Queen Alexandra Hospital Cosham

A Memory of Cosham.

I was born in 1940 and my grandparents lived at 10 Queen Alexandra Hospital which was in a row of terraced cottages, just above the main part of the hospital. My grandfather worked there, I think on the nursing side. The cottages had a living room and a kitchen with a small yard and covered porch to the W C. Upstairs were 2 bedrooms and they brought up 4 children there. Outside the back was a sloped bit of garden which was always planted out with asters making a colourful display. Beyond that was a level grass area and then a building which was the wash house. There were large deep sinks where everyone from the cottages came to do their laundry, and two spacious bathrooms with enormous baths. There was copious hot water which presumably came from the hospital boiler house. The whole place was a mass of steam on wash days. Adjacent to the row of cottages was the occupational therapy hut where the wounded service men in their regulation royal blue suits used to come and do craft work. As a child I used to wait for them to arrive and beg some fabric to dress my doll.

Up on Portsdown hill, there used to be an annual fair with all the traditional swings and roundabouts and roll a penny stalls.

My grandfather had an allotment and used to take me there with him. The whole site ran alongside the railway and as it was war time, the family used to have lovely fresh fruit and veg. Grandad used to tie his garden fork to the crossbar of his bike and cycle back up the hill laden with produce.

The hospital (and cottages) were bombed during the war and my grandparents' cottage was hit and they came back from sheltering to find someone looting. Grandad soon put them in their place. I think it was the operating theatres which were also hit as they were just across the road but they made a wonderful playground for we children and we would have imaginary homes made out of the shells of the rooms. There was also a huge tank for the static water supply, open to the elements, but I don't know of anyone falling in.

I also remember going to Hilsea lido to the paddling pool and also being put on the bus to be collected at Hilsea when I went to stay with my grandparents.

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