King Edwards Hospital, 1965

Ive found this site which shows the former King Edwards Hospital and now as converted apartments, but im afraid it doesnt state when it closed as a hospital.

Perhaps mike will know?

The hospital closed in September 1992. It doesn't seem that long ago! I remember it as a thriving place in the mid-1980s, when I was doing some research on the growth of bone cells, and I used to go out to the hospital to collect small samples of bone reamings collected during operations such as hip joint replacements (family connections did help in this case). I always used to enjoy the drive, even when I got called out three times in one afternoon to collect three samples!

The hospital closed in September 1992. It doesn't seem that long ago! I remember it as a thriving place in the mid-1980s, when I was doing some research on the growth of bone cells, and I used to go out to the hospital to collect small samples of bone reamings collected during operations such as hip joint replacements (family connections did help in this case). I always used to enjoy the drive, even when I got called out three times in one afternoon to collect three samples!

Thanks mike xx

Hello Mike - I was amazed & delighted to find a post from you on this site.I too had Polio - in 1951,when I was just a few months old.Your father performed several operations on my legs,although all of mine were carried out at The Royal Infirmary on Ward 6.I only visited King Edward's as an outpatient & then only on a very few occasions.I remember him as a wonderful man who always called me "poppet" & would often pop in to see me very late in the evenings,much to the consternation of the nursing staff,who ran around in demented fashion at the arrival of the great man!

He once gave me half a crown for being brave when I had my stitches out (I would be about 4 years old then).

My other memory is of coming to his consulting rooms on Manchester Road where a ginger cat came & sat on my knee,but Mr S wouldn't let the cat come in for the consultation!

Thanks to your father,I have led & continue to lead a very happy & busy life - I became a teacher,had two healthy & handsome sons(slightly biased opinion)& still work 4 days a week.There can be few people who have changed so many lives for the better as your father did - you must be very proud of him.

When I saw the notice of his death in the Telegraph,I did write a note to your mother via the Funeral Directors & she sent me a letter of thanks in reply.What a lovely family! Very Best Wishes

Janet

Billy Smarts Circus early 50s on B3

Billy Smarts Circus early 50s on B3

 

Wow what a great photo DIDO, thanks for posting it xxx

Hello Mike - I was amazed & delighted to find a post from you on this site.I too had Polio - in 1951,when I was just a few months old.Your father performed several operations on my legs,although all of mine were carried out at The Royal Infirmary on Ward 6.I only visited King Edward's as an outpatient & then only on a very few occasions.I remember him as a wonderful man who always called me "poppet" & would often pop in to see me very late in the evenings,much to the consternation of the nursing staff,who ran around in demented fashion at the arrival of the great man!

He once gave me half a crown for being brave when I had my stitches out (I would be about 4 years old then).

My other memory is of coming to his consulting rooms on Manchester Road where a ginger cat came & sat on my knee,but Mr S wouldn't let the cat come in for the consultation!

Thanks to your father,I have led & continue to lead a very happy & busy life - I became a teacher,had two healthy & handsome sons(slightly biased opinion)& still work 4 days a week.There can be few people who have changed so many lives for the better as your father did - you must be very proud of him.

When I saw the notice of his death in the Telegraph,I did write a note to your mother via the Funeral Directors & she sent me a letter of thanks in reply.What a lovely family! Very Best Wishes

Janet

Hello Janet,

It is wonderful to find such appreciation of my father's work! I know he would be very pleased to find that his efforts are so well remembered. Yes, his main appointment was at the Royal Infirmary, although he also operated at the Children's Hospital, King Edward's, Claremont, and other hospitals in Sheffield and indeed around the world. His unique approach to time (he was very much a night person, a feature I've inherited) meant that he would regularly visit his patients - and do impromptu ward rounds - at hours that the nursing staff considered to be the middle of the night. As he seldom finished work before 4 am, it was the middle of the working day to him.

He did have a great ability to establish a rapport with his patients, especially children, much to the envy of his fellow surgeons.

The house on Manchester Road was the family home - we moved there in 1961 and my parents lived there until my father died. The four children were supposed to keep very quiet when my father had his consulting sessions, which often lasted from 6 pm to 9.30 pm three or four evenings each week (and sometimes in the afternoon as well). My mother, who acted as his receptionist, notes clerk, and part-time secretary and telephonist, would show patients into the waiting room (and sometimes the living room when the waiting room was full) while dashing back and forth to the kitchen to cook supper. Very few patients realised that, when my father collected them from the waiting room and took them down the hall to the consulting room, it allowed him to assess how well they were walking without their becoming self-conscious about it.

The ginger cat was called Brandy, and was officially my cat (he was one year younger than me, and lived to a great age in cat years). You were quite privileged if he sat on your knee - he was choosy with his favours, and would often do his own round of the waiting room and stalk out again if no-one met with his approval!

Hello Mike

I see from the time your reply was posted that you have indeed inherited your father's night owl traits- I'm a lark myself!

Just as a footnote,you may be interested to know that I bred & showed Siamese & Oriental Shorthair cats for thirty years & am a judge of both breeds.Your discerning Brandy obviously recognised a cat-lover!

Best Wishes

Janet

Just found this thread I was in King Edwards in the 60's I remember Dave Berry's(of pop fame)mum was in the same ward as me I thought it was great when he came ,being only 16 got him to sign a LP I had .I also remember being put outside in our beds in the hot weather and being dive bombed by wasps

Hi mike and thanks for replying,

Yes your dad was a formidable man and everyone was in awe of his wonderful gift as a surgeon. I can imagine how difficult it was for you to show your own skills under the shadow of your dad. The work you are doing now is so important and i wish we could find a cure for all cancers.

It made me smile when you wrote about the "blank Check" I bet your dad had great pleasure spending the money lol.

Professor Sharrard was indeed a remarkable man and a talented, hard-working surgeon (and I can quite imagine he didn't suffer fools!) I know that, 37 years on from my RTA, I owe my almost total lack of disability to the care given by him and his team* (despite "collecting" half a dozen fractures including femur, pelvis and ulna, the worst long-term effect is a slightly stiff knee). He would no doubt have been pleased to know that I climbed Ben Nevis in 2006 and Snowdon last year!

..*.at the Royal Infirmary at that time, two of his registrars were the Australian Dr Gaye, who repaired my arm with a 6-inch plate, and the Malaysian Dr Kwong who installed a Kuntscher nail in my femur. Both bits of ironmongery are still there!

My late nephew [Paul Evans] secured an apprenticeship in the gardening department at the hospital, possibly in the late 70's, unfortunately he was on his way home and was found deceased alongside his motor bike just outside the hospital gate, no one actually knows what happened to him as the only damage was a cracked headlight glass, does anyone remember that incident ?

I remember this well, such a mystery. My father (a lifelong biker) kept a diary which gives the date as February 1974. The poor lad was only 18.

Thanks hillsbro, I'v sent you a PM.