If anyone has access to the 1939 Register, I would be grateful if you could have a look at the original page for RG101/1626I/003/33. There is an entry for Frederick G, Grace B and Dorothy A (aka Alice D) MILSTED at 19 Spencer Gate, St Albans. It is very faded/obscured but I would like to know what is written in the occupation column for Dorothy. If anyone is able to read it - or enhance it at all through software magic - it would be much appreciated. Thank you.
I've been looking at it every which way and, so far, the only thing I can possibly make out is the last two words - "Mental Hosp" ????
I see that Napsbury Hospital was in St Albans, so maybe she worked there? http://www. stalbansoutofsightoutofmind.org.uk/page_id__23_path__0p2p23p.aspx There are a lot of adverts in the newspapers of the time for probationary nurses, housemaids, laundrymaids......presumably because of the outbreak of war.
Yes, I could see those 2 words as well. It was what went before that intrigued me. Sadly, Auntie Dolly never worked in a Mental Hospital, but she was a patient in one. I used to visit her in Fairfields Hospital, Hitchin when I was young. I was wondering if it stated some sort of day release terminology from the hospital....
I keep losing my Irfanview, bur definitely several words prceding 'mental hosp...sorry not to be more helpful.
Small brainwave time I thought the word before Mental was from.....so, I think it says 'Evacuated from Mental Hosp.'
I have enlarged the first 2 words before mental hospital - but other than the first word starting with E (perhaps) and the second could be services but I cannot work out what the 'tail' under the line is
Right so I was at 'Mental Hospital' as well before looking at the other posts. I'm pretty sure the first word begins with an E, which doesn't help very much but it's going to be a very simple description. It certainly beats me for the time being.
Nope, tried all sorts. Only thing I couldn't try was inverting the image so the writing stands out as white against a dark background, which often works for me . But can't get it to do that on new fangled technology.
I still can't see it very clearly but I do like this. It also makes a lot of sense. I've been looking for some evidence on the web but have only come across mental hospital patients in Devon returning to their own home if they could be looked after there and their carers felt they could look after them; but it clearly happened and space freed up in large mental hospitals would be invaluable for the expected civilian casualties - or indeed the transfer of more severely handicapped mental patients from other hospitals which were taken over as extra medical facilities, as in the London area. Unfortunately I can't see a history of Fairfields Hospital which showed what happened there during WW2.
History of Shenley Hospital The War Years "At the outbreak of the Second World War many of the patients were discharged as the country prepared itself to recieve war casualties from both military and civilian. Half of the Hospital was taken over by Military and Civilian nurses who were housed in the Mansion. The Hospital maintained its separate identity however, apart from the Medical Superintendent who lived in Porterslees and was the Colonel in Chief of the local territorial unit." Courtesy of Shenleyparkdotcodotuk Seems that the inmates were always being moved out when the buildings were needed !
Fairfields hospital was also known as Three Counties and there is a wonderful website about it here: Code: http://www.threecountiesasylum.co.uk/ However, it is more than likely that she was in one of the more local hospitals at that time such as Hill End or Napsbury. St Albans was surrounded by hospitals for the mentally ill or handicapped: Cell Barnes and Hill End were both on the outskirts; Napsbury and Shenley Hospitals in and near Shenley, a village near St Albans, Leavesden Hospital over near Watford plus Harperbury between St Albans and Radlett. A slight diversion... St Albans and the surrounding area was chosen as an excellent site for such hospitals as they were less than 25 miles from the centre of London. This enabled those Londoners rich enough, in the 19th century to put their mentally ill relatives in a hospital that was far enough away from home not to cause an embarrassment but close enough to visit. It was also on an excellent rail route.
There is also a site "St Albans Out of Sight out of mind" has bits of info about Napsbury and Hill End. ?
Ah but they could be relatively wonderful places. My GGGGUncle's daughter Elizabeth Sarah was living in Litcham Street, Kentish Town ("the worst street in [north] London") when her father died in 1885 and as her mother was 72 there was no way she could look after even a 'gentle imbecile'. So off to Leavesden she went and lived there until 1924. From what I've read about some of these country mental hospitals they could be splendid places to spend your days (as long as you weren't too ill).
The section I copied has defied everything Photoshop had to throw at it. I know it helps not one jot but looking at the entry makes me wonder if the registers have got damp at some time, with the result that some of the writing on the page underneath has been transferred.
Now if I had an App (probably mythical) like the ones used in Raising the Dead, New Tricks etc. . . . .
I must have strange eyes, I see 'In mate of (can't make out the next bit, but ending with) Len (or) Fen. 3223 (or) 3228'
