South Ockendon Hospital – its place in the village. New book out now.
By Guest
8th Dec 2019 | Local News
I have recently published the above book, written by the late Randal Bingley (former curator of Thurrock Museum Service). South Ockendon Hospital played an important part of village life from 1932 to its closure in 1994 - 25 years ago, this year.
IN the summer of 1932, Matron Sadie Butler and a handful of staff welcomed the first residents to what was to become South Ockendon Hospital.
Built by the County Borough of West Ham, the hospital – originally known as The Colony – was to provide a service for people with learning disability for more than 60 years. It would also play a significant part in the history of South Ockendon village.
But West Ham's association with South Ockendon began much earlier. In a bid to tackle its own rising tide of unemployment, in 1905 West Ham purchased Little Mollands Farm on the outskirts of the village.
That farmstead with its 204 acres of land formed the basis of a Workers' Farm Colony established to provide temporary relief work for the jobless of the East End. With the advent of the Great War, and unemployment no longer a concern, the scheme came to a halt; and Mollands Farm was occupied by the military, serving as an army camp, later to house 300 German prisoners of war. After the war, local authorities were put under increasing pressure to provide facilities for people with learning disabilities. At a time when large institutions were the favoured type of provision, unsurprisingly West Ham looked to Mollands Farm as the site for its new development. The hospital started relatively modestly with three residential villas, but grew rapidly during the lead up to the Second World War. During the war, the colony faced many challenges. With the loss of many male nurses to the forces, and with numerous evacuees from Forest Gate Hospital being sent to South Ockendon, the depleted staff and the growing number of residents had to cope in whatever way they could under wartime conditions.Sandbagging the dormitory areas, quelling fears during air-raids and evacuating villas on the discovery of unexploded devices became standard nursing practice, whilst many of the more able residents contributed to the war effort by working on local farms to maintain food production.
In the peace that followed, the hospital brought many visitors, including HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the popular TV and radio entertainers of the day, Des O'Connor and Roy Hudd. Throughout that period, the hospital continued to grow; to a peak in the late 1960s of over 1,000 residents. But the demand for its services brought overcrowding. With the system at breaking point, the service was rapidly running into crisis; one that culminated in a national inquiry into incidents and conditions within the hospital.
Eventually, national policy changed and large-scale institutions such as South Ockendon were no longer considered appropriate for people with learning disabilities. The hospital closed 25 years ago, in 1994; and the site was given over to the residential estate of Brandon Groves. The former recreation hall, now a community centre, and a number of ornamental trees attractively dotted around the estate, are all that remain of the hospital, in addition to a memorial plaque dedicated to the residents and staff.
South Ockendon Hospital: Echoes from an Essex learning disability Institution by Randal Bingley (former curator of Thurrock Museums Service) is an engaging book that charts the fascinating history of the hospital, its residents and staff.
ISBN 978 0 9528789 5 7176 pages; 50 photos; site map
£9.99 + £2.00 p&pFor further details:
[email protected]
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