LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

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Life in a New Age Leopardstown Park Hospital Newsletter

WINTER 2018 Issue 47 Vol 14

Leopardstown Park Hospital Board, Foxrock, Dublin 18 XH70.

Tel: 01 295 5055 Fax: 01 295 5957 ISDN: 01 2160500

Email: [email protected]: www.lph.ie

In this IssueWELCOME …………………………………………1

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT ………………………1

HOW TO ACCESS SERVICES INLEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL……………2

PONIES ……………………………………………4

RESTORING THE EARLIER BEAUTY OF OUR WOODLANDS …………………………5

OUTDOOR GAMES ………………………………5

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL GOLF SOCIETY …………………………………6

CHANGES FOR THE BETTER …………………7

COMMEMORATION SERVICES ………………8

NATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION AT COLLINS BARRACKS ………………………9

URBAN FOXES …………………………………10

FRANCIS LEDWIDGE 1887-1917 ……………10

QUIZ ………………………………………………11

CRASH OF 50 SQUADRON HAMPDENBOMBER IN COUNTY WICKLOW IN 1941 …13

COMMEMORATE, CELEBRATE, INSPIRE – THE ROYAL AIR FORCE’S 100TH BIRTHDAY …14

VETERANS’ SUPPORT GROUP OUTINGS …14

ST. LAURENCE’S HOSPITAL COMPLEX ……15

MY SECRET LIFE AS A PADDY WHISKEY MODEL ……………………17

MRS. FOSTER’S WAR & THE REAL BOY……17

TRINITY COLLEGE AND THE APOTHECARY ……………………………22

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL SUMMER PARTY 2018 …………………………23

STOP PRESS! WELCOME BABY DAVID HARTIGAN! ………23

CONDOLENCES…………………………………24

Welcome to the latest edition of Liana, LPH’s in-house magazine.

Well what a busy year it has been! So much has happened that itis hard to keep up. After a long and cold winter, we experienced anextraordinarily dry and sunny summer. We never thought we’dhear it, but people were actually complaining that there was toomuch sun! The wonderful staff at LPH made sure that everyonewas kept comfortable, either sheltered in cooled rooms or outside,provided with plenty of water, suncream and sunhats.

Noirín and Rita, previous editors of Liana, send their love. Noirínhas provided two articles (see the articles entitled “Change” and“Foxes”). Several other volunteers and staff members haveprovided articles too. Many thanks to everyone involved. Don’tforget that if you’d like to contribute an article, we’d love to hearfrom you.

Very best regards to all Liana readers.

WELCOMEBy Pete and Lorraine

After 100 years of operation, LeopardstownPark Hospital’s buildings are looking a bit theworse for wear. What was leading edge inarchitectural design at various points in the pastis no longer fit for purpose. People’sexpectations of what their environment andliving spaces should look like have alsofundamentally changed, appropriately so. Inaddition, the legislation that governs theoperations of the Hospital state the newstandards expected, including size of rooms, ensuites etc.

The Hospital management team and Hospital Board have beenworking very hard in the background over the last number of yearsto plan for a new Hospital development. Over the last year wehave worked very closely with the Leopardstown Park Hospital

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITALCAPITAL DEVELOPMENT By Ann Marie O’Grady, Chief Executive

© Freepik

LIANA Newsletter Winter 2018 |

LPH NEWS

| LIANA Newsletter Winter 20182

Trust and the HSE to develop what has beencalled a Protective Development Control Plan(PDCP). Essentially this is an overall plan forthe 25 or so acres of the Hospital site and howwe might use it in the future. One key part ofthis is where would the location of a newHospital be, remembering that we need tokeep all the services going while we build anew Hospital. The second consideration is toallow for phased development, step by step, ofadditional bed capacity if the State want toexpand services into the future. The likelihoodof this is high due to the significant expansionof numbers of older persons in South Dublin inthe future, therefore an increasing number ofpeople will require rehabilitation, respite,residential (including welfare) and dayservices in the future.

So we now have a plan and we have secureda level of funding from the HSE and also somecharitable donations. There is still some workto do on reaching the full funding target andwe are working hard on that while we start theprocess that will lead to the building of a newHospital.

In the first phase the plan is to replace all theresidential beds with modern, fit for purposeaccommodation. All beds will be single roomwith ensuite, with various social spaces and,of course, all the necessary clinicalrequirements. The initial phase of the plan isto construct 125 beds, in 25 bed ‘households’(new name for wards/units). Essentially thefirst phase will focus on bringing our residentaccommodation into compliance.

“So where are we in this plan?” I am asked allthe time as it is hard for people to see thework behind the scenes. We have completedthe PDCP which included a lot of surveysincluding ground surveys, capacityassessment for utilities etc. Over the summerwe have issued tenders for seven professionalservices (architects, mechanical/electricalengineering, civil engineering, quantitysurveyors, fire safety, health and safety,planning). We are currently in the process ofevaluating all those initial tenders andshortlisting applicants for the next stage of thetender process where they will need to provideadditional and more detailed submissions.Once this is all completed and the variouscompanies appointed, they will commenceworking with us in the Hospital to develop afully detailed design brief (right down to howmany sockets, light fittings etc, but alsoconsiderations for those with dementia, sightdifficulties etc) for our new surroundings. Inthis period, we will also be engaging with theplanning and fire authorities for the necessaryapprovals in relation to the design.

