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It’s a remarkable story that seems and feels almost impossible.

That a man could actually stand as a sentinel outside the gates of his home for 52 YEARS.

But that’s what Clive Hammond did. And his home for all that time was the Ailsa Hospital.

Now the astonishing story of Clive, who died of pneumonia on St Valentine’s Day this year aged 73, is to be brought to life.

A short film is being stitched together with the tentative title ‘The Man Who Stood Outside Ailsa Hospital.’

In fact it has more of a Hollywood movie about it.

Generations of motorists on the A713 passed him, rain or shine every day, always with his hands protectively covering both his ears.

Why he stood at the old main gates, always on the right, nobody really knows for sure.

But the clue could lie in his spectacular abandonment by his parents.

He was just three days past his 18th birthday as his parents were taking him and his sister Stella for a new life in America

They’d lived in Reigate, Surrey and flown to Prestwick Airport, the TransAtlantic gateway in 1960.

The silent trauma he possibly suffered from could have left him perennially awaiting their return, standing at the gates in hope of a sighting, never giving up.

He’d taken a sudden seizure at the airport and was taken to Ailsa, as his family continued heading overseas.

Margaret Honeyman took an instant shine to Clive when she started as a medical secretary at the Ailsa 18 years ago – and was Clive’s best friend.

Margaret, from Prestwick, said: “He was diagnosed with what we now know as autism and today people with the condition would not be in a psychiatric hospital all this time.

“Clive and I just seemed to hit it off. He used to come into our offices and would always change the calendars on the first of the month.

“He was happy in himself and the Ailsa regime was all he really knew.

“He had a seizure or fit so I am told they couldn’t take him on the flight. The parents and sister travelled on alone.

“Mums don’t leave their children, but they did. They got on the flight.

“History is a bit vague, but the mother and sister did come back to see him, and his sister was at the funeral.”

Three years ago, after having been one of the longest residents of Ailsa, he went to live in Monkton and was cared for by Partners for Inclusion.

Margaret added: “Once he left I always said to him would he want to come back and visit. He never would. He couldn’t communicate with speech and would just make a grunt when I asked him back. I think he was frightened they would make him stay.”

When his carers took him out and about - up to Largs and down to Girvan - folk without fail would come up and ask if he was the man that stood at the Ailsa gates.

Clive retained a great love of aircraft, and strangely fittingly, his new home had a grandstand view of the same Prestwick runway his family left on.

He loved aircraft (as well as steam trains) and it is thought his seizure at Prestwick was brought on by the realisation he would no longer be able to watch the Farnborough Airshow on television.

Marjory Spence was the key figure in moving Clive from Ailsa to his new home.

(Image: Euan McCall)

And Marjory , the team leader of his carers Partners for Inclusion, remains clearly upset at his passing.

She said: “He was a very relaxed man and was a joy to be with. I would actually describe him as serene.

“He could not talk much, though would say please.

“But he could read and write very well and loved crosswords. He would communicate with his expressions and after a while you became unaware he had problems speaking.

“I remember we were out at the Riverside restaurant near Alloway and a man approached us, obviously recognising Clive.

“He said he first saw him standing outside the gates when he started as an apprentice . . . and was now retired.

“It is may be hard to believe, but I don’t think Clive was sad. I think he was a happy man.”

Most of the staff that looked after Clive will be dead.

In fact the Ailsa itself is to close soon and all services will move to Irvine

Filmmaker Ruth Gailey, commissioned by Partners for Inclusion to produce a variety of social care documentaries, is appealing for old staff and motorists to come forward with their memories.

She said: “Clive’s story is quite remarkable.

“He spent 52 years in Ailsa Hospital, only leaving the grounds for the first time in 2001, 30 years after he arrived.

“He would spend his days standing at the gates of Ailsa watching cars go past and because of this, he is so well known.

“When out on trips people were so glad he was doing ok and happy to hear he was having the retirement he deserved.

“One man said he passed him everyday of his working life from his apprenticeship until his retirement and always wondered who he was, and if he was waiting for someone.

“I’d love to track him down and I hope he reads this in the Ayrshire Post.

“After he passed away, making his film is of even more importance as a tribute to his life. Even the undertakers from the funeral company recognised him as the man who stood outside Ailsa gates.”

●If you knew Clive, contact the Ayrshire Post on 01292 294473 or Ruth Gailey direct at ruth.gailey@partnersforinclusion.org