League of Friends
Volunteers

The League is a dedicated group of local people, who aim to improve the facilities for patients and staff of Heatherwood hospital.

Peter Lapper
Heatherwood Memory Lane

Hello Heatherwood

I found your site on the web and I was overjoyed.

I spent many years in Heatherwood orthopaedic hospital as it was called in my young days.

I had two bad falls at the age of 2 years old and damaged my right hip, I was sent to Heatherwood in 1942 and was diagnosed with TB hip, I was in and out of there for most of my childhood up until 1953 when I had my big operation to fuse the right hip. Doctor Ahern was the surgeon then, A big strong Irishman with a deep Irish brogue which my mother could not understand, but I was strangely drawn to him he had great charisma he fixed my hip good and its still going strong today 52 years on.

I really do appreciate your work, it's nice to have this connection with my (second home) Although as child in the early days I wasn't to happy to leave my family so often to come all the way from Deptford to Ascot, I was looked after well though while I was in.

Short story, Mum was out shopping in Deptford High street one day me in tow, and a friend stopped her and said who's the little boy Maude, Mum replied that's my Pete he's bin in hospital again, I must have looked like a little Indian boy so dark with the Heatherwood tan!!

1958

This was the last time I was in Heatherwood summer 1958. I was having some problems with my knee on the bad leg, it suddenly became stiff I could not bend it much, so I was admitted once again to have a biopsy on the knee, I was told that I would have to stay in for 6 weeks to wait for the results, so here I was back in my second home again! I was on the men's ward. I remember once that I was playing hockey with a tennis ball using a walking stick upside down out on the veranda, and the ball went under the partition out there through to the women's ward, So off I went dashing through the ward to get the ball and I slipped on the polished floor nearly doing the splits bending the knee right back with a crack, blood everywhere, It bled for two days and two nights bandages about a foot thick, In the end I was given morphine that stopped the bleeding thank God.

Keep up the good work on the site.

Peter now lives in Eire but has fond memories of his second home.

2007

Jean Taylor recently contacted us and wrote:-

It was wonderful to read the news of Peter Lapper. I well remember him when he was on Ward 2 - a real cute baby. I occasionally worked on the Ward during Red Cross training stints.

Jean Taylor (now Taylor-Bell)

Jean has other memories of heatherwood as a staff member Staff Recollections.

If you have any pictures and recollections of your stay at Heatherwood and would like to donate them to the league archive, we would love to hear from you.

Below some pictures which exist of happier times:-

Peter Lapper Photo Scrapbook

Peter Lapper.
Verandah 1942.Click to enlarge:- Peter Lapper.
Verandah 1953 Front Centre.Click to enlarge:- Peter Lapper.
Verandah 1953 Peter Lapper Far Left Click to enlarge:- Charge Nurse Marsh.Click to enlarge:- Peter Lapper. Click to enlarge:- Peter Lapper.
In The Sunken Garden. Click to enlarge:- Blondie.
Doing a bit of flirting on the covered walk with Blondie can't remember her name, that was her pet name. Click to enlarge:- Nurse Lenin & Nurse Marsh.
Nurse Lenin Irish redhead lovely girl but very strict when she wanted to be, and charge nurse Marsh not much hair and big glasses very nice man I remember. Click to enlarge:- Dinner Time.
Ward 4 1958, I can't remember his name, but somebody must remember him, always smiling a breath of fresh air to the patients, good therapy. Happy times. Click to enlarge:-