So a lot of work to do before we move toconstruction phase, it is really great to bemoving into this design phase after all thepreparatory work and begin to see the newfuture for Leopardstown Park Hospital and allthose who work here and use our services.

I am really looking forward to working withstaff, volunteers and residents to develop ournew future. “The future is bright!”

When talking to people outside ofLeopardstown Park Hospital there appears tobe a lack of knowledge as to how to accessour services and indeed often somemisinformation about how difficult it might beto access services. Due to the size of theHospital, generally bed availability is not asignificant issue with most applicants beingable to access especially inpatient services

very promptly.

Leopardstown Park Hospital has a wide rangeof services for people generally over the ageof 65. Each service is accessed in a slightlydifferent manner. In many of our services thereis capacity for new referrals on an ongoingbasis. If people are interested in any of theHospital’s services they need to make contact

HOW TO ACCESS SERVICES IN LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITALBy Ann Marie O’Grady, Chief Executive

LPH NEWS

LIANA Newsletter Winter 2018 | 3

with the designated contact(s) for that service.The contact information is below along with ashort description of each of the specificservices and an indication as to who mightbenefit from them. Residential CareAdmissions to residential care are under the“Fair Deal” Scheme. The waiting list forLeopardstown Park Hospital is maintained bythe HSE. Contact details: Judy O’Neill,Coordinator Local Placement Forum (SouthDublin/Wicklow), HSE, Tivoli Road, DunLaoghaire, Co. Dublin - Tel: 01.2365239Please register your interest in a residentialplace in the Hospital with Ms. O’Neill once youhave applied for “Fair Deal”. Fair Deal fundingmust be approved prior to admission to theHospital. Senior nursing staff will carry out anassessment of all applicants to ensure that wecan meet their care needs. A contract of caremust be signed in advance of admission.Please note that unfortunately we cannot caterfor anyone requiring 1:1 supervision.

Clevis Welfare HomeThe Clevis provides supported livingaccommodation in a homely environment forup to 29 individuals who have low dependencyneeds, are 65 years or older and who, for avariety of reasons, can no longer manage tolive at home on their own. Contact the ClevisManager (Tel 01.2160555) to arrange anappointment to visit the Home. It is verybeneficial for the applicant to visit the home tosee the facility and the services provided. Theapplication process and the services providedwill be explained in detail to the client. Anapplication form needs to be completed by theapplicant, with their Public Health Nurse orSocial Worker and their GP. All applicationsmust be accompanied with a recent (within sixmonths) geriatrician’s assessment report.There is a charge which is assessed prior toadmission. Admission to the Clevis WelfareHome is by the Clevis Selection Committeewhich includes Hospital and Health ServicesExecutive (HSE) representatives, and meetson a regular basis to consider applications.Applications are made through the AcuteHospitals and HSE Community Services.Information booklet and frequently askedquestions are available on the Hospitalwebsite under Hospital Services.

Rehabilitation Patients for rehabilitation are referred toLeopardstown Park Hospital from the localacute hospitals for short term rehabilitationwith the intention of the individual returninghome to the community. Referred patients areinpatients in the acute hospital at the time ofreferral. This is a service provided to patientswho have completed their acute medical carein an acute hospital but require rehabilitationin advance of discharge home. The period ofrehabilitation will be determined, based onreferral and assessed need, but will be for amaximum period of six weeks.

Respite CareThis is a planned short admission whichallows the carer at home to have a break.Care will normally be on an inpatient basis forone or two weeks. One of our respite beds isspecifically for people with a dementiadiagnosis. Applications are made through theHSE community services. Leopardstown ParkHospital is required under the Health (Chargesfor In-Patient Services) Regulations 2005 asamended (2011 Health Amendment Act), tocharge people receiving inpatient respite careservices, where this service has been availedof for more than 30 days in a year. The chargethat is to be applied for respite care inLeopardstown Park Hospital, on a 24 hour, 7day basis, is €25 per day.

Glencairn Day CentreReferrals to the day care service are made viathe acute hospital services and HSEcommunity services. The objective of the daycare service is to prevent isolation of clients byimproving their quality of life and maximizingindependence. A transport service is availablewhen the client has no other means ofattending. There is a small charge fortransport and lunch.

Mon - FriSocial Day Care services are provided and, inaddition, may include limited nursing care,physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medicalsocial work services, hairdressing, socialactivities and transport services.

Sat – SunSocial Day Care is also offered on Saturdayand Sunday. Additional services not availableon a weekend.

LPH NEWS


Carman Day Care Dementia ServiceReferrals to the day care service are made viathe acute hospital services and HSEcommunity services. This is a specialised dayservice, which provides support to those withdementia and those who care for them. Asecure and caring environment is provided inthe Carman Centre on a day care basis. There

is a small charge for transport and lunch.

