Children's care was moved to Lewisham hospital ... Building therefore empty and prime position for developing;! Great pity old building wasn't converted, inside was full of character!leenewham wrote:Any idea why it was knocked down?
Sydenham's Children's Hospital
Re:
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
Yes amazing building . Now Kwik Fit and Care Home.
I spent many weeks there in 08 with Polio. Long time ago but seem to recall excellent place.
Not sure from memory how easy it would have been to convert to new use.
Surely the Peartree is quite a nice building as care homes go.
I spent many weeks there in 08 with Polio. Long time ago but seem to recall excellent place.
Not sure from memory how easy it would have been to convert to new use.
Surely the Peartree is quite a nice building as care homes go.
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
It wasn't on Kwik Fit and care home site. It was on the corner of champion road opposite home park
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
sorry wrong again
Please remind me what was on the care home site and kwik fit?
Please remind me what was on the care home site and kwik fit?
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
hi
i was in sydenham childrens hospital think it was in 1966
i was the first child from elliot bank school to get knocked down on the rd
it was at sydenham hill end off kirkdale.
don button
i was in sydenham childrens hospital think it was in 1966
i was the first child from elliot bank school to get knocked down on the rd
it was at sydenham hill end off kirkdale.
don button
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
I can't remember what was on Kwok fit and care home site .I..there was a secondhand furniture and old fireplace yard somewhere around there I think
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
Pally
Yes lovely old second hand shop run by Mr Hillier. Passed away about 15 odd years ago . Thought this is bit further down opposite Home Park.
Yes lovely old second hand shop run by Mr Hillier. Passed away about 15 odd years ago . Thought this is bit further down opposite Home Park.
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
Yes there was one down opposite home park ...and also one around Kwik fit site which was more scrap yardy and sold old fireplaces as well as old garden stuff
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
I just found this site today, saw the photo of the hospital with the verandahs/balconies and my mind was taken back over 60 years! As a 5 year old, I remember getting off the bus, with my mother, to attend the first of many outpatient appointments and gazing up at those balconies. Someone mentioned the park, and it was on that side of the road we waited for the homeward bus. Over the next couple of years, I was an inpatient on three occasions, being nursed on Marie Louise Ward. I particularly remember one of the nurses who was very kind and probably one of the more mature staff members. I think she was Nurse Giles. Other memories include, having to remove hairgrips before pressing my nose up against the X-ray plate for chest X-rays, the hall where we sat and waited our turn in the outpatient dept., seeing the "Specialist" doctor, being in the anaesthetic room, lots of jelly and ice cream and mini jam Swiss roll cakes.
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
Hi there,
I was a patient in Sydenham and stayed in Stone Ward with Sister Gallaway (I always called her Sister Sallaway).
I think her name was Carol but not sure. She looked after me when I was in for Diabetes related issues and other stuff. She worked with Sister Putney also. I had/have a twin brother who also had Diabetes and would have been about seven or eight years old. Probably between 1974 and 1982. Sister Gallaway was always so kind to me and my brother and my parents. I'd love to hear she is ok after 40 years. Any info on her would be so nice to hear.
I was a patient in Sydenham and stayed in Stone Ward with Sister Gallaway (I always called her Sister Sallaway).
I think her name was Carol but not sure. She looked after me when I was in for Diabetes related issues and other stuff. She worked with Sister Putney also. I had/have a twin brother who also had Diabetes and would have been about seven or eight years old. Probably between 1974 and 1982. Sister Gallaway was always so kind to me and my brother and my parents. I'd love to hear she is ok after 40 years. Any info on her would be so nice to hear.
Last edited by mjweedon on 6 Jun 2024 04:13, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
My uncle Charles died at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1906 aged just 14 months from muco-Enteritis. He was my father`s twin brother and lived in Beckenham. Has anybody got any ancestors who worked there at this time.
Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
I stayed at the hospital for a while when I was having my thumb operated on - must have been around 1968. I don't remember a lot about it, except that I think they must have been trying to give me some sort of pre-med prior to my op, but it wasn't taking effect, the nurses said because I'd got too familiarised with the ward. They moved me to a new ward, and I must have fallen asleep! I'm not sure why I was in there for so long prior to the operation - which would probably be done as day surgery these days.
I do remember that the balconies were sun-rooms, and that there was a view over this *really* big park. I know that when I moved to Sydenham and finally twigged where the site had been I couldn't believe it, because Home Park didn't look anything like big enough
I know it seemed an awful long way away from our home in Bromley (probably wasn't - we probably took the train to Penge East and then got the 194, or its predecessor). Oh, and wasn't the exterior paintwork a dark green?
I do remember that the balconies were sun-rooms, and that there was a view over this *really* big park. I know that when I moved to Sydenham and finally twigged where the site had been I couldn't believe it, because Home Park didn't look anything like big enough
I know it seemed an awful long way away from our home in Bromley (probably wasn't - we probably took the train to Penge East and then got the 194, or its predecessor). Oh, and wasn't the exterior paintwork a dark green?Re: Sydenham's Children's Hospital
I expect all kids that lived in Sydenham had cause to visit this hospital at one time or another, I was no exception.
