Tonsils

A Memory of Hemel Hempstead.

When I was about nine years old, the family doctor discovered a very bad case of tonsillitis. "Better have them removed as soon as possible." he tersely told my mother. With a brand new National Health in place, I was placed into Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. After a 24 hours of being spoiled by nurses, I was told that I would be taken to a hospital in Hemelhempstead.

We lined up on the pavement outside the hospital. Instead of an ambulance something in which I would looking forward to, a GreenLine bus appeared. I was only one of three children in it - all emergency cases

The bus was a single decker, had SPECIAL on the blind, and was the beloved TF class. Built by Leyland, and for the technically minded, the underfloor engine was revolutionary design. It looked unlike anything that had gone before it, looking very art-deco like. I was thrilled. Any kid could ride in an ambulance, but this........wow.

After a couple of hours, we rode into Hemel Hempstead to the local hospital. Before long, I was prepped and under the gas. I remember waking up with a tremendous sore throat. Each time the nurse walked past, I could hardly call out for a drink of something to cool my throat. All I remember being allowed to eat was jelly. I was, with sore throat and all, allowed out into the grounds, and I could explore and wander around. The hospital, as I remember it was then, in among fields. At the end of one was the single railway line to town from Harpenden. Besides buses, i was a lover of railways, but despite waiting at the track for what seemed like hours, I never did see one. Later, during a "nostalgia" visit to the town to visit my brother, I wandered down to see the station but alas, it had been pulled down along with the rest of the line.

I live in the United States now in the State of Maine, but still I have fond memories of Hemel Hempstead. When I was first there, it was indeed a "New Town", and the countryside was not far away. But it also had a history, being granted its town charter by King Henry VIII in 1539. Despite being new, it still has its "Old Town" My subsequent cycle visits always produce a surprise, population increase, expansion into the fields and the nearby M1 motorway not far away. But it will always be the HemelHempstead I remember as a nine year old visitor.