British Armed Forces Ex-Service PersonnelThe criteria and eligibility for services is thesame as for all applicants. However, in theevent of limited availability at the time ofapplication, priority of admission is given toBritish ex-service personnel in line with thelegislative basis for the Hospital. If a potential

PONIES By Paula Carraher

LPH residents recently enjoyed the companyof some very special guests. Imagine what alovely surprise it was to see some very friendlyponies outside! Several of our residents lostno time in getting to know them. It is well-known that petting or caring for animals is avery good way to relax and can even havesome far-reaching health benefits

LPH NEWS


Putting GreensWe opened two putting greens, right beside thePhysio Department, which have proved verypopular. Many thanks to all for the generousdonations of putters and golf balls.

Giant DraughtsI found these giant draughts in a cornergathering dust, so I made up a wheeled cart forease of transport and promptly put them intoservice in the Glen garden. It was nice to seevisitors and residents using them soon after.

New & Upcoming

Benches: I’m in the process of making up 11 new benchesfor the hospital grounds. These have beenmodified from last year’s benches to be moreergonomically friendly for residents. They areslightly longer and incorporate a centre arm

James, Head Groundsman, has been extremely busy. Everyone is delighted with the great workthat he and his colleagues have done to improve the gardens and provide some outdoor games forus all. James says:

OUTDOOR GAMES

A MASSIVE thank you to all the megavolunteers from the company Saga, whoprovided us with such great help in July. Theteam bombarded our woodland and put somemanners on it. It really is quite amazing howmuch was achieved in one day. Uncovering that

antique path must have been the highlight. Weare now so much closer to opening up our onceneglected wooded areas, for residents, familiesand staff to enjoy. The photos show the area‘before’ and ‘after’ the work done.

RESTORING THE EARLIER BEAUTY OF OURWOODLANDS By James Egan, Head Groundsman

LPH NEWS


rest, which will mean residents can use botharms to lift themselves up. Being able toproduce good quality garden furniture “in-house” adds yet another string to LPH’s bow. Itmeans we can cut costs whilst tailoring thebenches to fit residents’ needs.

Lawn Bowls, Croquet and Snag Golf:I had planned to open these earlier but had topostpone due to the drought conditions we havebeen experiencing. My grass was brown!Hopefully recent rains will bring us back to lushand greener conditions.

Our Golf Society has continued to be active thisyear with:

• Captain: Oonagh Ennis

• Treasurer: Johnny Morgan

• Handicap Sec.: Ann Morgan

Anyone interested in getting more informationabout this Golf Society is welcome to contactOonagh Ennis (086 8562557). We would bedelighted to welcome new members, either tocome and join or come as a visitor to any of ouroutings.

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL GOLF SOCIETY By Oonagh Ennis

LPH NEWS


Our outings this year included;

• Friday 27th April – St Anne’s

• Friday 25th May – Greystones

• Friday 29th June – Rathfarnham

• Thursday 9th August – Grange

• Thursday 6th & Friday 7th September –Slieve Russell Hotel

• Friday 28th September – Blainroe

Results: St. Anne’sOverall winner; Ed Bradbury

Section 1; 1st Theresa Phelan 2nd OonaghEnnis

Section 2; 1st Liam Kehoe 2nd Paul Markey

Results: GreystonesOverall winner; Ann Morgan

Section 1; 1st Bob Hamilton 2nd Donal O’Keeffe

Section 2; 1st Angela Carrick 2nd KatrionaO’Keeffe

Results: RathfarnhamOverall winner; Eddie Bradbury

Section 1; 1st Donal O’Keeffe 2nd Ann Morgan

Section 2; 1st Katriona O’Keeffe 2nd BernieMarron Fanning

Nearest the Pin Bob Hamilton

Longest Drive Martina Doherty

Behind me in the supermarket queue for thecheckout one morning were two womendiscussing Dublin Bus and its shortcomings.The buses were always late, they were notclean and the drivers .... well, words failedthem. I thought some things never changed.

Later at home I put away the shopping andmade a cup of tea and thought of the twowomen and their complaints. It must be tenyears since I was on a bus. I have, what arepolitely called “mobility issues” which meansthat I have a gammy leg and a bad back butmy mind went back sixty years or so and howdifferent bus travel was then.

The biggest change on the buses, of course,was that as well as a driver there was aconductor. Around his neck he had a machinewith which he selected the price of the ticketyou requested and it was printed out, he tookyour money and that was that. The driver wasalways enclosed in his own little cabin andhad nothing to do with the public. Many of theconductors were comedians in their own rightand their comments did a lot to improve themood of the tired commuters on their way

home after a hard day at the office orwherever. The conductor stood at the back ofthe bus beside the doorway and as there wasno door it could be a very cold place on awinter’s day.

This opening had a pole in the middle of thegap meant to assist passengers alighting orboarding the bus. It also meant that if the buswas stopped at traffic lights or in heavy traffic,passengers could still get on or off the bus or

CHANGES FOR THEBETTER By Noirín Scully

LPH NEWS


the die-hards who, too late to board the bus atthe bus stop, ran after it and made a flyingleap and with the help of the pole managed toland safely on the platform. All these activitieswere strictly forbidden and if the conductorwas sticking to the rules these passengerswere made get off the bus. Ah. Those werethe days!

