From
"The Passing of a Legend"
"It is with sadness that we report the death of Norman Hatton who died on Sunday, aged 87. In model railway retailing he was a legend and many young modellers grew up with the address 180 Smithdown Road, Liverpool, as familiar as their own. For decades, it was there that one went to buy Hornby
0 gauge and Hornby Dublo after Norman had purchased the stock when the Binns Road factory was cleared.
Norman was born in Anfield in 1917 and was educated, as was many a star of pop, show business, politics and business, at Quarry Bank High School, Calderstones - not far from Smithdown Road. When he left, he helped his father William and brother Harold with his father's wholesale meat delivery and property business, until he was called up to serve in the Far East during WWll, where he was a Japanese prisoner of war.
On demob, he opened a small shop that he rented at 136 Smithdown Road. His stock consisted of anything he could get that was in demand. In those days of rationing, make do and thrift, all sorts of items where bought and sold, such as firewood, footwear, fireworks, second-hand household goods, cycles and toys. Recycling was a reality, rather than a fashionable word in those days.
Toys where passed down and not consigned to the bin after a few days as they are today. Owning train set or a bike was what every boy aspired to. There was already a Raleigh agent in the area and this prevented Norman obtaining an agency for new bikes. The same applied to Meccano Ltd products such as Hornby and Dinky Toys.
However, the post war conditions brought new manufacturers and some of the pre-war model makers expanded their foothold in the model railway market. This included Tri-ang, Trix and Peco who welcomed new accounts and so Norman gradually specialised in model railways - both new and second-hand. In fact, he never had an account with Meccano Ltd and it was only when their new owner, Lines Bros. Ltd were clearing large quantities of unsold stock that he bought Hornby direct from the Binns Road factory which was located only a mile away from the shop.
Mail order soon became an important part of his business. Railway Modeller was first published by Ian Allan but was soon taken over by Peco. Hatton?s advertised in the Peco published magazine from their first issue, some 50 years ago, and have been in every issue since. The business was successful and in 1958 Norman had saved up enough to buy the larger premises at 180 Smithdown Road. This became the home of Hatton?s until three years ago when the business moved to the Penny Lane end of the road. Despite being in his mid eighties, Norman was still daily active in the business. Today, Hatton?s is one of the most respected model mail order companies in Europe and is much used by modellers overseas. Its reputation for fair treatment of its customers and quick service is unmatched.
(Our thanks to Keith Edwin Hatton for the above information)."
Cheers, John.