The Hidden Glasgow Forums

Not much use, maybe, except to discount it, but I looked up The Kirkintilloch Herald online, their archives only go back to 2000. It might be worth looking into their physical archives, if you maybe have somebody who could do the work for you? I'm sorry to hear of your ill health, and your situation. I didn't even realise Lennox Castle had ever had a Maternity unit. Good luck with it all.

Thank you for trying, Lynnski. No I have nobody in the Glasgow area, and my relatives in other parts of Scotland are now old - but thanks for your good wishes.

Elke

Thank you very much Ninatoo!
What a wonderful website you sent as a link. I have visited there, and registered, and shall within in the next few days ask there for advice.

I really have hope to meet the right people there. I will post any success here.

Kind regards
Elke

Elke
I work with someone who used to work in the castle as did her mother from the mid fifties. My colleague had never heard this story and asked her mother who hadn't either.
Lennoxtown and Campsie are a close-knit community and I very much doubt if an incident such as you described could have happened without it being talked about outside the hospital.

I have in my possession the annual reports for 1957; 1958 and 1959 of the Stirlingshire and Clackmannan Constabulary, which force covered the area of Lennoxtown, and there is absolutely no mention of any incident having occurred at Lennox Castle, which seems to rule out any crime having taken place there.

Edinburgh University hold the archives for RHSC Edinburgh, so any reference made in official materials may be held there. The other options would be to contact the Evening News with an appeal for information from Staff who worked there, who would mostly be in late 70's now I guess.

Thank you qochasco and dmf for your postings.

I am quite a few steps further now and I can assure you there were several incidents at the Lennox Castle Mental Home, the biggest being in 1957 when twenty men ran riot.
They attacked staff and later firemen, breaking all the windows in one of the villas, also urinals and such pulled out of the walls, causing thousands of pounds of damage.

You can read about it in the archives of the Kirkintilloch Herald, it was publicised in this paper at the time.

Or look here:

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resourc ... p?id=41981

at this video, if you are interested.

Kind regards
Elke

Thank you Dave, yes I will keep that in mind the Evening News, you do mean a TV program or a Newspaper?

Elke


The research done by Howard Mitchel is very interesting, isn't it?

Elke wrote: .................
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?

.........................................

Elke

I'd imagine, if 5 babies died, there'd be death certificates held somewhere. Kirkintilloch? Falkirk? I dunno either.

I meant as in Evening newspapers, sorry, in Stirlingshire, East Dumbartonshire and Glasgow - maybe even the weekly Freesheets - write a letter (Gnerally these sections are called "Letters to the Editor") explaining the events you believe happened as succinctly as you can (local newspapers often edit letters to make them fit) and asking any readers to contact you. Maybe by email to save giving your address / phone number into the public domain. Also enclose a cover note to the Editor saying that if any journalist would like to contact you, they can contact you by phone -state that you don't want the number published - and in this letter put your background enquiries made so far and some of the personal story behind your investigation.

Its not the kind of story they will necessarily follow up immediately, but may work on as a slow burner for a few weeks then put it in the paper on a 'slow' news day.

As a separate issue, we should be carfeful not to judge the standards of care provided in 1957 to mental hospital patients with those we expect in 2007. That is not to excuse anyone's action, but simply we did not have the range or drugs and understanding of disease processes that we do now. Thus many diagnoses were incorrect, and many patients were on medication which made them more ill, and indeed in many cases, the medication made them psychotic, rather than their underlying condition.

This si not to downplay the events which happened to you, but the advances in maternity care which would mean that hopefully a woman in a similar condition today can be in hospital for a relatively short time after birth, and receive targetted care, the NHS has learned many lessons in the past 50 years about hospital layout, centralisation of certain services, best practice in care of mentally ill patients and hospital security / safety.

Thus while the events of 1957 are tragic, and may need to be elucidated for individual 'satisfaction', the lessons will hopefully have been learned, and there may be little interest from the media, in the sense that there is no modern story in it - no apologies from the Scottish Executive etc.

