Milford Chest Hospital In The 50s And 60s.

A Memory of Milford.

My dad was taken suddenly from our home one day when I was at school. I returned home to find my elder sisters and mother in a state of distress. They told me daddy was in hospital and that we would all have to have an x ray and injections. A man in white overalls came and sprayed all my dad's clothes and also his cup and plates. That was the beginning of 6 years of visiting Milford Chest hospital. Dreadful in the winter as we always walked from the train along that very long track. But it was worth it. Milford chest became his second home, with stays lasting up to 2 years at a time, he was resident there more than he was at home. I remember the first time he came home after an 18 month stay. I saw a man who was literally held together by skin. There was no flesh or fat on him, TB had stripped him of it, and in return it gave our family poverty. Our clever hard working father never worked again.
But, Milford for me as a child, held good memories also, it was helping my daddy by giving him medicine and fresh air. I also remember a fete, and seeing Tony Handcock in the flesh. I guess he may have come to open it that day. There was someone from Hospital Radio asking if anyone wanted to make a request to be played to the patients. I asked for the song 'Get well soon' by Ruby Murray so that he could listen on his ear-phones. I wanted it to be a surprise so I didn't tell him. He wasn't listening when it was played so he never did hear it.
I do remember so well the way he would praise the staff who, 'couldn't have been better.' It was my dad's home on and off from 1955 to 1961 when he died there. I'd love to hear other memories from either former patients or their relatives.