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St Gerards Hospital, Coleshill

Hi my name was celia jackson. I was in sister brendon ward and remmber maurd the cleaner well. I remember seeing mr pastry opening the swimming pool and some pop stars of the 60s. The place never leaves your mind or your memory
 
hamill said:
I was a trainee nurse at St.Gerards early 1960's. Mother Catherine was in charge of the hospital. I remember Sr.Phillip, Sr.Beatrice ...can't put a name to the other nursing Sisters. Wards 7 & 8 were outside the hosp. way down a path & at 17 i was very scared alone on night duty. We lived in the nursing home and celebrities would visit ..The Rocking Berries was one band that i still have photo's. Nurses M.Gavaghan, B.Gavaghan, B.Dwyer, M.Wueschner.H.Casey, C.Dugan, A.Fahey.B.Cronin, P.Donohoe, A.Gallagher. Anyone out there that remembers any of the names ?
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lyn
 
stevejgwinn said:
hi, I went to St Gerrards duing the early sixties, it wasn't a pleasant time, I was age 5 when I went in and escaped when I was age 8, I had a condition called Perthes disease [soft hip bone] I had both legs in plaster and a bar across them so I was confined to my bed. I remember many arguements between my parents and the Nuns, my mom says it was because we weren't catholic, all I remember is that they were very unpleasant, very strict and shouted alot.
They said one Christmas that I had to many presents and removed them from me and gave them to other children without telling my parents, I remember that arguement!!!
I was also told that if I misbehaved the Virgin Mary would find out, it scared me to bits, I carried with me this vision of the Virgin Mary by the pond at the Hospital with a willow shading her for many years. By chance I happened to drive pass the place last year and had flash backs about the place, I parked up and wondered around the back of the hospital and came across the statue by the pond and it was of Jesus? not the Virgin Mary. I had to smile to myself because I am a born again Christian and it was because I had a Vision of Jesus many years later, and there he was by the pond.
I don't remember many names, only one boy who had a TV fall on him, and one nun/sister called Iris or Avis who was told off for the the way she spoke to my mother.
Even though I remember the bad times more their were good and some happy memories, the entertainers who came over Christmas, the garden fate, and the visits once a week from my family.
steve
ps the only photo i have of me at the hospital
Click to expand...

stevejgwinn said:
hi, I went to St Gerrards duing the early sixties, it wasn't a pleasant time, I was age 5 when I went in and escaped when I was age 8, I had a condition called Perthes disease [soft hip bone] I had both legs in plaster and a bar across them so I was confined to my bed. I remember many arguements between my parents and the Nuns, my mom says it was because we weren't catholic, all I remember is that they were very unpleasant, very strict and shouted alot.
They said one Christmas that I had to many presents and removed them from me and gave them to other children without telling my parents, I remember that arguement!!!
I was also told that if I misbehaved the Virgin Mary would find out, it scared me to bits, I carried with me this vision of the Virgin Mary by the pond at the Hospital with a willow shading her for many years. By chance I happened to drive pass the place last year and had flash backs about the place, I parked up and wondered around the back of the hospital and came across the statue by the pond and it was of Jesus? not the Virgin Mary. I had to smile to myself because I am a born again Christian and it was because I had a Vision of Jesus many years later, and there he was by the pond.
I don't remember many names, only one boy who had a TV fall on him, and one nun/sister called Iris or Avis who was told off for the the way she spoke to my mother.
Even though I remember the bad times more their were good and some happy memories, the entertainers who came over Christmas, the garden fate, and the visits once a week from my family.
steve
ps the only photo i have of me at the hospital
Click to expand...
Hi steve yes i remember it so well i was in ward 6,,7 i was there very early 60,s i was under mr innes and i had multiple ephyseal displasia.and my sister was sister Brendan .my best friend robert carte was in the boys we are still close and see each other and often talk of the times in there it never laves your mind .
 
bobshaw said:
Hi Ingrid,

I spent a long time at St Gerards, cannot remember exactly how long, I may have been about 8 as I remember my 10th Birthday there and was discharged just before my 11th birthday, also I remember that the TV was on nearly all day for the coronation of Elizabeth II that was shown from Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.