Hello Dave,
thank you very much for your further information, I will follow your advice.

(Also I learned an English word new to me which I always enjoy.
Succinctly meaning short and quick - thank you.)

About your last posting - yes I do know how different care and nursing is practiced nowadays, and what great progress has taken place in medical science. I myself have gained immensely from it with my diabetes which I have had from childhood.
While thirteen years ago a leg had to be amputated but when the same trouble set in recently in the other leg, doctors could fit
a valve to better circulation, and I am so happy about it.


Thank you for all your efforts on my behalf.

Elke

Hello Everyone,

This single thread has made me join the forum - I'd love to get to the bottom of this. Do we have any more information since April 2007?

Hi I’m Audrey been reading this thread as I too was born there Oct 1961 I wasn’t sure why there because all other kids were born in local hospitals but having read some of this case and reply’s saying it would be noted in the newspaper if there were wrong doings , I came across this
Names of buried disabled children unearthed in mass graves revealed

DOZENS of severely disabled children were buried in mass graves by the state after they died in Scottish psychiatric hospitals.

By BEN BORLAND
00:01, Sat, Sep 16, 2017 | UPDATED: 20:11, Sat, Sep 16, 2017







7
Mental
NC
Dozens of severely disabled children were buried in mass graves by the state
Youngsters from the infamous Lennox Castle Hospital in Lennoxtown, Stirlingshire, were laid to rest as recently as 1975 in a sprawling paupers’ plot alongside hundreds of adult patients.

The names of the children can be revealed publicly today for the first time as the only memorial to the dead is a small carved inscription on the wall of an abandoned churchyard.

In addition, our investigation has found children from at least two other psychiatric hospitals in the Glasgow area were buried in unmarked graves.

The revelation adds weight to the calls for the disturbing history of common burials for children in care to be examined by the Scottish child abuse inquiry.

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Last week, new research revealed up to 400 children who died at the Smyllum Park children who died at the Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanark had been buried in an unmarked grave in the town.

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A memorial to the forgotten orphans was erected at St Mary’s Cemetery in 2004 after the scandal was first exposed, although it was previously thought that only 120 children were buried there.

However, the most recent burial by the nuns of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul – who are also accused of beating and abusing their terrified charges – was in 1964.

Remarkably, it can now be shown that the practice continued for more than a decade after this date for children who died while in the care of the NHS.

Alan Draper, from the In Care Abuse Survivors (Incas) campaign group, said it was now “imperative” that Lady Smith and her inquiry team examine Lennox Castle Hospital and other such institutions.

As this newspaper has revealed, there is evidence disabled youngsters were subjected to medical experiments while they were in these hospitals.

HospitalNC
Youngsters from the infamous Lennox Castle Hospital in Lennoxtown were buried as recently as 1975
There are even claims that these drug trials and the testing of barbaric psychiatric techniques such as sleep deprivation and repetition were linked to a CIA-funded programme exposed in the USA many decades ago.

Mr Draper said: “It is a situation that must be explored. We asked for medical experimentation to be included in the terms of the inquiry and now it is subject to survivors and family members coming forward.

“The mass grave at Smyllum is not a new story and Incas has held a memorial service at the cemetery for many years, but the paucity of records meant that until now the extent of the burials was not known.

“It is imperative that Lennox Castle Hospital is included in the inquiry. Who was authorised to carry out these burials and why were very young children in an adult institution in the first place? We need to know what happened to these children. How were they treated, what safeguards were in place to protect them and, most of all, how did they die?

“Of course, the issue is wider than Smyllum. I suspect that most Victorian institutions were burying children in mass graves. Questions need to be asked at the very highest level, especially where there is any suggestion that children were being subjected to medical experimentation and may have died as a result.

Audrey, just read your post, cant agree more . I was born there 1963 , and to this day find it hard to get info , went up recently and walked around the ruins of the castle building ,so earie, dreadful how kids were treated ,all swept under a large establishment carpet.