And then there were the trains. No Darts orLuas then. Just the old steam train, noisy anddirty. Opening windows on steam trains meantyou ran the risk of flecks of soot in your eye.But for all that there was something aboutthose trains that appealed to many and whenthe diesel trains arrived on the scene manyregretted their passing.

At this stage, I went off in a daydream thinkingof other things that have changed or indeedthat we don’t see any more. Back in the1960’s there were still horses and carts usedfor deliveries and we had one for our milkdeliveries. A patient plodder of a horse whoknew all the houses he had to stop at. Thencame the day when the horse had to beretired and the milkman got a brand new,smart milk van and from then on there weredays when the milk didn’t arrive at all, much tomy rage. Then I had to get out my bike andpedal up to the local shop to get supplies ofmilk for the breakfasts. It took quite a while forthe milkman to get used to his round and I’m

sure he would have given anything to have hisplodding horse back again.

A friend of mine lived in a road where they hada pig man who arrived in his horse drawn cartwith big buckets into which he decantedwhatever leftovers the householders had.Needless, although the pigman was a friendlycheerful man there was a very strong odourwhich accompanied the pig man on hisrounds.

The other big change is the refuse collection.Most of us will remember the time before thewheelie bin when we slung all our refuse intoa dustbin and what didn’t fit was put into alarge plastic bag and placed on top of thedustbin. There were times when there was astrong wind or a hungry fox and the bag’scontents were strewn over the road and had tobe swept up. Our binmen were a cheerful,noisy lot as the bins were dragged over to thebin lorry accompanied by much shouting ateach other.

At this point I caught sight of the kitchen clockand realised that all this looking into the pasthad taken an hour and a half and now it wastime for another cup of tea and perhaps asandwich. I thought what a pleasure it was tothink of times gone by and I was surprised athow vivid were these memories. Of course,they say that the older you get the clearer arethose distant days.

Kilkenny World War 1 MemorialOn Sunday, 15 July 2018, the Kilkenny WorldWar 1 memorial was unveiled by MinisterCharlie Flanagan. The memorial is located atthe Peace Park on John’s Quay in Kilkennycity. The memorial commemorates 827 menand women from County Kilkenny who losttheir lives in WW1. Among the names isThomas Woodgate who was only 14 yearsold. Thomas served in the Royal Flying Corps.Thomas was returning to duty after a spot ofleave but tragically was killed when the RMS

Leinster was torpedoed in October 1918.Thomas’s body was recovered and he isburied in Grangegorman Military cemetery. Adedicated team has worked on this projectsince 2014 to bring it to fruition and it will be alasting tribute to the fallen commemorated andalso to those who ensured the project wascompleted.

Commemoration Service at Islandbridge Veterans from Leopardstown Park Hospitalattended the annual commemoration service

COMMEMORATION SERVICES By Pete McWilliams

LPH NEWS


at Islandbridge on Saturday, 7 July. JimHouston, resident of the Clevis, laid a wreathas did Trevor. The event was arranged by theRoyal British Legion (RBL) Republic of Irelandand the Irish State. There are no accuratefigures for the number of Irish men andwomen from the island of Ireland who losttheir lives in WW1 but a commonly agreedfigure is 60,000. The ceremonycommemorates all who died, known and

unknown. Standards were marched on andparaded. Wreaths were laid by civic leaders,government officials, members of thediplomatic corps representatives of the RBL,branches of the armed forces, regimentalassociations, and veterans’ associations.Bands of the Irish Defence Forces and theRoyal Irish Regiment provided the music. Itwas a very hot sunny day which was verywelcome.

Veterans from Leopardstown Park Hospital, participating in the remembrance ceremony at Islandbridge

NATIONAL DAY OF COMMEMORATION AT COLLINS BARRACKS

This year, the National Day ofCommemoration was held at Collins Barracksinstead of Kilmainham as in previous years.The ceremony was attended by PresidentMichael D Higgins and Taoiseach LeoVaradkar. Members of the Government,Council of State as well as members of theDiplomatic Corps; Judiciary and NorthernIreland representatives also attended. Prayerswere said by religious leaders from variousdenominations. The ceremony especiallyremembered 87 members of the Irish DefenceForces who lost their lives in wars or UNservice since the foundation of the State.Family members of those who died attended,as well as veterans of the Irish DefenceForces and veterans of various foreign forces.Commemoration ceremonies were also held inCork, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo and

Waterford. President Higgins laid a wreath onbehalf of the people of Ireland. All branches ofthe Irish Defence Forces formed the paradeand the Guard of Honour.

LPH volunteer, Pete McWilliams, with three members ofthe Chelsea Pensioners, all of them Irish

LPH NEWS


URBAN FOXES By Noirín Scully

Daughter Barbara’s house backs on to playingfields so there was no surprise to find thatover the past two years or so, now and then, afox would appear in her back garden. Sheused to leave out food for him sometimes andthen surprise surprise he wasn’t a he but ashe and recently she had a litter of three orfour little ones and they lived under her gardenshed.

