Wigan Album

Before the advent of streptomycin, the cure for TB was fresh air. My dad was in Delamere hospital for 3 months after he left the pit and the patients there were subjected to the fresh air treatment.

There was also veranda wards at RAEI Lower Johnson, Whelley and Astley Hospitals, like you say Ron it must have been parky.

My Uncle Billy was in here in the early sixties.

My Mother went into Wrightington on her return from India in about 1945/6, she had contracted TB. I have a pic of my Granny Bryson visiting her there, will post it.

I remember being in ward 7 at wrightington in 1966/67 I had fluid on my lungs and had to have them drained 3 times, not a very nice experience.

i go to this hospital regular, its more rheumatology now, i have rheaumatoid arthritis and was only there last week for injection and x rays ive been going for 13 years and sometimes staying in for week or two and i must say its a wonderful place , people come from all over the country for treatment.when i was on ward 7 once you could go outside , i got a tan that week and even went to the car boot sale with a friend in our pajarmas and got back in time for our sunday roast,it was home from home !!!

I trained at Wrightington in the early 60 s ,wonderful memories

Let me tell you a strange story,late 60s/early 70s I used to mate around with a a great lad from Ashton,to cut a long story short he developed T.B and ended up in Wrightington hospital,after a long period of time he was cured and came out,of course as we grew up he went his way and I went mine.Then I went for a job at a big Merseyside hospital they gave me what they call a eef test,the test indicated that I had T. B however a top doctor from Liverpool university stated that I did contract T .B but my immune system had turned it around to an antibody how weird is that.

I went into Wrightington on 15 Dec 1954 and came out in Dec 1957. Treated for TB, strapped to a frame for 10 months with injections etc, and when it was realised that I hadn't had TB but had Rh arthritis had both hips implanted with metal cups. I was in the cubicles on Ward B all the time and have a few photos of same.
It was cold at night in Winter but that was supposed to be good for one!

My father Robert (Bob) Charlton was a patient in Wrightington Hospital in 1950. My mother was working in the hospital as a trainee nurse. Her name was Mathilde Funken. She had moved to England from Germany specifically to complete this training. Dad had contracted bovine tb while in Lower Topa, India, with the RAF, and was recuperating from tuberculosis. (Mr Charnley had previously completed the surgery on my Dad's wrist). My parents met on the ward at Wrightington Hospital, married in 1951, and in 1952 moved to New Zealand to live.

I was a patient in Wrightington with TB aged around 5 , would have been 1960’s or so.
Luckily was only in around 3 or so months, don’t have many memories of it apart from, a sister called Drinkwater. I’m not sure if this is a real memory or not, I’m 66 now and have often wondered about this lady. If anyone can throw light in this I would be very grateful.

I was a patient at wrightington on ward 7 in the early 60s I spent 5 months on there think that's where I knew nursing would what I would do with my life and I did for many happy years watching people be restored to well being a wonderful feeling to know I helped them on there way

I slept on that varander for 4months with a rubber cover over the bottom of the bed and a cozy hot water bottle made metal not rubber to keep me warm and the fresh air was great

I spent almost two years in Wrightington Hospital with spinal TB from about 1954 to 1956/7. Sadly I don't remember the exact dates as it was difficult to get my parents to talk about it after I went home to Mancheser. I was was immobolized in a full body cast for most of that time and had several operations on my spine. I spent a lot of time on the verandah and loved the sight of the rhodendrons in the dell across the lawns form the ward and also playing with my neighbours on boards balanced between the beds. There were some very sad times when outside epidemics made visits impossible. However the staff, and especially the nurses were wonderful. They read the letters my parents sent and spent the money that was sent for treats - often I suspect buying us kids things which cost way beyond what had been sent. We had lessons and learned to write and read, in my case lying on my back. When I went home cured and started school after a long convalescence I was surpised to find I was ahead of my peers in reading, writing and arithmetic. though excluded from sports and games. I returned to Wrightington a number of times for check-ups until I was about 12.

The older I get the more I appreciate the wonders of the NHS and the gift of a healthy and active life that Wrightington gave me. I live in the USA now and had cause to see a local orthopeadic surgeon who was so in awe of the work that had been done in Wrightington that he asked if I would mind if a couple of students had a look at my spine. On the day there were 12 young medics, awestruck by the sight of x-rays of vertebral grafts performed in the 1950's (that was in 2012). Thank you.