote:I'm interested in this, I was born in Lennox Castle on November 4th that year. I'll talk to my mother about it.


Have you had a chance to speak to your mother yet?

Cheerio for now
Elke

PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:03 pm
by MadMac
Elke,

Sorry it tok so long - I spoke to my mother about this yesterday, she has no recollection of any incident like that. It may well have been "covered up" by the authorities of the time.

Mystery at Lennox Castle

PostPosted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:35 am
by Elke
Hello Mad Mac,
thank you for getting in to the forum on this subject again, even if you did not have news for me. I appreciate the effort.

In the meantime I have been in touch with the archivar in Glasgow and matters are at least moving although there is no explanation yet.

I will come back to the forum in due course and let you and all the others know the results.

Have a nice Sunday and a lovely 'Advent'

Elke

PostPosted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 11:27 pm
by alibali b
Hi Elke i was born in Lennox Castle in 1961 it was a running joke in my family that i was such an ugly baby the inmates left me alone.My mother later told me that inmates of the mental hospital often came to the wards tried to take babies hit them and tried to kill them.my brother was born the following year my mother waited to long to go to hospital because she was frightened he was born at home.Some of the information on this forum is intresting i might look some of this up. Take care be lucky

PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 11:29 pm
by ninatoo
Elke,

I saw your most recent post about this and was wondering if you had placed a query at the following site?

http://www.talkingscot.com/

The people there are genealogists, but there are some who know a great deal about how to go about finding information. Good luck!

Nina

Mystery at Lennox Castle

PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:29 pm
by Elke
Hello to you all!
You may remember my question (from Nov. last year) about what happened at Lennox Castle in October 1957 when my newly born son seems to have been attacked by an inmate of the psychiatric wards there.

I was very grateful to all who tried to help, especially to you Margaret.
You pointed me into the direction of the NHS Archivar Mr. Alistair Tough.
He helped as good as he could. Sent me protocols about Lennox Castle, and named the address of the archives in Edinburgh because that is where my baby was taken to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children.

The people there were very friendly too, but finally I received the message that hospital records are only kept for 25 years and therefore no assistance could be given to me.

The only straw I can cling to is the information I received now from the Glasgow archives that I myself was admitted on Oct.15th, 1957, and discharged on October 26th.

'Baby Currie (my Peter) admitted 15th, October 1957, newly born - discharged 25th, October 1957.

Who releases a newly born child a day before the mother, where did he go? There is no record of him having been transferred to Edinburgh, but his Dad went there during the following weeks and visited his battered baby son.

As you are all interested in the history of your home city - has anyone an idea where I could go from here?

Instead of calming down I am getting more and more agitated. I want to know what happened at Lennox Castle, and as I said before I do believe my baby was not the only one hurt, in fact there was talk that one or two babies had been killed.

Could there be anything in old newspapers? Where would I find that out? Preferably through the Internet as I am handicapped due to having had one leg amputated a few years ago, and being nearly blind due to diabetes.
I had this illness even as a young mother, that is why I did not have the strength to ask too many questions at the time, and I had two other little boys to look after at home.

Please help me someone. Someone who has the knowledge how to go about this, or someone who even remembers the incident.

I would be ever so grateful.


Elke