There are many who don’t like foxes. They saythey look as if they have mange, they could killor attack your cat, they could spread diseaseetc etc, maybe that’s true but I also have a foxwhich I have been feeding for the last three orfour years and I’ve also got three cats who I’veseen in the garden at the same time as the foxand they don’t seem to take much notice ofeach other. Although that may be because mycats are very large and overweight and wouldbe as big, if not bigger than, a fox. As a matterof fact, there was one occasion when I had putout the fox’s food and one of my cats decidedto help himself to it. Mr Fox sat patiently beside the cat and waiteduntil he had finished before he took over hismeal. (Photo by Katie Lalwani)

Foxes moult so sometimes their coats look alittle ragged and one good thing about them isthey kill rats. However a friend who comesfrom a farming background will spit nails if youmention the word fox to him. Foxes and farms

don’t go together because foxes kill chickensand will go to any length to get at them. So Ikeep off the subject whenever I’m talking tohim.

Anyway the little foxes in Barbara’s gardenlook adorable. They come out to play veryearly in the morning or very late at night so aviewing station has been set up at the bigwindow in their living room. The foxes areextremely shy so if anyone makes a movethey vanish. Apparently they will depart whenthey are old enough to look for their ownterritory leaving Barbara and her family bereft.Until, of course, Mrs. Fox gets broody andbegets another family.

Francis Ledwidge was born near Slane in Co.Meath on the 19th August 1887, the eighthchild of nine in the family. His father diedwhen Francis was just 4 years old which leftthe family in poverty; despite being an ‘erraticgenius’, according to his schoolmaster,Francis had to leave school at 13. He went towork as a trainee houseboy in Slane Castle

but was sacked for altering the day’s dinnermenu as dictated by Lady Conyngham to oneof his own liking: pig’s trotters, cabbage andspuds.

After this, Francis worked at a number of jobssuch as groom, farmhand and roadworker, allthe while writing his poetry, much of which waspublished in local newspapers. This brought

FRANCIS LEDWIDGE 1887-1917 By Dee Neeson, LPH Veterans’ Support Group

LPH NEWS


him to the attention of Lord Dunsany, underwhose patronage he was introduced to Irishliterary circles of the time. He was also activein community affairs and politics, joining thelocal branch of the Irish Volunteers in 1913.

The Great War began in 1914 and Francisenlisted in the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. It isthought this had something to do with hisgreat love, Ellie Vaughey, leaving him foranother man; much of his poetry was basedon his feelings for her. His first introduction towar was at Gallipoli, followed by action inSerbia. At about this time, he heard of theEaster Rising and the execution of his goodfriend Thomas MacDonagh, following whichhe overstayed his home leave, was court-martialled and demoted. However, by January1917 he had been promoted again to corporaland was posted to the Western Front. Havingsurvived the Battle of Arras, his unit wasordered north to Belgium for the third battle ofYpres. On the 31st July his section of thebattalion was repairing a road near the villageof Boezinghe when a shell exploded besidethem, killing an officer and five enlisted men,including Ledwidge. They were buried wherethey fell but later reinterred in the nearbyArtillery Wood Military Cemetery.

The Ledwidge Museum is housed in the

cottage where he was born at Janeville nearSlane. In the garden is a replica of thememorial erected at the spot where he waskilled, which bears the words from one of hislament for Thomas MacDonagh:

He shall not hear the bittern cry

In the wild sky, where he is lain

Nor voices of the sweeter birds

Above the wailing of the rain.

1. Name the actor who starred in 142films including The Quiet Man, TheShootist, The Searchers and Stagecoach.

2. Name the film noir actress who starredin I Married a Witch, The Glass Key, SoProudly We Hail! and Sullivan's Travels.

3. Which actress has won the mostOscars?

4. Which actress said, "Fasten yourseatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night,"in All About Eve?

5. Bray Studios, near Windsor inBerkshire, was home to which famousbrand of horror films?

6. In which film did Humphrey Bogartsay, “We'll always have Paris?”

QUIZ(Answers on page 12)

Credit to: https://hobbylark.com/party-games/FreeFun100QuestionQuiz

LPH NEWS


7. By what name is Lancelot Brown moreusually known?

8. Name the world-famous gardenssituated ten miles outside of London,close to the River Thames.

9. Which garden is considered to be amongthe Seven Wonders of the Ancient World?

10. What colour is a Welsh poppy?

11. What colour is a Himalayan poppy?

12. Give the alternative name for aMountain Ash tree.

13. Which kind of bulbs were onceexchanged as a form of currency?

14. What colour jersey is worn by thewinners of each stage of the Tour DeFrance?

15. Name the only heavyweight boxingchampion to finish his career of 49 fightswithout ever having been defeated?

16. How many times was the Men'sTennis Singles at Wimbledon won byBjorn Borg?

17. In 2011, which country hosted aFormula 1 race for the first time?

18. Name the game played on a lawncalled a 'crown green'.

19. Which chess piece can move onlydiagonally?

20. If you were painting with tempera,what would you be using to bind togethercolour pigments?

ANSWERS

1.John Wayne

2.Veronica Lake

3.Katharine Hepburn,with 4 Oscars and 12nominations

4.Bette Davis (asMargo Channing)

