Good afternoon everyone, In 1963 I discovered that my g.father had just died in Warely Hospital, I was 13 at the time. Since then I have been unable to find out anything at all about as to why or when he was admitted there. The only info. that I came across was from a copy of his death certificate. Until today! He was first admitted, voluntarily, in April 1949 after being detained by the police at Witham. He was then discharged, " relieved" to St. Michael's, Braintree in 1950. I am awaiting for further details as to why he was sent back to Warely and when. At least I now know something. So, in the mean time I have a few questions that I am sure someone ( Fred F? ) in this knowledgeable group can help. Are any of the police records available that I might access to find out more about why he was detained by the police and if there is any info. as to why he was in Witham when he lived in Waltham Abbey? What was the local paper for Witham at this time to see if the are any reports of his detention? Were there lists of missing persons then to see if his wife, or any of his family, had reported him mising from home? Any help would be much appreciated, even after 45 year of waiting. Regards, Mick.

Dear Mick, I am afraid that your tile might be a little optimistic in respect of my reply. After the War there was often a 10 year destruction policy on Police reports, so they would probably have gone by 1960. I know of nothing in the Police Museum which would help. In theory it is possible to find reports in local newspapers of persons acting in such a manner to be arrested, but, this is wildly hit and miss. The Essex Chronicle for the period is in the Local Studies Section of Chelmsford Town library (not in the ERO) and there may be others such as the Essex Standard there. I would concentrate on hospital records. The archivist at the ERO may know if any Warley (sic) Hospital Records still exist and their location. The Mid-Essex Heath Authority at Witham, and whatever group covers Braintree may have librarians. The danger is that we are only 58 years after the events and there may be a releasing date on records of, say 70 years. I am not sure. I am sorry not to have been more helpful, but I have heard of information coming from hospitals such as Severalls at Colchester in the past. Good luck, Fred, Editor, Essex Family Historian. -----Original Message----- From: Csgen50@aol.com [mailto:Csgen50@aol.com] Sent: 18 October 2008 16:52 To: Essex-UK@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [Ess] All comes to he who waits Good afternoon everyone, In 1963 I discovered that my g.father had just died in Warely Hospital, I was 13 at the time. Since then I have been unable to find out anything at all about as to why or when he was admitted there. The only info. that I came across was from a copy of his death certificate. Until today! He was first admitted, voluntarily, in April 1949 after being detained by the police at Witham. He was then discharged, " relieved" to St. Michael's, Braintree in 1950. I am awaiting for further details as to why he was sent back to Warely and when. At least I now know something. So, in the mean time I have a few questions that I am sure someone ( Fred F? ) in this knowledgeable group can help. Are any of the police records available that I might access to find out more about why he was detained by the police and if there is any info. as to why he was in Witham when he lived in Waltham Abbey? What was the local paper for Witham at this time to see if the are any reports of his detention? Were there lists of missing persons then to see if his wife, or any of his family, had reported him missing from home? Any help would be much appreciated, even after 45 year of waiting. Regards, Mick.