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The old Middlewood Hospital history/records etc

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I am posting this in the hope that I may save some of you some money. I had a relative who was in Middlewood Hospital from 1938 until she died in 1994. I jumped through all the hoops required of me to be able to access her medical case file. You have to go through Sheffield Archives for them to do the search on your behalf. The whole thing took over 2 months and cost me £40.50 and all I have found out is that her condition was congenital. They tell me her case file has not survived. There was no mention of this being a possibility when I applied. I assumed that the records were all intact - especially for someone who spent almost her entire life there.

So if you are looking for similar information be aware that you could be just throwing your money away for nothing. I do think that a warning should be given that some records are missing for whatever reason. Good luck.

 

Grannypat

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Any one remember Barry Hobson, Elaine Donald, June Naylor, Gloria Fearnley all nurses at Middlewood in the early sixties

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HI Lady Saffron.....I am Mike Turner who lives in Canada. I left Middlewood in 1975 and was a Chargenurse on nights. I trained from 1959-1962.I am married to Margaret Burgar,who was a dental nurse/chairside assistant in the hospital dental department. In Canada I worked in several hospitals in Edmonton,and retired as a senior Nursing Supervisor.I think you were thinking of a different Mike.......Mike Turner.

 

Hi Mike,

Are you and Margaret still living in Canada?

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we used to live opposite the hospital in Stockarth lane my mum and sister both worked at the hospital my sister as a receptionist and telephonist and My mother as a nurse. My mother first worked for the Dentist there who's name was Mr Franklin. She later became an enrolled nurse and worked there for many years her name was Joan Dyson. I went to live in Australia and the rest of the family moved over here later on. My Mother only died 3 years ago two weeks short of her 90th birthday. I played football with a very successful team there until I went to Australia.She always spoke very fondly of the hospital and the people she worked with

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Be careful or thall end up in Middlewood...

 

That saying doesn't apply now does it.! They went and built houses on the site.!

 

Do the owners of them houses know about what went on there?..

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We used to visit Middlewood when I was at school (Hind House). We would sit and talk to the patients while they were doing things. One time one a patient got upset and started throwing things a nurse took us into a room while they sorted it out. I remember a woman telling me that she had been there for 30 years because she'd had a baby this was in 1970 so she would have been admitted in 1940. I'd say she was in her mid 40s I thought it was very sad. My mum told me that young women were sent to places like middlewood for nothing more than getting pregnant and they were institutionalised after years of being locked away.

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I worked and trained at Middlewood. There were as you say, women who were sent there because they became pregnant when unmarried and forgotten about. As a result there were men and women who had been born there and never left so never diagnosed as being mentally ill.

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I think people forget that Middlewood Hospital was at some point A Military Hosp. When I was doing my conscription I was taken ill while on leave and was admitted there on doctors orders, I also remember an officer coming with my pay. It seems to me the Military aspect of it dates way back, maybe first world war and beyond. fleetwood

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Wharncliffe War Hospital which later became a hospital within the Middlewood site. My husband had an op there in the 1960s

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“maybe first world war and beyond. fleetwood”

 

My grandmother was a patient from about 1906 until she died in the 1930s.

During the 1stWW, she was moved to Storthes Hall in Huddersfield (now part of the university) and then to a place in Lincolnshire. After the war, she came back to Middlewood Hospital.

Edited by susie1
Typo

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I worked and trained at Middlewood. There were as you say, women who were sent there because they became pregnant when unmarried and forgotten about. As a result there were men and women who had been born there and never left so never diagnosed as being mentally ill.

 

 

The first ward I worked on as a Student Nurse in 1977 had a patient who’s mother was pregnant and unmarried. He was very old when I nursed him and had spent his whole life in Middlewood.

 

Feels like a social history lesson this thread.

 

---------- Post added 12-05-2018 at 05:41 ----------

 

Does anyone remember Joan Cheshire? She is my gran and worked at middlewood for years and years probably in the early 60s to late 70s/ 80s.

 

 

A few years too late but I remember Joan well. Joan is/was a really lovely person and great to work with. How is she ?

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