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22 DAVID HALL summary
DVC Pro Tape 1 of 4 – VHS Tape 1 of 1 00:00:30 – 02:03:00
Childhood
Born with double pneumonia and always suffered with a nervous debility. Used to have weekly injections of penicillin. Mother died when David was young. First memories are of shopping at local Co-op. Played truant a lot from school. Went to see matinee films at cinema called Grand Electric.
Mother’s Death
When 4.5 years old, Mother dies after falling over and banging her head on ice in November.
Background on Mother
Father left when David was very small. Mother took in a blind lodger who she later marries for respectability’s sake.
Mother’s Death and After
They wait two days for the doctor to come. By the time he arrives mother is already gravely ill and dies. He is sent to live with auntie. The auntie has a son. He sexually interferes with David. So he goes to live with his other auntie.
Life with Auntie
She had no other children and lived with an older man. They bred bulldogs, had an allotment and he dealt in antiques. David remembers one table made of mahogany with three legs. His uncle died when David is about six years old. He remembers seeing him in the open coffin. After this life is very hard. David has nothing but praise for his Auntie Ethel. She was kind and gave him a start in life. She got a job working for the local vicar. David also works from an early age.
First memory of the hospital
Delivers groceries to the Stanley Royds hospital every Friday. Did not go inside but went up to the lodge. Heard that all the patients are nutters. Was not scared.
Patients in town
Irish Mary was well-known patient who was around the town. She prostituted herself for a few pennies and had her children taken away from her. David felt sorry for her. Also remembers Billy who he grew up with and later meets as a member of the group David starts. Billy dies of cancer.
School
Went to sleep every afternoon at school on little camp beds. Wets himself as scared of the going across the playground in the dark to the outside toilet. Played truant a lot. The teachers pretend not to notice. When he gets to the age of six or seven, things change at school. St Michael’s Infants is name of school. It was closed and David went to a new school on top of the quarry. He enjoys it there. He likes the teachers and that they help kids develop. He gets into acting. At secondary school, he writes a play with a girlfriend called ‘Henry V111 I am actually’. The play tours and they do a performance for the Festival of Britain. He thinks there is more information in the archives in Wakefield. His Aunt is very proud of him. He is offered a place to go to RADA but cannot take it up as cannot afford it.
War memories
Can remember a bunker outside the house. In 1943 or 4. Made of brick with a metal roof. Kids used to play in it. No memories of bombs, but remembers ration books. Hard times during the war economically but feels that people were happier than now.
Church
Was an active member of the Anglican Young People’s Association. Went on outings and conferences and rehearsed plays. Canon Barlow makes an impression on him as he refused to confirm David initially. David feels he has a guardian angel watching over him.
Childhood illness
Went for regular cheek ups and took cod liver oil. If he catches anything it is always severe.
First mental health problems
In an office at Alverthorpe a motor body building firm. Then moved to Kennings motor group. Worked in accounts. A new manager a former army man takes over and terrorises the staff. David is badly affected and has trouble eating and sleeping. So he is sent to see a specialist at Stanley Royds. He is admitted.
Background to how he is feeling
Feels something is taking over. Looking back he realises how dependent and down trodden he was. He was under pressure and stress at work. He becomes obsessed with the meanings of words. The new manager is particular source of pressure.
Detail on Stanley Royds
Goes to hospital and is given ECT. Is feeling really desperate. There was an EEG at the front of the building. The wards had a dining area at one end and a sick bay and beds all lined up. There were treatment rooms for ECT and insulin. There are about 60 beds. Remembers a Dr Hague. Told he will be there till he gets better.
Insulin treatment
He is given insulin, has a sleep woken up is given glucose and a big breakfast. Things go wrong and he is put in sick bay. He hits rock bottom. Sick bay is full of old dying men. He starts to lose hope and his Aunt is on the point of losing her faith. But surprisingly he starts to feel better when he gets a letter saying that they can’t hold his job open much longer. He gets better and goes back to work. He even gets promoted.
More on insulin treatment
Given when people are weak to build them up and for nerves. It gives you an appetite. You are given insulin at about 7.00 and then go to sleep for 1.5 hours. No one ever explained what this or any other treatments were for. He just went along with it.
Social life at the hospital
Had movie show in the evenings. The wards were segregated but there used to be an hour for dancing. Quite a few relationships developed. David got involved with an older woman, his first sexual experience. She was called Doreen and came from Leeds. They meet at one of the tea dances. They go for walks in the grounds. There was farm. Mentions the hospital museum. Feels lucky not to have been there in those days. Made lots of friends. There were a lot of criminals in the hospital. His aunt visits and brings cigarettes and sweets.
Side wards
Tells story of young man who breaks a window and is put on a side ward. Alcoholics are forced to drink alcohol until they are sick. Side wards are off the main ward down a little corridor with just 4 beds. He is never put on a side ward.