The large doors onto the veranda were nearly always open only being closed in REALLY bad weather. Having been in plaster of paris for all the time I was there and confined to bed, I was eventually allowed out of bed, the plaster being taken off, the leg had withered and no movement in the knee, so I was fitted with a caliper, this gave me the freedom of walking in the grounds, where a small area was set out very nicely and a large statue was at the end.

The only person I can remember is a Sister Christina a rather large lady, my consultant was Mr Innes.

Kind regards.

Bob
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my 2 sisters virginia and rosaleen griffin spent 3yrs there in the mid fifties,,, one christmas wilfred pickles came to visit,,,he was a big radio star,,,i remember it took 3 buses to visit from sparkhill, it was very hard times for my widowed mother with 8 children,,,trying to visit them,,,,both girls made good recoveries and good careers,,,i remember the name dr allen,,,,,best regards john griffin,
 
JohnGriff said:
my 2 sisters virginia and rosaleen griffin spent 3yrs there in the mid fifties,,, one christmas wilfred pickles came to visit,,,he was a big radio star,,,i remember it took 3 buses to visit from sparkhill, it was very hard times for my widowed mother with 8 children,,,trying to visit them,,,,both girls made good recoveries and good careers,,,i remember the name dr allen,,,,,best regards john griffin,
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23 march 2020 john griffin
 
DSK said:
Hiya,

I had a number of spells in St Gerards during the 50's & 60's, not the greatest of memories from what I recall. If it hadnt have been for some of the kind staff there it would have been much worse. Three names that I can remember are Sister Lazerian, nurse Bratia and Mr Innis, not sure about the spellings.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards have a good Christmas.

DSK
Click to expand...
Yes
JohnGriff said:
23 march 2020 john griffin
Click to expand...
Do you remember
JohnGriff said:
23 march 2020 john griffin
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Hi Celia
I was in St Gerard's when Mr Pastry opened the swimming pool. Indeed I was one of the patients in the pool that day - under strict orders not to get my arm plaster wet. Initially in Ward 3/4 (next to chapel) then moved to Ward 5/6, I was in the hospiatl for 6 months for remedial surgery on my left arm. Ward Sisters I remember best were Sister Antonia (known as The Ant) and Sister Philip. Many great nurses - Keen, McKenna, Gough, Byrne, - and the 3 surgeons were Penrose (mine), Innis and Allan.
Does anyone else recall the visit of folk duo Nina and Frederick. They signed my plaster. Another highlight was going down to the chicken farm with the food slops from the ward to meet the girls and have a smoke!
Before and after St Gerard's I was a regular for years at the physio clinics in Hinckley. The team was Sister Fintan, Sister Laserian, nurse Brasher, and their driver Mr Murphy!
 
My mother had several stays at St Gerrards in the 40's and 50's names that she came up with at Sisters Lazarian, Finton, Kevin, Philip, Brendon, Benedict-Joseph, Nurse Brasher, and surgeons were Sir Naughton Dunn, Allen and Innis. My parents kept in touch with every one and when I was born in 61 As a favour I was taken to see Mr Innis or Allen as a favour to be checked to see if I had the same condition as my mother. My parents were regular visitors to St Gerrard's, and remained close to the nuns, but in particular Sister's Finton and Lazarian. My father taught one or both of them to drive (I can't remember if they passed their tests) and also took them to London to see the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. On the way down my parents had reservations about taking 2 elderly nuns to see the show, but they really enjoyed it. I last spoke to Sister Lazarian in November 2000 to inform her of the death of my father
 
