It Was Great In Its Time; May It Now Rip

A Memory of Taplow.

I remember this hospital with great affection and gratitude. I was there for nearly 4 years as a student and then staff nurse 1966-1970. It was never ever called 'Royal', its title was The Canadian Red Cross Memorial Hospital. I lived as a student nurse in the nurses homes, Hitcham House and then Hitchambury House in my final year. The training for nurses was outstanding and stood me in good stead in my next 10 years as a sister in a well known London teaching hospital. It took me some years to value the training I had there and in some areas it was very progressive. I have few photos of the hospital and fellows nurses but those I have I treasure. The children with Still's disease haunt me still as some of them suffered greatly. In those days it still had a TB ward and we took home a pint of milk a day when working on this ward. The Matron was Mrs Hamblyn (spelling?) Deputy was Miss O'Connor, and a Miss Richards. The senior Tutor was Miss Postle and her deputy was Mr Mar. The student nurses came to train there from many parts of the world. In those days it was a 44 then 42 hour week, the work was hard but very rewarding. Pretty colours for uniforms; the student nurses wore royal blue with large navel style hats white aprons and flesh coloured tights with bright red capes. The colour for the staff nurses dresses was buttercup yellow and the sisters was mid green, pre student nurses wore lilac. Although I was pleased to qualify and move on, I have taken much from this place. I last visited just before it was demolished and felt not sadness but a great sense of all the love that was poured in to it over the years by so many who worked or were treated there. Sadly there is no proper place for it recorded on the internet as it was highjacked by idiots. Good bye dear friend and RIP The CRXMH I am proud to have been part of your long and distinguished history.