Stigma in the hospital
Tells story about a nurse’s relative who is admitted - and nurse’s horror at this. Thinks that the staff look down on patients. He felt that he needed understanding and tolerance.
Relationship to the doctor
Saw the Doctor for two minutes every couple of weeks
End of DVC Pro Tape 1 of 4
DVC Pro Tape 2 of 4 - VHS Tape 1 of 1 02:00:30 – 02:55:50
Relationship to the doctor (continued)
Felt that interviews with the doctor did not help. Did not feel he could be totally honest. Feels that hospital then was about medication alone but it has changed a bit now and is more personal. Felt he was in their power.
Shock treatment
He had one treatment of insulin then shock treatment. You lay on a bed they put a bit of something in your mouth to bite and something to hold and then they set it off and you go out cold. He does not think that he needed that treatment. He thinks that they were given an anaesthetic. He felt groggy and lost a bit of memory afterwards. Had six or seven treatments. They alternated it with insulin week by week. He now feels that the two treatments made him worse.
Attitude of work colleagues
Although they did not come and visit him they did send a hamper at Christmas and welcomed him back warmly when he returned to work. When he got back to work he was moved to a better job away from the manager that had bullied him.
Social life
Through the new job he found a new girlfriend. The new girlfriend sent him a Valentine card. He took her to the Mecca Ballroom. Then he found out that she had a boyfriend so they become just good friends. He got a new job at ABM Molsters Group Company in Wakefield doing accounts. He still sees the girlfriend that he wrote the play with. They decide to go on holiday to Austria. In Austria he meets another girl from Walton on Thames who he falls in love with. This girl eventually marries someone else and David goes to the wedding. He still writes to her.
Acting
He acts in more amateur productions. One of which gets very bad reviews. Another called ‘Semi-Detached’ gets very good reviews especially for David. He continues doing bits of acting, specialising in pantomime comedy. He played Roland Mall in Present Laughter by Noel Coward and gets good reviews in all the Yorkshire papers. Once he is married he has to give up the acting life.
Meets his wife
Through another friend he goes on a blind date. He meets her at the Wakefield Bus Station clock. They go to the Twenty Volts pub. He is married to Marion two years later. Detail about the pub what has a happened to it now and the drinks people drank. In a couple of years they have a son Mark.
Aunt dies
His other aunt comes to live with them. She had serious health problems and was difficult to care for because they had no hot water. The stress makes Aunt Ethel ill. The same doctor who had come for his mother two days late comes quickly this time. She dies in her sleep. He is happy that she lives to see him married and becomes a grandmother but sad that she never saw the kids christened.
More mental health problems
Her death deeply effects David and he begins to feel bad. He brings work home and has anxiety attacks. He takes medication and is an in-patient for 3 weeks. He becomes then an outpatient. This time things are better the doctors spend more time with him. He takes Amitriptyline which helps. He gets another job at Appleyards. One day he takes 7 tablets in one go. He is also taking a sedative to sleep. He did not know that Amitriptyline is quite potent. It was not a suicide attempt, more a cry for help.
More jobs
He got a job as a hospital porter then lost it as he told them he tried to commit suicide. Then he got a job at Stanley View old folks home working in the garden. Always told employers about his mental health problems. Told them that he did not know whether it would happen again or not. He creates jealousy among co-workers as he is more caring toward the old people. After two years he gets a new job in a decorating merchants. Stays for 10 years.
Working in the Decorating merchants
After a time he became the manager. He gets on well with the manager he became good friends with him and his Dutch wife. The manager is pensioned off and David becomes the manager. Soon turnover is increasing.
Family life
His daughter is grown up and he has a son. Marion was ill during the kids teenage years with back problems. Marion’s family never liked David because of his mental health problems and they were suspicious of the marriage.
More mental health problems
David suffers a nervous breakdown due to over work and stress. A Psychiatrist Dr Throstle comes to see him at home. She is very understanding and suggests that he attend the day hospital. By this time he has given up work. He receives incapacity benefits from the company.
The Day Hospital
He likes the Day hospital. There are lots of activities and groups. He especially enjoys dance therapy. The dance therapist Rose is very good and makes him feel special. He meets lots of people and there is a good feeling among them. David begins to think that he does not want to lose the mutual support of the people he has met. He spends all day at the day hospital about 3 days a week. In the morning they do relaxation for 40 minutes. There was about 8 or 9 in the group. David attended the day hospital for about 8 months.
Self-help group
A new centre opens for mental health run by a woman called Margaret. She offered David a base for his group. He started arranging social evenings, outings and Social Services gives them £50 grant money.
