Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital

Sorry, Wizard, I have no idea. But what I do remember is my dad reading the CET every evening, and almost every week he'd say "here we go again: Mary Hill, 51, fined £5 for being drunk and disorderly"!

Hi All, Just thought I'd do another post with some of the people I remember working at Cov & Warwick at the same time as I was there. Miss Crofton - Matron Miss Mitchell - Nursing Tutor Miss Clifford - Day Nursing Officer - Trauma Orthopaedics Mrs Morrisey - Night Nursing Officer Sister Clarkin - Watson Ward - Days Sister Abbey - Watson Ward - Days Sister Wright - Smith Clarke Ward - Days Sister Bradder - Days Sister Hextall - Days Sister Field - Night Sister SRN Ayers - ITU Nights Charge Nurse Ward - Night Charge Nurse - Casualty Charge Nurse Parsonage - Day Charge Nurse - ITU Dennis - Philip Ward Mr Sharp - Consultant Surgeon Mr Clegg - Consultant Surgeon Mr Watson - Consultant Surgeon Dr Zaphiropoulos - Consultant Rheumatologist Mr Green - Senior Remedial Gymnast Mr Howell - Remedial Gymnast Mr Sergeant - Superintendent Physiotherapist Mrs Sergeant - Physiotherapist SEN Field - Watson Ward Nights N/A Small - Watson Ward Nights N/A Hart - Nights Will do another post soon outlining the routines and responsibilities of the ward and department staff.

Hi all Have been travelling down memory lane and for life of me, can't remember what type of ward Smith Clarke was. Can anyone jog my memory please.

Hi, welcome to the forum. I'd love to help but it's not my area of interest - hopefully someone will be along who have the info.

The C&W theatres were never moved. They were where you remember them, through the double doors facing first flooor lift and to the right. I worked there in July to September 1976 while training. We would greet the patient on a stretcher, checking their armband and notes and verbally confirming their name and DOB with them. Then they were taken into the theatre anaesthetic room to be put to sleep. From there they were taken into one of two theatres. After the op they were recovered and taken back to their ward. In 1976 the room that would be ICU was empty. In ICU where I worked on the bank, there were 6 beds and it was normally staffed by 4 trained nurses. There WERE tunnels under the hospital but were never used to transport patients, as old patient records were kept down there and they never ran to any departments at all.

Another correction on my part. ICU did only have 4 beds not 6 as I said earlier. But nurses wore normal uniform there, not theatre scrubs.

We were probably there at the same point. I did my orthopaedic training Jan 1976 to March 1978, then returned to Keresley Ward Dec 1979 as a trained nurse. I was on Elizabeth Ward from June 1984 for some time and Smith Clarke from December 1984. I also did the other wards as a bank nurse till 1993. I met my husband who was a porter there. I am now retired and living in Cornwall since October 2020. I retired early. I did work at Coventry Myton Hospice from 2017 till I retired. What job did you do at C&W?

I thought that this might help oritentate the buildings. Boilers. Laundry. Isolation. King Edward VII Memorial Wing. Operation Block. Stairs. Existing Hospital. Nurses Home. Future Ward. Out Patients Block.

My daughter was delivered by Nurse Green from C & W at the Navigation Inn in August 1962, just after closing time. She has always been very punctual ever since. I remember like it was yesterday. The poor nurse bumped her head on the doorway stepping up into the bedroom.