Mickrobbo5561 said:
She was very deaf. I believe she lived untill she was over 100
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Sister Laserian was over 100 when we last visited her at St Paul's Convent, Selly Park. She was completely compos mentis, had a great memory for patients and people she'd known for decades before, and a grip like iron (testament to all those years of pummeling, stretching, and massaging reluctant limbs). She still called me "Tommy John".
 
celiawallis said:
Hi do you remember mr pastry coming to open the physio swimming pool.and sir tom jones came dave clark 5 group i was in ward 7 st Brendon .i dont kniw if you remember Robert cart he was in there early 60,s and onwards .
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I checked back and Mr Pastry opened the pool in October 1961. He was "playfully" pushed in fully clothed by Canon Flint the head priest from the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart and St Teresa along by Father Hudson's Homes.
 
Cannon Flint has been mentioned on another Thread...

Father Hudson's and Father Flint

Father Flint was made into a Canon, being the Administrator of Father Hudson's Homes - from the letters that I have, he organised placements of babies born to unmarried women like my grandmother in Ladywood parish in the 1940's. Also involved in the Child Migration Scheme to Commonwealth...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
No
Tom Kelly said:
Hi Celia
I was in St Gerard's when Mr Pastry opened the swimming pool. Indeed I was one of the patients in the pool that day - under strict orders not to get my arm plaster wet. Initially in Ward 3/4 (next to chapel) then moved to Ward 5/6, I was in the hospiatl for 6 months for remedial surgery on my left arm. Ward Sisters I remember best were Sister Antonia (known as The Ant) and Sister Philip. Many great nurses - Keen, McKenna, Gough, Byrne, - and the 3 surgeons were Penrose (mine), Innis and Allan.
Does anyone else recall the visit of folk duo Nina and Frederick. They signed my plaster. Another highlight was going down to the chicken farm with the food slops from the ward to meet the girls and have a smoke!
Before and after St Gerard's I was a regular for years at the physio clinics in Hinckley. The team was Sister Fintan, Sister Laserian, nurse Brasher, and their driver Mr Murphy!
Click to expand...
Hi tom do you remember a mr jackson he helped put us in the pool he was my dad he got a job near the hospital so he could see me .mr pastry if I remember right a big rocket that all sweets fell out but memory not to good now do you remember Robert carte he was in ward 5 and 6 he now lives 4 doors down from me we talk of times gone by at coleshill which is good because we can get the bad thoughts out. I went back to see it but it has all been pulled down to a housing estate but I went into an office and spoke to a lovely lady about our time in there it is something that is always in my mind it was homebut not home if you know what I mean and things did go on there that shouldn't have gone on I have a photo of the travelling show show where there was lots of poodles and our beds were all put outside and I have a photo with me sitting on the bed with the lady called Jenny Lee Wright I remember sitting on Tom James lap they put me on a swing with him but I haven't got that photo anymore more and yes I remember sister Philip 6-ft I think that's what she look like to me very scary you don't say no to her.
 
DSK said:
Hiya,

I had a number of spells in St Gerards during the 50's & 60's, not the greatest of memories from what I recall. If it hadnt have been for some of the kind staff there it would have been much worse. Three names that I can remember are Sister Lazerian, nurse Bratia and Mr Innis, not sure about the spellings.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards have a good Christmas.

DSK
Click to expand...
IngridMartin said:
Is there anyone out there who was a patient or was connected with the hospital in the late 50s or early 60s?
Click to expand...
 
IngridMartin said:
Is there anyone out there who was a patient or was connected with the hospital in the late 50s or early 60s?
Click to expand...
Hello Ingrid,
My wife Ann (maiden name Butler) was around 10 when she was a patient at St. Gerrards about 1959 and spent a year there in a leg traction for T.B. of the knee. She always remembers a visit of Nina and Frederick and we named our daughter Nina in 1979.
 
