Meet the Staff

A page such as this would not feel quite right without the introduction of this man. Norman Hatton founded the business way back in 1946, and passed away in late August 2005 at the grand old age of 87. Norman worked nearly full time in the shop right up until his 86th year, sharing his experiences with the younger members of staff and our regular customers

Norman had a razor sharp brain and business sense unfaltering since his younger days! Our picture shows him packing orders in the old shop a few years ago. Whilst modelling the very same shop coat he bought brand new with his coupons for opening day.

Keith Hatton was born in 1959, and died, aged 48, during September 2008. At the time of his death, Keith had been responsible for Hattons emergence as the leading independent retailer, in the sector which we operate in.
He is missed by all the staff and customers who came into contact with him during his reign as the leader of our firm, and it will be some time before we adjust to his loss. We would like to thank all those who have supported us during the difficult time following his death, and appreciate the kind emails and letters of condolence we have re
ceived.
Keith was a unique and dynamic man, who led from the front. His knowledge and experience were undoubted, as was the commitment which he gave to the firm, for over 30 years.

Christine Hatton is the owner and Managing Director of Hattons Model Railways. She has worked for the firm for over 20 years, and many of our customers will have been served and assisted by her.
Following the death of her brother Keith, in 2008, Christine has stepped up to the mantle, to take over the reigns of running the firm. She has a great deal to contend with, given the size of our firm, the number of products we stock (approx 6000), the number of staff we have (57 as of Nov 08), and the number of places where we advertise (16 magazine titles and 4 websites).
Christine is determined for the growth and development of the business to continue in the manner it had done, before the death of her father Norman, and brother Keith. We accept that this will be a difficult task, but are determined that it will provide the best tribute to Norman and Keiths memory.

.

Lesley has two degrees and a masters! She is responsible for finding space for our many new products and she can now bend space with her mind.
Lesley is a keen sports fan and enjoys watching Rugby Union and Formula 1 in particular. Due to Sky’s monopolisation of televised sport, Lesley has to watch in the pub.

Paul is our Retail Manager, and as such works very hard to ensure our customers have the best possible experience with Hattons. He joined the company five years ago, working part time whilst studying English and Philosophy at university, and has been here ever since. Paul is originally from St. Helens ,and is a fan of St. Helens Rugby League Club - especially when they’re doing well. Paul also admits to having an unhealthy interest in fine food and wine - though he confines their intake to outside of work hours!

Julie Jones is our former Export Manager, and now Company Secretary. This lady can deduct 20% from anything, 'so' good are her mathematical skills! Julie is a lovely woman who is always full of conversation, and is one of Hattons most experienced campaigners, having seen hundreds of thousands of orders despatched to customers all over the world

Graeme Hogg has been working in Hattons since January 2003 and is the man in charge of advert production and various other matters.
We’re glad to have his rough and calloused hands back at the Hattons IT command centre where he deals with complex computer problems with cold and calculated efficiency.

David is our Retail Specialist and patiently answers our every question about railways and modelling, which are often prefaced by a loud cry of ‘DAVE!’ David has a passion for aircraft and railways, and works hard preserving locos as a volunteer in the diesel department of the East Lancashire Railway. He is also a keen modeller, specialising in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/35th scale Military vehicles, aircraft and figures. David also finds time for his love of history, and actively takes part in WWII re-enactments as a German ‘Fallschirmjager’ or paratrooper. What David doesn’t know about modelling isn’t worth knowing but luckily he shares his expertise, as well as updates about his recent projects, on his blog at davemodelblog.blogspot.com.

Andrew’s passions lie with motorbikes and computers - he knows the ins and outs of the machines so well he can strip an engine out of a bike within an hour. His love of motorbikes is matched only by his addition to Branston Pickle. His claim to fame is his TV appearance during the fuel protests, proudly displaying his sign reading “Cut the tax Tony.” Andy’s party piece involves dislocating his own shoulder and putting it back into place with a loud POP , a unique talent which can be used to amaze or horrify depending on what the situation calls for.

Andy’s interest in machines makes him pretty good at any repairs. He has a workshop which apparently looks quite like Doc Brown’s in ‘Back to the Future’. He probably could make a time machine but he’s paid to fix trains so any other projects are on his own time!

Andy also enjoys going to festivals and gigs (on his rocket cycle).