My sister was treated there as an in patient for some years having been born with a brain tumour and blind and having a children's hospital nearby would have eased the worry for my parents and I wonder whether such care would be equivalent or provided today.
She was treated at Great Ormand Street and operated on by Wylie McKissock, before his OBE and knighthood, to remove the tumour and was reported to have stated following the operation that he didn't know what he'd done but she remained alive and survived, to the age of 13.
It betrays the medical and social attitudes of the time to reflect that advice given to my parents just after the war was to the effect that they needed to parent another child in order to provide support in later life for her and thus I was conceived.
I was operated on to remove tonsils at Sydenham.
It was a bit of a fad to have them removed in those days, circa 1950/1, and I was instructed by my mother, who I strongly suspect to have been the driving force behind this episode, to lie when examined by doctors there and to imitate being hard of hearing and with that my tonsils were condemned.
As it happened my mother visited on the day of the operation unexpectedly and said she was shocked at the amount of blood and was told that visits were normally not allowed on operation days because of this, it did put the 'fad' into focus though.
I was quite poorly afterwards and no amount of jelly and ice cream would make up for it, jelly and ice cream being the go to food dished out on the ward for those with resulting sore throats.
I had the usual cracked and broken bones etc that young boys accumulated treated there, but I was also treated for boils.
As a youngster, probably 5-6, I was plagued with boils on my neck, some of which needed lancing at the hospital, but I was also given what they described as an experimental series of injections.
I was taken out of school at intervals and given injections of something that today I can only think was the novel arrival on the scene of anti-biotics.
The stuff was kept cold in a fridge and was injected just beneath the skin on the leg so that it produced a small itchy bump.
I can't remember whether it did any good but the boils must have disappeared to be later replaced with juvenile acne.
As an aside, a local GP prescribed washing with soap containing mercury that was available over the counter at the chemists, so it's surprising that I haven't gone mad.
I remember when visiting my sister at the hospital that I had to wait downstairs on seats by the lift shaft and for some reason it scared me, I seem to remember having bad dreams about the wire cage protecting the shaft, but then I was young.
I remember passing the hospital daily on the way to Haseltine School and looking up to see if my sister was on a balcony but I don't remember whether I caught a glimpse of her at all.
I have to say that looking back I'm surprised that the hospital has been closed, but the triple curse of the corporate bean counter, the greedy developer and the corrupt local official has rid communities of a great many valuable amenities.
My sister was treated there as an in patient for some years having been born with a brain tumour and blind and having a children's hospital nearby would have eased the worry for my parents and I wonder whether such care would be equivalent or provided today.
She was treated at Great Ormand Street and operated on by Wylie McKissock, before his OBE and knighthood, to remove the tumour and was reported to have stated following the operation that he didn't know what he'd done but she remained alive and survived, to the age of 13.
It betrays the medical and social attitudes of the time to reflect that advice given to my parents just after the war was to the effect that they needed to parent another child in order to provide support in later life for her and thus I was conceived.
I was operated on to remove tonsils at Sydenham.
It was a bit of a fad to have them removed in those days, circa 1950/1, and I was instructed by my mother, who I strongly suspect to have been the driving force behind this episode, to lie when examined by doctors there and to imitate being hard of hearing and with that my tonsils were condemned.
As it happened my mother visited on the day of the operation unexpectedly and said she was shocked at the amount of blood and was told that visits were normally not allowed on operation days because of this, it did put the 'fad' into focus though.
I was quite poorly afterwards and no amount of jelly and ice cream would make up for it, jelly and ice cream being the go to food dished out on the ward for those with resulting sore throats.
I had the usual cracked and broken bones etc that young boys accumulated treated there, but I was also treated for boils.
As a youngster, probably 5-6, I was plagued with boils on my neck, some of which needed lancing at the hospital, but I was also given what they described as an experimental series of injections.
I was taken out of school at intervals and given injections of something that today I can only think was the novel arrival on the scene of anti-biotics.
The stuff was kept cold in a fridge and was injected just beneath the skin on the leg so that it produced a small itchy bump.
I can't remember whether it did any good but the boils must have disappeared to be later replaced with juvenile acne.
As an aside, a local GP prescribed washing with soap containing mercury that was available over the counter at the chemists, so it's surprising that I haven't gone mad.
I remember when visiting my sister at the hospital that I had to wait downstairs on seats by the lift shaft and for some reason it scared me, I seem to remember having bad dreams about the wire cage protecting the shaft, but then I was young.
I remember passing the hospital daily on the way to Haseltine School and looking up to see if my sister was on a balcony but I don't remember whether I caught a glimpse of her at all.
I have to say that looking back I'm surprised that the hospital has been closed, but the triple curse of the corporate bean counter, the greedy developer and the corrupt local official has rid communities of a great many valuable amenities.