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"… he was presumed to have been wearing slippers"

In plot 652 of Calderstones’ cemetery lie the remains of Mr Daniel Roper. On June 25th 1921, this man was admitted ...
Finding Uncle Tony

In the 2000s, to her surprise, Sue Jarvis found out that she had an uncle, about whom she knew nothing. Here ...
'In memory of William John Brannan'

In the main entrance hall at the Royal Albert, Lancaster was a brass memorial which honoured William John Brannan, a resident ...
Calderstones Cemetery Campaign - More Information

Please go to Calderstones Cemetery Campaign – Overview for a short summary of the campaign which has grown up around ...
Calderstones Cemetery Campaign - Overview

Calderstones Cemetery was sold off by the health authority in 2000, since when for many years there were only a ...
‘As elsewhere, influenza was troublesome…’

As the world struggles with the impact of coronavirus in 2020, challenges posed by a pandemic are sadly nothing new ...
"Even if you wanted to see your friend, you couldn’t."

Frank Cochrane and Harry Oldham, former residents, remember the food and seating arrangements in De Vitre Hall at the Royal ...
"They used to throw food at one another"

Former residents (Frank Cochrane, Harry Oldham, Peggy Palmer) remember the meals in De Vitre Hall at the Royal Albert in ...
"'… the best bed-maker in the Royal Albert’."

For many years residents (and nurses) in large long-stay institutions carried out domestic duties – whether on the wards or ...
"We didn’t get paid 'til Dr. Thomas come."

Dr. Thomas was the Medical Superintendent when the Royal Albert became part of the National Health Service in 1948. Jack ...
"We used to get blackclock soup!"

Memories of life at the Royal Albert in the first half of the last century touch upon meal times in ...
Turps, soap, cocoa and lentils…

Here is a list of grocery and other items bought by the Royal Albert Institution between October and December 1936. There ...