5.Hammer Horror

6.Casablanca

7.Capability Brown

8.Kew Gardens

9.The HangingGardens of Babylon

10.Yellow

11.Blue

12.Rowan

13.Tulips

14.Yellow

15.Rocky Marciano

16.Five

17.India

18.Bowls

19.A bishop

20.Egg yolk

LPH NEWS


On the night of 17/18 April 1941, a total of 118Royal Air Force aircraft were detailed to bombBerlin. While returning from the raid on 18April 1941, a Hampden (AD730) of 50Squadron from RAF Lindholme in Yorkshirecrashed on the Black Hill near Blessington,County Wicklow. All crew members werekilled in the crash. The crew of HampdenAD730 were:

• P/O Jack Kenneth Hill, pilot;

• Sgt Lamb, navigator/bomb aimer;

• Sgt Fred Erdwin, lower rear gunner/wirelessoperator

• Sgt Stanley Wright, upper reargunner/wireless operator

On the night of the raid, thick low cloud wasreported over the North Sea on the outwardand return flights. On the return flight, twoaircraft reported problems in obtaining a radiofix and three aircraft reported excessive fuelconsumption. The low cloud may have causedthe radio problems and strong headwinds mayhave caused the excessive consumption offuel. At 02:17 hours, AD730 got a fix andbearing which placed it five miles SW of RAFWatton in Norfolk. However, despite this fix,the aircraft continued to fly westwards over theWelsh mountains and the Irish Sea. The Irishauthorities reported it flying over the Eastcoast at 04.05 hours between Dalkey andBray. The plane was heading West and inlandtowards County Kildare. At 04.24 hours, theGardai at Hollywood reported an aircraft in thearea to Air Defence. Subsequentinvestigations suggest that the plane crashedat 04:34 hours into Black Hill. The crash site isroughly 474 metres (1600 feet) above sealevel.

Despite Ireland’s neutral status, the airmenwere given a full military funeral by the IrishDefence Forces which included the No 3 Army

Band and a Guard of Honour. The airmenwere laid to rest on 22nd April in the graveyardof St Mary’s church in Blessington. Now, eachyear, there is a service to commemorate theseyoung men.

On the 50th anniversary of the crash in April1991, a group of local people got together anerected a memorial stone on the site. Thestone is a gatepost of Wicklow granite with thenames of the four airmen engraved on it.

CRASH OF 50 SQUADRON HAMPDEN BOMBER INCOUNTY WICKLOW IN 1941 By Pete McWilliams

LPH NEWS


On 1st April 2018, the Royal Air Forcecelebrated its 100th birthday. To mark theoccasion, the service reflected on its historyand achievements – and looked forward to thework the RAF will be doing in the next 100years.

On 10th July 2018 (100 days after the initialcelebrations) there was a centenary service inWestminster Abbey, followed by a parade inThe Mall and a spectacular flypast overBuckingham Palace.

As part of the event, 55 squadron standardswere paraded including that of 617 Squadron,famous for its role in the Dambusters’ raidswhich was recently reformed in 2018 to fly theUK’s new F-35B Lightning II fighter jets.

Her Majesty the Queen also presented a newQueen's Colour to the Royal Air Force at aconsecration ceremony. The original Colourwas presented in 1951.

The flypast consisted of up to 103 aircraft with

nearly 200 aircrew from 25 different RAFSquadrons, operating to and from 14 militarystations and two civilian airfields. As well asthe pilots flying the aircraft, the events wereonly made possible thanks to the hard work ofaircrew, support teams and Air TrafficControllers. Their vital role in delivering theflypast reflects the fact that over 80% of jobroles in the RAF are related to science,technology, engineering and mathematicssubjects.

THE ROYAL AIR FORCES ASSOCIATION(REPUBLIC OF IRELAND BRANCH) The Royal Air Forces Association (Republic ofIreland Branch) meets for a chat and drinkwith friends between 12.30 and 2.30pm on thelast Sunday of every month. The gatheringstake place in the National Yacht Club, DunLaoghaire and anyone interested in the RAF(whether veteran or not) is very welcome toattend. Transport can be betweenLeopardstown Park Hospital and the NationalYacht Club. If you would like to attend, pleasespeak to Paula Carraher.

COMMEMORATE, CELEBRATE, INSPIRE – THE ROYAL AIR FORCE’S 100TH BIRTHDAY

Thanks to the hard work and organisation of Joan O’Neill and the team, the Veterans’ SupportGroup have been able to enjoy several outings in recent months. Mostly recently they enjoyedafternoon tea at the Leopardstown Inn and at the Talbot Hotel. The VSG outings are always agreat opportunity for veterans of the military and family members to get together.

