Angela Taylor
After my house jobs at Sefton General Hospital I went on the post graduate course for anaesthesia and was SHO at St Catherine's Hospital in Birkenhead for a year, then 6 months at Sefton General then at Alder Hey. By this time I became engaged to my husband and decided that resident hospital jobs were incompatible with marriage and a family. I joined a Gp practice in Ainsdale and after a few years set up my own practice across the road as my original partner left. I had 2 children by then so with another female partner we built up the practice and several years later had 10 thousand patients with 3 women and 2 men. I had an anaesthetic session at Southport infirmary for 20 years and retired at 60.
My daughter is senior paediatric dentist at Birmingham Children's hospital and my son is a legal aid lawyer in Manchester.
I was interviewed by the Times Newspaper and had a photograph appear as a Senior partner in an all female general practice
I enjoy golf and am a member of Royal Birkdale Golf Club. I'm a member and past chairman of Southport Arts Society and received a City and Guilds certificate in flower arrangement. I am a Royal Liverpool Philharmonic concerts subscriber and a Bridge member at Southport Bridge club as well as an RSPB member.
A fond memory is travelling on the train in to Liverpool and Ronnie Pactor explaining the inguinal canal to me from Cunningham much to the interest of other passengers! I also remember a bed sitting room in Croxteth Rd consisting of an attic room with gas hob, Belfast sink, gas fire and shiling in the slot meter!
Averil Mansfield
It had always been my hope that I would become a surgeon and in 1972 I was appointed a consultant surgeon to The Royal Southern and the Northern. I was a general surgeon but had been guided by Edgar Parry, who was my mentor, into the developing field of vascular surgery. I became increasingly specialised in that field.
A couple of years after my divorce from Jonathan Mansfield I moved to London and worked mostly at St Marys in Paddington. It was a medical school of similar ethos to our own but rather too small to survive without a merger and I was Professor of Surgery during the move into Imperial College.
I was surprised and delighted to become President of The Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. An unexpected honour and the first woman to take the role. Sadly I remain the only woman to have been its President.
I met my second husband on a bus in the French Alps heading to a ski resort. The bus had a minor accident and in the chaos this stranger came along and offered his duty free to everyone including me. The rest is history! My name is really Bradley. I have the good fortune to have three step children and 6 grandchildren who give me great joy.
Music has always been a central part of my life. I was secretary to the Music Society as a student and spent rather too much of my time as an undergraduate playing the piano. At 65 I retired from surgery and took up the cello. It has been a tough call but an excellent decision.
We had some great teachers and some of their messages stayed with me throughout my career. "you see a couple of birds in Pembroke Place, they are sparrows not canaries" and many more valuable lessons.
The Dean, Jack Leggate ,was a wonderful human being who really cared about the welfare of his students.
I retired completely from clinical work at 65 but have not been idle.
Colin Matthews
Inspired by Jeffcoate I gained my MRCOG. I emigrated to Australia after an overland trip in 1970 and worked in the academic Department of O&G in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 1971 I focused on Reproductive Medicine. I was pleased to have worked with a talented group of people with world early achievements in Donor Sperm, IVF, Sperm injection and Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis. I was the Founding Director of three reproductive medicine companies (one ASX listed) and that were later acquired by US companies.
I enjoy getting back to the UK when able, seeing Rob Atlay and my late friend Bill Logan and staying in a London Club (East India Club) as well as a day out at Ascot if possible. I’m very lucky to have belonged to decent countries, largely well managed and fair. Especially in our Covid era one comprehends what poverty is and how we need to control population growth by lifting millions more people out of poverty.
I’m very busy when awake and try to keep active with fairly regular swimming, poor golf and tennis.
Who could forget sitting in a clinic when a rather gorgeous well developed young lady attended complaining of a lump on her chest. John Webster was sent to examine her in a separate room. After what seemed an extraordinary long time, Webster reappeared and was asked for his diagnosis "A pimple Sir?" was his response. Or a patient with Dupuytrens contracture after a long consultation with a somewhat pompous Consultant, asked in his very Lancashire accent "Dust tha think I will I be able to play piano after operation Doctor?" to which the reply was "Why yes, yes I think so my good man". "Will be bloody funny cause I can't play piano now " was the response. We all collapsed in laughter.
Susan Dobson
After 6 months working for Emyr Wynn Jones and John Robertson (described by his brother as black Jack) I moved to Birmingham to be with my fiancé. I was an Obs and Gynae HS at Dudley Road Hospital. My life has revolved around my family, my practice and Moseley Golf Club. My proudest moment was to be elected as the chairman of the Gold Club, the first female chairman of a mixed club in the country. I am still playing golf very badly. I have never been a good golfer, my lowest handicap being 19, but I still love the camaraderie of the club. It was a delight to be able to go back to the club again after lockdown. I also play bridge twice a week at West Midlands bridge club and Captained a bridge team at the gold club for several years. I enjoy gardening and cooking, and particularly cooking with my little granddaughters. Memories are legion but include:
- University Hall with great food and a warden who wouldn’t let us wear red when dating as it excited men’s passions
- Digs in Aigburth with Mai and Angie T. Getting Asian flu at this time
- Six of us sharing a flat in Croxteth Road. Parties in the cellars, with a barrel of beer
- The formalin smell of the dissection room
- Rats where we slept during our maternity training
- Being secretary of MSS, writing and reading the minutes.
Vivienne Turner
I have very pleasant memories of house jobs at Clatterbridge Hospital in a friendly and supportive environment and living in the doctors house on site. Malcolm and I married and settled in Liverpool. When our boys were young, I worked in a Family Planning and later in I.U.D.clinics. G.P.locums and Occupation Health Clinic followed, then CMO In Child Health ie school/baby clinics from 1970 to 1983 at Prescot, Kirby, Whiston & St Helens.
In 1983, I was SCMO in Paediatrics and Community Child Health, St. Helens and Knowsley AHA and liaison with St Helens Hospital Paediatric OPD Clinic, and inservice teaching of SHOs. In 1993 I was appointed medical adviser to the fostering team of Barnados NW. I retired in 1996.
I'm particularly proud of the warm relationships with the families of children with learning difficulties and special needs and the small ways I was able to improve their lives.
The experience I'd like to share is riding with the "obstetric flying squad" - lights flashing, siren screaming and most exciting of all, going through RED LIGHTS! Amazingly mum and baby survived!
In my spare time we spend time with family and friends and, as members of the National Trust, Tate Gallery, Royal Academy, and the Holiday Property Bond, make full use of them all. We are actively involved in all local Jewish Community activities. We try to grow anything we can, from seed. Zoom meetings and reading have helped to fill lockdown boredom.
Some memories include:
- Vitality and optimism
- The old Students Union with Mr.Tanner and Mr Curtis on the door
- Text Book exchange. The Round Lounge, and the Gilmour Hall
- Pitched battles in the quad behind the Victoria Building between the Medics and the Engineers, most of whom were red headed!!
- Jewish Students Soc. where I met my husband.
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