Hospital Layout (Click on it to enlarge)

School Days

From the Yorkshire Evening Post of 9th March 1948, and shows some of us having lessons from one of the nurses, out on the verandah. Jane is the one on the left with the ribbons in her hair

OK I am guessing but the view through the trees looks as if it could be showing the remand home Harry spoke of but the trees themselves are much closer than I remember (they used to house a rookery). The shadows suggest that the photo was taken in the morning as I'm confident that the hospital wards largely faced south, we got the sun all day long if I remember. The fairly grown up little girls also suggest that the picture was taken on hard standing outside the girl's ward, which would have been much closer to the trees than where the boys were. I also agree that it was probably staged, I cannot remember any nurses assisting with teaching. The nurse at the blackboard looks pretty young too and possibly backs up my belief that it was a teaching hospital.

Jane with her mother, photo taken shortly before she went home.

Easter 1953

Perthes disease (ok I spelt it wrong!) is explained much better than I can at http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/27000664/

it is a softening of the hip joint which can cause a permanent limp and requiring a built up shoe if unsuccessfully treated. I was lucky, there was no long term problems and at 63 I still have no hint of wear or arthritis in the hip, pity I can't say the same about my fingers.

Your telling of playing a game with a ball reminds me that we used to do something similar but we had our tennis balls on a length of string held in place with sticking plaster. We also used to improvise with a rolled up comic tied up tightly with the string we scavenged from the blanket stitching on the blanket edging, it unravelled very easily once you got it started. Vandalism isn't peculiar to today's youth. The whole thing was called a spolley and the game involved throwing the ball, or comic, over the roof beams in the ward and swinging it against your opponents, a bit like conkers on a grand scale.

I would love to see any photos you may have, they may add to my memories of the layout. I will try and sketch what I think  the layout was like but I am a bit vague in some respects. Still if I make a start others may be able to add to or correct as we go along. 

I've attached the only photo I have, it was taken of me in my bed on the big boys ward just outside of the veranda, note I'm dressed from the waist up. I think we were transferred to this ward when we were about 7 years old. Note to my right their appears to be a bedside locker with a number of books on it and what looks like one of the tables they used to pull up to the patient for meals in bed all under the veranda. This looks like a permanent outdoor bed space so the occupant was probably sleeping out too. To my left is the end corner of the smaller boys ward, it had no veranda but large doors to enable beds to be wheeled out easily. The Easter egg suggests the photo was taken at Easter and Google says Easter Sunday was 5th April so I guess this was taken on the 4th - Saturday visiting day. Being outdoors at Easter seems to confirm your memory of being placed outdoors in the colder weather. At this time I was being schooled in the use of calipers but had to stay in bed unless I was wearing them.  It is possible I was still attached to the traction weights but I'm not sure. I must have left soon after this photo was taken. Surprising what can be gleaned from studying an old blurred photo, but then at least the background is sharp! 

Sadly my parents are no longer alive so I can't question them about MHH. 

Big picture?

Can I add text