Showing 2 results

The series consists of a 1969 photocopy of an alphabetical list of persons buried in the cemetery at the Public Hospital for the Insane in New Westminster (later Woodlands School) between 1922 and 1958.

The series consists of a variety of record books created at Woodlands School (later known simply as Woodlands) between 1908 and 1974, with the majority of the records dating from the late 1930s to the 1950s. The records relate to both staff and residents, although the majority of the records pertain to residents. Staff records include “position vacant” cards, lists of staff and the dates they joined and left Woodlands, and ledgers detailing absences and sick time for both male and female staff members. The staff lists are not comprehensive and frequently appear to provide a snapshot in time.

Records relating to patients provide evidence of the day-to-day functioning of the institution, including one- or two-sentence long hourly reports by nursing staff. Researchers should note that while specific individuals are named in the records, the records do not include case files. Some “propensity” ledgers provide alphabetical listings of patients, their admission dates and patient number, a brief one- or two-word description of why they were admitted, information about clothing, religion, and whether they left Woodlands. However, these registers do not cover the entire period of time that Woodlands operated and should not be seen as admissions registers.

The series includes a set of record books with daily shift reports that list disturbances, illnesses, numbers of residents employed in certain tasks, outings to movies and concerts, and any other noteworthy occurrences. The series contains ledgers relating to residents’ health, and other books related to their day-to-day lives. Records related to health care include those detailing medicine dosages, notes on blood pressure, and ‘doctors’ orders’ books. Records relating to daily life include notes on clothing and shoes sent to be cleaned, repaired, or discarded, numbers of residents sent to the ‘airing court’ for recreation, and records relating to the sewing and knitting done by residents. In some cases, ledgers provide assessments of the knitting skill of residents, and it appears that patients did sewing for both themselves and for staff. Records relating to shoes and clothing appear to be carbon copies of receipts issued when items were sent for repair or cleaning, and many are difficult to read. The series also includes general ward counts and statistics as well as a ward inventory listing everything from brooms to medical equipment. Some ledgers provide information on residents who were transferred to or from institutions at Essondale, Tranquille, and Colquitz.

There appear to have been three staff shifts in Woodlands, and records are often annotated with the time of the shift. Shifts ran from 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, and 11 pm to 7 am. It is common to see annotations such as 3-11 next to a report.

Many of the ledgers were not labelled and do not have original titles on them. Titles in square brackets were supplied by the Archivist on the basis of the file list that accompanied the records when they were transferred to Archives custody. Where the assigned title does not appear adequate, a further explanatory note has been included. Explanatory notes have also been included in square brackets when the title on the ledger book was vague or potentially misleading.

Within the ledgers, the bulk of the records are organized chronologically. Some books contain indexes or are arranged alphabetically by surname, although due to the nature of the records it is more common to see chronological progressions.

Records in this series were selected for retention by staff working with the Records Management Branch in the early 1990s.