Karen, better known as Candy, always occupies the front primary desk and is the first friendly face anyone will see as they enter the shop. She is waiting to take your order, and has been rubbing shoulders with the stars, helping to serve a famous 'English pianist, bandleader and television presenter'

Globetrotting singer, guitarist, pianist, magician & actor Conor Clarke joined the Hattons team in the run up to Christmas. Conor used to work for an accident compensation company, so if any boxes fall on anyone’s head during the working day Conor will be the first on the scene handing out phone numbers. He went to Calderstones School, formerly known as Quarry Bank, that attempted to teach such legends as John Lennon, Jimmy Tarbuck, Les Dennis, Derek Nimmo, Peter Sissons, William Rodgers, Peter Shore, Brian Barwick, Joe Royle, Steve Coppell and Keith Hatton!

Bryan is one of the newer members of staff in our Retail team and has a keen interest in Railways and buses. Bryan was a regular face in the shop before he joined us on the other side of the counter! He is also interested in theatre and performing arts particularly enjoying musicals. One of his favourites is Ghost the Musical which he enjoyed so much he decided to see again!

John joined our products team in 2009. Before working at Hattons, John managed a hobby store for 18 years and also had his own retail franchise for a number of years.

John is responsible for maintaining the display in our shop and when not doing this he can be found sharing his vast railway knowledge with customers and other members of staff.

John is a keen railway modeller and has a small layout based on a Freightliner diesel depot. He is a member of the Merseyside Model Railway Society and recently acted as floor manager for an exhibition.

In his spare time John enjoys activities such as walking, driving and watching most sports.

When Michael turned 16, his father sent him looking for his first weekend job. He found us round the corner from his local school, the Liverpool Blue Coat, where he is a high achiever amongst many. The only other old boy we currently employ from there is "Simon Rigert Harndon".

Peter is another member of the Retail Team with modelling interests, his main ones being Railways and Buses. He is a keen railway modeller and has been since 1961! He has also been a enthusiastic railway photographer and has had pictures published in multiple railway magazines and books. As well as working here at Hattons he is a signalman for the East Lancashire Railway at Ramsbotom.

John is one of our resident experts. He has a keen interest in modelling particularly constructing dioramas, and frequently has to resist spending his wages on Airfix models. John also has a Railway Layout which he constructed himself using some of the skills he acquired during the three years spent studying Engineering at college. The layout also belongs to his brother Mark, and sharing a layout has obviously given the brothers good practice with working together, as we have not had any sibling brawls yet! John is also a member of the East Lancashire Railway Preservation Society, as well as the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society, and enjoys studying History. His main focus is railways and their engineers, as well as some military history.

Mark is not only interested in model railways, but also the real things, which is shown in his vast knowledge of both. He shares a layout with his brother, John, but is also an enthusiast of buses and trams, particularly the Blackpool Tramway. Mark has pursued his interests by joining the East Lancashire Railway and the Merseyside Bus Club - and working for Hatton’s of course. He is also a very active person, and enjoys swimming, driving and beating people at pool.

Peter previously worked for Hattons back in his student days, and since graduating he has come back to work full-time. He is also a member of the Liverpool Harriers. He was on TV in 2003, when he came last in the 800M in the national championships.

Introducing Peter Warburton. Peter is the post-room supervisor. This is who we all come to when we need some questions answered and Peter Walsh is too busy (always). Peter seems to thrive on hard work and always appears to be doing more than one job at one time usually everyone elses. Bearing this in mind there is never a sign of a grumble when we ask him for help. Peter too is a keen athlete but with a gammy leg. Finally a tip for all you fans of the sport of kings. Always back any other Gee Gee than Peters tips!

Here is Simon Rigert-Harden. Simon has been with us since Christmas 2002 when he started part time as a 15 year old schoolboy and showed sufficient maturity to take overall charge of the till and order entry point at weekends and occasional weekdays when still only 17. Known as Rigger to his friends. In 2005 he moved into part of our old shop which had been converted into a flat, but the messiness was left behind as he has now moved up the housing ladder.

He has studied as an electrical engineer, and has since returned to work at Hattons.

Alan Brown has powers.

If you need a job doing, you can always rely on Robbie. He was working so fast today he had to be chased around the stock room in order to grab this rare picture opportunity! Robbies mum had to dig out his birth certificate in order to get him into secondary school, after his Mach 3 went blunt.

Gareth lists his hobbies as including walking, therefore he will gets lots of practise whilst collecting all the items for your orders!

Is on a gap year, ready to go Oxford Brooks where he will be studying Astro Physics.

Chris is a keen sports man and enjoys Football, Tennis, Pool and lifting pints of beer to his mouth. Chris is also a big Everton fan and is a regular fixture at Goodison Park where they have the largest selection of pies in the Premier League.

Chris can also be spotted around the night spots of Liverpool ‘living it up’ before his career in science calls.

He enhances the staff in the stock room’s lives by singing them hundreds of different songs from every genre of music conceivable. Sadly he only knows the first line to each but he’s always roughly in tune.