VETERANS’ SUPPORT GROUP OUTINGS By Lorraine McWilliams

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ST. LAURENCE’S HOSPITAL COMPLEX By Joan O’Neill

Source: The Richmond, Whitworth andHardwicke (St Laurence's Hospital) AClosing Memoir Compiled and edited byEoin O’Brien Lorna Browne and KevinO’Malley

St Laurence’s was the collective name forthree Dublin hospitals, the Whitworth, theHardwicke and the Richmond.

Whitworth HospitalIn 1818, the Whitworth Fever Hospital wasbuilt on the north banks of the Royal Canaland named after the Lord Lieutenant. It latermoved to Whitworth Road on land that hadoriginally been acquired in the 18th century forthe new church of St. George. It was foundedto have a hospital on the north side of the city.This was a time of great poverty which causedmassive distress and epidemics and thehospital was built specifically to deal withthese conditions. The hospital was first openonly to poor patients who were unable to payfor medical attendance or proper treatment intheir own homes.

The hospital was administered by a board offifteen prominent Dublin gentlemen, presidedover by the Duke of Leinster. The first staffwere: physicians: J. Leahy, William J. Mangan,Robert J. Graves, Thomas Lee. Surgeons:Robert Adams and W. Wright. Residentphysician: James Jackson.

After its foundation, the hospital depended onvoluntary subscriptions, as no grant from thegovernment or other public funds wereavailable. In 1834 a small number of payingwards were set up also. In 1846-47, the timeof the Famine, fever epidemics killed largenumbers. The hospital quickly filled up, andfever sheds were erected along the canalbank for those for whom there was no spacein the hospital. In 1852 the hospital ran out ofmoney and was closed. It was taken overshortly afterwards by doctors dealing indeformities and renamed the WhitworthGeneral Hospital. In 1860 it re-opened as ageneral hospital.

Towards the end ofthe 19th century itcame under thepatronage of theDrumcondra TownCommissioners, andthe name waschanged (as therewas anotherWhitworth hospital onthe north side of the city). At outbreak of WorldWar I, a small number of beds were set asidefor wounded soldiers.

The number of patients increased steadilythrough the first half of the 20th Century.However, costs also increased and thehospital was constantly appealing forvolunteers to help with collections - itremained a voluntary hospital.

The Hardwicke Fever Hospital The Hardwicke Fever Hospital was founded in1803 by converting a malt house in ChannelRow. John Henthorn, a surgeon, used hisinfluence with the Government to implementproposals drawn up a year earlier for theprovision of accommodation for 2,000inmates, working apartments, bridewells forthe refractory, stores, a water reservoir, twospacious baths and two dining halls whichmight also serve as chapels, and, mostimportantly, an infirmary for 100 male and 200female patients. In 1798 a petition from thegovernors to the Irish House of Commons fora proper infirmary was successful. In 1803 apurpose-built hospital was opened, bearing,as was the custom, the name of the LordLieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Hardwicke.Fevers of one form or another were endemicin the city at this time and in the House ofIndustry epidemics were frequent anddevastating. Therefore, the new hospital wasgiven over to the care of patients with fever.

Government was now beginning to show signsof accepting some responsibility for theprovision of medical care at least for thevictims of fever, who were, of course, a threat

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to the whole society. By 1830 the case forgreater government funding was made,emphasising again the gradual developmentof the responsibility of parliament for thehealth of its citizens.

The Hardwicke Hospital was a plain stonebuilding, two storeys high, with spacious, lofty,well-ventilated wards containing 120 beds.The basement was filled up with cells for thecare of curable lunatics. The hospital cared foras many as 1,000 fever patients annually.Strict rules governed its administration. Thedoors were locked each night at nine o'clock insummer, and six o'clock in winter.

The Hardwicke Fever Hospital played a majorrole in controlling the fever epidemics of theGreat Famine (1845-50). The commonestfevers were typhus and relapsing fever, bothof which are spread by the common louse.Another disease, commonly seen in times ofgreat deprivation, bacillary dysentery, alsoplagued the unfortunate victims of the famine.Along with these illnesses, the endemicdiseases, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever,smallpox, and typhoid fever, continued toattack the weakened population. To add to themisery, two non-infectious diseases, scurvyand famine dropsy, arising from a deficiency ofessential foods, were rife among the faminevictims. The Hardwicke continued to treatinfectious diseases for many years and theverandas of the Hardwicke Hospital were usedas open-air wards for the treatment of patientswith tuberculosis until the 1950's. The hospitalclosed in 1987 a few months ahead of its long-serving partners, the Whitworth and RichmondHospitals.

The Richmond HospitalFollowing the success of the HardwickeHospital, the need for a surgical hospitalbecame apparent. In 1810, the Governorsrented an old convent for £20 a year,refurbishing it at great cost as a surgicalhospital with 120 beds. The Benedictine Nunshad built this convent on the north-side ofChannel Row opposite Red Cow Lane in1688. The Richmond Surgical Hospital openedin 1811. It was named after Charles Lennox,fourth Duke of Richmond and Lord Lieutenantof Ireland from 1807 to 1813. The Richmond

originally formed part of a complex of threehospitals, the others were the Whitworth andthe Hardwicke. They were collectively knownas St Laurence’s. The Richmond opened as ahospital in 1901, with the two wings of the U-shaped building accommodating the wards.There was one window for each bed. Thedouble loggias at the ends of the wingsallowed sheltered access to fresh air forpatients. A report by The Irish Times on theopening on 22 April 1901, boasted that it was“practically fireproof”, was fitted with modernventilation including warmed filtered air for thetheatres, and “the whole building is raisedfrom the ground upon high arches”.