Note: please excuse any mistakes- these are notes of notes (also, some details/ figures may be referring to the entirety of 1940 not just the 14/15 Nov) Was trying to find some info on Gulson Road Hospital about its operation during the Coventry Blitz (for William Knights' post here) but as he said there's very little info about it. But there is a vast amount of info about the damage to Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital during the Coventry Blitz (mainly 14 Nov 1940). According to 'The Blitz on Coventry's Health: The Health of Coventry during the second world War' by Sharon Twigger (found in the Coventry archives) the raid began at 7:15pm on the 14th of November 1940, by 8pm Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital had experienced its first direct hit. An incendiary device had landed on the roof of the nurses' home building which by serendipity already had a hole in due to ongoing work which enabled a nurse to see the flames. The nurse was able to raise the alarm and the fire was extinguished. As a precaution the nurses' home building was evacuated and just shortly after the last people left the building, it was hit by a heavy explosive. Incendiaries fell on the men's medical ward and the eye ward. Heavy explosives also landed on the men's ward. The hospital was overwhelmed by casualties and began to run low on space, the emergency labeling system (that was implemented to deal with emergencies) could not handle the vast numbers arriving. At midnight the primary lighting system failed with only emergency lights still operational. At about 4am all lighting systems (as well as the emergency) failed so the entire hospital was plunged into darkness. Hurricane lamps and hand torches illuminated the wards while the surgeon's in the operating room operated via a car headlamp connected to a battery. The hospital had no gas supply, no electricity, no lighting, no water supply; most the windows were blown out and black-out curtains were blown down. The raid ceased at 4:30am and the all clear alert was made at 6am. After which the hospital had sustained at least 10 direct hits. In the morning of the 15th, a further explosion occurred in the front of the enquiries room of the hospital due to a time delayed action bomb that had been covered by debris. The explosion buried survivors who needed to be dug out of the rubble. By the end of the air-raid onslaughts there were multiple losses at the hospital both staff, patient and visitors as well as injured individuals (as reported in the end of year 1940 annual hospital report). Those doctors, nurses and staff lost: •  Dr J.S Gray - Assistant Pathologist. •  Dr J. Gore Grimes - House Physician. •  Sister Shape - Radiographer. •  Miss F.M. Cooper - Radiographer. •  Sister Gascoigne. •  Nurse Bates. •  Nurse Jackson. •  Nurse Brinkier. •  Nurse Pragnell. •  Mr Kenneth Johnson - Stretcher Bearer. •  Mr George Goode - Stretcher Bearer. Patients and Visitors: ~ 21 patients were lost out of the 85 patients and 2 visitors were also lost. Wounded and injured: 14 Hospital staff injured. Patient injuries not reported. Structural damage ((by the end of 1940)): ~ The hospital buildings themselves were left in complete devastation and not a single building escaped extensive or substantial damage- #Wards completely uninhabitable: Sir Thomas White Block, Cox Spencer Ward, Chater Ward, Clowes Ward and Gulson Ward. #Wards substantial damage but repairable: Edward Ward, Alexandra Ward, Henry Johnson Ward, Siddeley Ward and a small portion of Wyley and Herbert Wards. #Extensive damage: Nurses' Home (partially repaired), Maids' Home (one section direct hit- completely uninhabitable). #Financial cost of structural damage: The immediate cost of the air raids to Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital in 1940 was estimated to be £2192. 8s. 9d. ^{Note: please excuse any mistakes- these are notes of notes (also, some details/ figures may be referring to the entirety of 1940 not just the 14/15 Nov)}

I think I'm right in saying most if not all the named casualties occurred on 8-9 April 1941 when an unseen delayed-action bomb exploded early in the morning close to a newly-built building where patients had been evacuated. I've checked a couple of the names on the CWGC website and Nurses Prangnell and Brinker and Dr Gore-Grimes are listed for the April date.They were all in their early 20s.

Hi RockSolid, Yes it looks like you're correct- strange I could have sworn those names were listed in the Dec 1940 end of year Hospital Annual Report. I will check again, when I pass. Apologies (as I said- there is most likely mistakes ). I need to look into that. Thanks Rock

I was looking into this and I think I conflated everything together. In the interest of not unintentionally spreading misinformation do you think it would be a good idea for a mod to delete my post (here)? I've saved the post on my PC and may look back at reposting it if I can fix the mistakes. Sorry for that. thanks <3

I think we can leave the post for now, as suitable warnings have been added. We can update it when a better version comes along. All posts are the best we can do at the time. We all make mistakes and I tend to leave mine as they show growth. The city has long held some misinterpretations based on the best information people had at the time eg the concept that Cook Street had two round towers bracketing the gate in Wenceslas Hollar's view of the city from the north, which it didn't and the mistake dates back to the creation of the original etching.