Memory of Brockhall Hospital

Brockhall Hospital c1965
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I arrived in Brockhall hospital in 1970 from Mauritius to become a 'Subnormal Nurse' as it was known then. I am still baffled how I managed to reach Brockhall with so little knowledge at the tender age of 19 years. I am not sure whether I was amongst the youngest Mauritian. I was very scared, but very excited to be accepted to train to be a nurse. I was taken to my room in the Nurses' Home. It was such a thrilling experience that I can still recall, of smelling the gliterring steps of the staircase, the smell was so beautiful and nice like the smell of an apple. As soon as I was introduced to my room, I thanked God that I was about to work and train to be a nurse. I will never forget this day of magic and achievement. This was where my life started. I have achieved hundred and hundreds of things in my life to date. Thanks to Brockhall Hospital I am a nurse, a husband, a father, and a grandad. I visited the site of Brockhall Hospital on the 30th August 2009 with my wife Oosha who was also trained as a nurse at Brockhall, and my heart bleed with sadness to see of what remains of Brockhall Hospital. It is a village with hundreds of houses. I asked the gate porter "Where is the church?" and I was told it was dismantled and sold abroad. It was a very sad day for me and my wife, we will always remember the site as Brockhall Hospital.