Meet the Staff

Norman Hatton

Founder

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

ex Managing Director

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

Managing Director

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.

Richard Davies

Buyer

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Lesley McGhee

Acting Warehouse Manager

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 Hill

Retail Manager

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

Company Secretary

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

I.T. Manager

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.

Carlo Troiano

Advertising Co-ordinator

Dave Drummond

Warehouse support

Andrew Bradley

Project Manager

David Mylett

Retail Specialist

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 Jennison

Quality Assurance Leader

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 McKay Smith

Retail Support

Karen, better known as Candy, handles your postal orders with amazing speed and is always prepared with a smile and a friendly chat. Outside of Hatton’s she spends a lot of time being babysat by her grandchildren (though she claims this is the other way round) and spending lots of money on shopping sprees. Candy keeps her social skills outstanding by going on nights out and exercises her mental faculties by completing crosswords - all in the interest of self-improvement of course!

Conor Clarke

Retail Assistant

Conor is a talented musician -so talented in fact that his band, Major Major, have played at Glastonbury twice. He often brightens up the shop with his singing - we even once considered placing him outside the shop to sing the ‘Locomotion’ and attract customers! Conor is also our resident magician (every good model centre has one!), whose specialities include table magic and disappearing at lunch time. Conor is also a George Formby fan and is very keen to meet customers from all over the world.

Gemma Lynch

Retail Assistant

Gemma studied Physical Geography at the University of Liverpool before proving she was so clever she could achieve a masters degree. It was whilst studying for her masters in Environment and Climate Change that Gemma joined the Hatton’s world, and liked it so much she stayed on full time after graduating. Outside of work Gemma enjoys curling up with a good book, particularly Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series. She is also a keen traveller, and in the last year has ticked Rome, Barcelona and Germany off her list of places to visit. Gemma’s claim to railway fame is her Eurostar journey on the way to the German Christmas markets. She also gained first hand experience of the German rail network whilst in the country - don’t worry though, she did manage to find time to do some shopping during all this research!

Alexandra Jennings

Retail Assistant

Alex joined the company after completing her degree in Psychology. She is a member of a glee club (but don’t ask her to sing) and is very crafty … by which I mean she enjoys arts and crafts of course! Alex enjoys sewing and knitting, and her favourite food is goats cheese. She is always ready to greet customers with a friendly smile - as long as you don’t ask her to sing.

Kev Walsh

Retail Assistant

Kev gained his excellent customer service skills whilst working for a bank, before realising that this was not were his passions lay, and instead decided to use those skills working for Hatton’s. Kev studied History at university - but for some reason doesn’t like it when you ask him the exact date of every historical event you can think of!

Sarah Wilcox

Retail Assistant

Sarah is always ready for the day with a smile and a cup of tea. She has a degree in History of Art and Design, and is now expanding her talents in her training to become an Occupational Therapist. Outside of work Sarah enjoys baking cake and eating cake - well who said you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Bryan White

Retail Assistant

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.

Niamh Bonner

Retail Assistant

Paris Goodwin

Retail Assistant

Emma Gill

Retail Assistant

Emma is rarely without her nose in a book - which means that putting items onto display can be quite difficult. Her favourite tomes range from Chaucer’s fourteenth century Canterbury Tales to the modern genius of Harry Potter. Not content with reading these books Emma has produced an attempt at writing her own fantasy novel for young adults. It is little surprise, therefore, that Emma’s degree is in English Language and Literature. In order to make it seem that she is not a book nerd (and instead a more well-rounded nerd) Emma would also like to note her interest in Astronomy and Ancient Egypt. One of her prize possessions is an amulet of the Egyptian god Osiris dating from 600BC.

John Etheridge

Retail Assistant

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.

Paul Brannigan

Retail Assistant

Michael Tapp

Retail Assistant

Having joined back in 2007, Michael is one of our longest serving members of part time staff. Back then, he was a young innocent boy struggling to make his way in the world. Now he's a young, not-so-innocent-but-still-dashingly-good-looking man studying for a degree in Psychology. When he isn't studying the inner workings of the mind or the inner workings of model locomotives; Michael is forging a career in the comedy business performing his own musical stand-up routine; and has just returned from his first show at the Edinburgh Fringe, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Dara O'Brien, Norman Lovett and Tim Vine while he was there. He often breaks into song in the shop as he can never find the right key. Get it? No? Never mind.

Peter Jackson

Retail Assistant

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 Deam

Retail Assistant

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.

Caroline Walsh

Retail Assistant

Caroline works part time at Hatton’s whilst studying hard for her degree in Biochemistry at the University of Liverpool. Though this keeps her very busy Caroline finds time to unwind by spending time with her friends, often during a bit of retail therapy. Caroline is also one of the musical members of the Hattons team, with a talent for playing the cello.

Mark Deam

Retail Assistant

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.

David Willmer

Retail Assistant

David is a football fan, which explains why his moods change based on the performance of Hull City. Dave joined Hatton’s whilst finishing his Masters in Twentieth Century History, and also enjoys listening to music and reading works by French authors.

Peter Walsh

Warehouse Support

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.

Peter Warburton

Warehouse Support

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!

Simon Rigert Harnden

Warehouse Support

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.

Christopher McCann

Warehouse Support

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

Alan Brown

Warehouse Support

Alan Brown has powers.

David Evans

Warehouse Support

Robert McCarthy

Warehouse Support

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 Garbutt

Warehouse Support

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

Dan Dan Ye

Bonus clerk

Chris Brown

Bonus Clerk

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.

Bozena Michalczyk

Warehouse support

Judyta Ramiaczek

Warehouse support

Margaret Obszalska

Warehouse support

Monika Mucha

Warehouse support