Tom Kelly said:
Hi Celia
I was in St Gerard's when Mr Pastry opened the swimming pool. Indeed I was one of the patients in the pool that day - under strict orders not to get my arm plaster wet. Initially in Ward 3/4 (next to chapel) then moved to Ward 5/6, I was in the hospiatl for 6 months for remedial surgery on my left arm. Ward Sisters I remember best were Sister Antonia (known as The Ant) and Sister Philip. Many great nurses - Keen, McKenna, Gough, Byrne, - and the 3 surgeons were Penrose (mine), Innis and Allan.
Does anyone else recall the visit of folk duo Nina and Frederick. They signed my plaster. Another highlight was going down to the chicken farm with the food slops from the ward to meet the girls and have a smoke!
Before and after St Gerard's I was a regular for years at the physio clinics in Hinckley. The team was Sister Fintan, Sister Laserian, nurse Brasher, and their driver Mr Murphy!
Click to expand...
Hello Tom,
My wife Ann (maiden name Butler) was about 10 when she was at St. Gerrards around 1959 and spent a year there in traction for T.B. of the knee.
She also had her plaster signed by Nina and Frederick (must have been the same day).
 
What memories these posts have bought back to me. I was a patient at St Gerards for about 6 weeks in the 1950s and again in the early 1960s. I remember being scared but I was never I’ll treated. I remember the Summer Fetes and being taken to church in Coleshill on a Sunday . I also had a relative in Father Hudson’s Homes but unfortunately I don’t have any information on him. It’s sad to see the pictures of how it looks now.
 
The hospital has been demolished and the area is Father Hudsons Care home in Gerards Way but if you go to the car park of the care home there is a field nearby and in the middle of it is a statue of Christ with his arms outstretched and that is where the wards were.
 
Alberta said:
The hospital has been demolished and the area is Father Hudsons Care home in Gerards Way but if you go to the car park of the care home there is a field nearby and in the middle of it is a statue of Christ with his arms outstretched and that is where the wards were.
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wow that is a lovely memorial to the hospital alberta

thanks
 
stevejgwinn said:
hi, I went to St Gerrards duing the early sixties, it wasn't a pleasant time, I was age 5 when I went in and escaped when I was age 8, I had a condition called Perthes disease [soft hip bone] I had both legs in plaster and a bar across them so I was confined to my bed. I remember many arguements between my parents and the Nuns, my mom says it was because we weren't catholic, all I remember is that they were very unpleasant, very strict and shouted alot.
They said one Christmas that I had to many presents and removed them from me and gave them to other children without telling my parents, I remember that arguement!!!
I was also told that if I misbehaved the Virgin Mary would find out, it scared me to bits, I carried with me this vision of the Virgin Mary by the pond at the Hospital with a willow shading her for many years. By chance I happened to drive pass the place last year and had flash backs about the place, I parked up and wondered around the back of the hospital and came across the statue by the pond and it was of Jesus? not the Virgin Mary. I had to smile to myself because I am a born again Christian and it was because I had a Vision of Jesus many years later, and there he was by the pond.
I don't remember many names, only one boy who had a TV fall on him, and one nun/sister called Iris or Avis who was told off for the the way she spoke to my mother.
Even though I remember the bad times more their were good and some happy memories, the entertainers who came over Christmas, the garden fate, and the visits once a week from my family.
steve
ps the only photo i have of me at the hospital
Click to expand...

Does this post refer to the statue ?
 
I don't know. I can't see a pond on the map.
However, that post is dated 2011 and on 2011 streetview I can't see that statue.
 
Janice I think the statue was added in 2013 when all the new buildings were in place, the old buildings were desolate for years, until demolished I think from 2004-2013
I have an idea the statue belonged to the Father Hudson homes and was located elsewhere before being placed in the field.
Alberta.
 
Sounds reasonable Alberta. Wonder if it is the statue referred to in that 2011 post and moved. Pond possibly filled in as I couldn't spot one on Google earth.
 
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