End of DVCPro Tape 2 of 4 02:55:50
DVC Pro Tape 3 of 4 - VHS Tape 1 of 1 03:00:30 - 03:54.06
More on the self-help group
The group goes well and they organise lots of activities. People are encouraged to use their skills. They start to raise money by selling stuff they make. The new Centre called the Garden Street Centre makes them feel at home. Most people from the day hospital transfer to the new centre. They are very busy. To raise money they start making more things. They started with garden gnomes and then got into stained glass. They make more and more money so then they have to open bank account. They develop a committee with chair and secretary. They start to do training of professionals as well for a fee.
Training in mental health
David becomes involved in setting up a new Outreach service and as a consequence they send him on a 10-week course on basic mental health. He really enjoys it. He gets the idea of getting his group its own premises.
Fundraising for the group
The group gets grant for £3000 from mental illness specific grant and the local MP helps them raise another £20,000 from the European Social Fund. The money is to get premises and equipment and develop the group. They are also short-listed for a TV programme ‘Action Time’ which helps charities and good causes. They don’t end up on TV and David thinks a professional charity was chosen instead. NSF copied David’s idea and set up a project in Rotherham. The group was first called Garden Street enterprises, then when they got their own premises they called themselves Creative Caring.
More training
David is sent on a course in intermediate mental health. They do role plays using toilet rolls to imitate the experience of hearing voices. He really enjoys it and does case studies and essays. The course helps David understand more about mental health and evolves his own caring and sympathetic approach to mental health.
Reflections on life
It is pressure at work that always created problems for David. But he now thinks that his health is more important than any deadline. He thinks that his tragic childhood meant that he cares deeply about other people. But he is proud of the work that he has done for other people. He has always gone out of his way to help others. Family and friends are more important than money.
Grandchildren
His son’s wife will be giving birth shortly, he is hoping for a grandson. He has a good relationship with his granddaughter from his other son. His son’s marriage broke up but he has access to the daughter. David gets a lot of pleasure from looking after her.
David’s marriage break up
After 29 years of marriage David is getting divorced. 3 and a half years ago he meet a young destitute man. They became friends and after a while he came to live with David and his wife. The man became one of the key people in the group.
Gay Connection
David began going to gay bars to try and spread the word about mental health. David is not prejudiced about gay people, he even took his wife to a gay bar. Meanwhile David his wife and the young man became inseparable. They go everywhere together. David is also becoming more involved with his gay friends who help him with a charity fundraiser.
Problems in the group
By this time he has made the young man a co-signatory to the charity bank account. Accusations are made against David and an independent consultant is called in to investigate the group. Accusations were made that David was chatting up young lads. The young man according to David has in the meantime been taking £1000s of pounds out of the charity account. A criminal case is pending about this.
More on David’s marriage break up
At a New Year’s Eve fancy dress party David goes as pantomime dame and is having a bit of fun by asking lads for a kiss. The young man is dressed as a woman and David’s wife is dressed as man. They are kissing. David’s wife complains that he does not kiss her till after 12.15. Two days later she is packing her bags to leave. David finds out that the young man has been taking money out of the account and having an affair with his wife for the past 18 months. David’s daughter has sided with him and he has a lot of support from other people. He feels positive about starting a new life. David’s wife says he was away a lot but he says that it was to get away from the atmosphere between the three of them. He does feel bad about his wife. He claims to have had a good friendship with another woman but never had an affair. He feels that his wife came under the power of the young man who used emotional blackmail and suicide threats to control her. David has not been vindictive but he feels that his wife is a different woman from the one he married. She lies and is not interested in the children.
David’s mental health during this period
David has managed to stay out of hospital. He thinks it is because of what he has learned about life. He hopes to make a new start free of burdens and be able to enjoy life. Until recently he and his wife were both living together. One day she tripped on the bath and she claims that he tried to strangle her. Now there is a court order saying that he must keep away from her. It became impractical to live in the same house so David is selling up
End of DVCPro Tape 3 of 4 03:54.06
DVCPro Tape 4 of 4 – VHS Tape 1 of 1 04:00:30 - 04:18:31
Moving on
David is going to live with his son and granddaughter, which he is looking forward to.
David’s dogs
David loves animals but was not allowed a dog in the house since he got married. After the funeral of a friend a dog leapt over David’s fence so they kept the dog believing the friend’s spirit was in it. His daughter brought another dog over as it was going to put down. David is well known in the area for having his two dogs.
Current mental health
He still sees a psychiatrist regularly and takes Seroxat. It has no side effects. He is hoping to be off the tablets by December. He has stopped taking Amitriptyline. He does not think that he really needs medication and he doesn’t always take it.
Reflections on mental health services
He thinks that understanding and care is what helps most. Pull yourself together attitude does not help. He thinks that people who have experience of mental health problems should work in mental health. David hopes that his story will help other people.
Camera scans around the room as David explains about various pictures and stained glass pieces he has made.
End of DVCPro Tape 4 of 4 – End of VHS Tape 1 of 1 04:18:31
INTERVIEW ENDS
