The Ipswich Scout and Guide Gang Show celebrated its 80th birthday a couple of weeks ago and in this week’s Days Gone By we have featured photographs from past shows, along with photographs from other youth organisation events.
Reader Tracie Paris sent in a photograph taken around 1950 of a group of Cub Scouts setting off on a day trip to Woodbridge, wondering if other readers can add names to the picture. I have included a Boys’ Brigade event in Ipswich in 1960. The Boys’ Brigade was founded in Glasgow on October 4, 1883, by Sir William Alexander Smith. There are also pictures of the Ipswich Sea Cadets. Tracie Paris wrote: I have a photo of my dad and many other Cub Scouts on a day trip dated approx late 1940s or early 50s. We know the names of a few of the lads, but it would be lovely to find out who the others are. I have the following information to go with it. This was taken on the steps of Stowmarket railway station on a Cubs trip to Woodbridge. My dad, Michael (Mick) Pettitt, (age approximately nine) is pictured front row, third from the right, on his left is James Boreham and on his right is Victor Cobbold. Next to them is Logan and Keith Landymore. Also pictured are Lenny Harvey, Peter Turner, Neville Barnard. Three others I know have the surnames Hardwick, Warner and Brinkley.
The Anglesea Road Ipswich Hospital featured recently and readers have written with their memories of working there.
A long retired doctor wrote in and said: The old Anglesea Road Hospital featured in Days Gone By is just as I remembered it in 1955, when it was the main Ipswich Hospital. I worked there from February to the end of April in the ENT and Ophthalmology department, on call 24 hours. It was compulsory for junior medical officers to live in, just a room provided with a gas fire, very useful for toasting crumpets as we rarely reached the Refectory for eating and relied on ward snacks. The communication for callouts at night was the porter banging on the door! The photo clearly shows the main building opposite the top of Berners Street. The living accommodation was in the first two houses on the left as you walked into town. The first house was occupied by physiotherapists and radiographers and the second house was occupied by medical officers. In addition to routine rotas the junior medical officers had to cover the requirements of the casualty department, not called A&E then, which was situated together with outpatients on the left as you left the hospital by the main entrance. Coffee breaks were taken on large benches in what seemed to be a large linen cupboard with three or four consultants. When given the nod we were expected to leave and return to the clinics. At that time the ENT ward had a large proportion of children for tonsillectomy and the eye ward for cataracts, which rarely require admissions now. In spite of the extremely hard work, with little sleep and little pay, about £20 per month, they were good times.
From a long retired doctor.
Heather Bugg wrote in and said: The pictures of Anglesea Road Wing of Ipswich Hospital brought back memories for me. One picture shows Sister Quinn on the left - she was in charge of the new A&E department, Dr Mukerji on the right later became a GP in Ipswich, next to him is Nurse Collard. I am behind the new operating equipment, Student Nurse Heather Welham, at 19 years old I had just started working in A&E. Another picture shows us students making up a bed in the resuscitation room, this was before we had an intensive care unit and when patients were ‘specialed’ on the wards. The A&E department was opened by Major General C. Miller and I was chosen to present the flowers to Mrs Miller. As a pre-nursing student and student nurse I worked in several departments and wards at Anglesea Road Wing, it was so sad to see it demolished and I hope the original parts can be saved from the bulldozer now Anglesea Heights is closing. My first ward was Felix Ward - men’s surgical and I also worked on Mason and Ripley, Bolton, Sinclair, Cobbold and Bell Jones wards. It was hard work and woe betide us if we didn’t know every patient’s name, diagnosis and progress when we lined up each report time and Sister picked on us. The hours were long with split shifts and we often had to stay behind late adding up the fluid charts, we learnt how important it was to keep our patients clean and comfortable, the work was interesting and rewarding and we were happy and so proud of our hospital.
Do you have memories of these organisations or similar you would like to share with readers? To submit a letter, in less than 300 words, write to David Kindred, Days Gone By, Ipswich Star/EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS or email info@kindred-spirit.co.uk
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