A particularly charming feature of the wardswere the verandas which were once used asan open-air location for convalescent patientsto sit and talk on. Another remarkable featureof the new hospital was its brightness - therewas a window to every bed. The operatingtheatre, facing north from the central block,had a glazed roof so as to admit as muchnatural light as possible. The theatre couldaccommodate a large number of students ontiered rows and there were commodiousanaesthetic and sterilising rooms in keepingwith the remarkable advances in surgery thathad taken place towards the end of thenineteenth century. The exterior of the newhospital was, if anything, more striking thanwere its internal features. The central red-brickblock flanked by projecting wings terminatingin delicate verandas surmounted by copperdomes gave the passer-by a waft of theexotic. In 2014, the Irish Nurses and Midwives’Organisation (INMO) purchased the buildingfor €2.9 million for use as an education andevent centre. It is next to the union’sheadquarters in the former Whitworth Building.

The Richmond had a reputation second tonone as a great teaching institution. Studentsreaped great rewards from coming under theguidance of outstanding dedicated teachers.The influence of this great tradition of eruditionand teaching has been passed on anddisseminated throughout most of the English-speaking world and further afield.


GALLERY

MY SECRET LIFE AS A PADDY WHISKEY MODEL By James Egan (arm twisting by Paula Carraher)

I didn’t really know what to expect, I evenwhispered jokingly to her “control yourself nowhoney no screaming when we see the firstsign!”

The reports had been coming steadily in backin Rome as we honeymooned away delighted.Sightings on billboards, double billboards!, fullpage spreads in national newspapers, beermats in obscure pubs in some off beat cornerof Donegal, my granny even mastered textingto tell me she “nearly got sick” when she andher coffee’n’scone entourage saw me on a binon the high street in Waterford. Sick with prideI translated.

This was it; I was truly knee deep in my 15minutes of fame. I was the new, national faceof Paddy Whiskey.

As the taxi trundled along, bringing myself andmy newly appointed Mrs. from the airport toour new married life in Monkstown, ping!Another text, my wife’s friend was passing abillboard and nearly dropped her chips at thesight of me. How was I going to manage thisone?

I was starting to wonder if we’d make it homenow in one piece, what with the potentialhysterical screams she might release onto theback of the taxi driver’s head, him losing

control, who knew the untold carnage that layahead? Luckily for me (and her), I chose well.As we came off the toll bridge and rounded thecorner, I found myself, on a giant billboardgrinning back. Subdued ooh’s and ahh’s wereall that were detected. I let the taxi driver knowin case he hadn’t heard.

The plan and recommendation from thebrother-in-law (also newly appointed), to followhis steps and sign up with a model agencyhad definitely come to fruition. OK there wasthe initial Walkers Crisps ad which was a fullday of a whole lot of nothing for minimalreward, but from this experience I quicklylearned that for the big bucks and kudos,forget the crowd scenes, you need to be

“semi-featured” or “featured”, basically beingable to recognise yourself on playback!

So, some crowd scenes, a couple of ad’ssemi-featured, the crowning Paddy Whiskeyad and then, strangely, the castings started tooutweigh the actual jobs I was getting. Was Itossed aside, left on the “has been” shelf?Who knows, anyway I got busy with running abusiness, expanding the clan and continuingon my journey, which has now led me to thiswonderful place and sharing with you some ofthat voyage. I hope you’ve enjoyed dippingyour toe.

MRS. FOSTER’S WAR & THE REAL BOYBy John McCormack

This is Part 1 of a two-part account

The exhibition had entered its final day manyof the exhibitors and their staff were makingtheir plans to catch flights out of Frankfurt, tomany parts of the world, because, this wasDRUPA the largest Printing Showcase in theWestern world. It only happens in Germanyonce every four years. During the past threeweeks the most up to date technical

John McCormack with the Leopardstown Park Hospitalveterans, attending the annual commemoration atIslandbridge)

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developments, were being demonstrated byprint engineers, printers and all related areasof the print industry, no matter how big, smallor specialist, there was a niche demonstrationbeing shown, in many cases for the very firsttime, technical breakthroughs or faster,therefore, more efficient printing methods, allwould assemble under one roof or over manyhalls, every four years.

The only news left, was the announcement asto the ‘Record number of visitors plus therecord order values, to be declared’, thismattered more to the organisers than to mostpeople in the halls.

I had driven to the show from Ireland acrossthe United Kingdom, Belgium a bit of Franceand then into Germany, I was about to make astart on the way home and yet try to avoid themotorway traffic, trying to gain a head start, atleast on the Germany leg of the journey.Progress had been very good and I stopped ata motorway cafe in Belgium, an opportunity toeat, check maps and Ferry crossing times.

I noted that just a few miles away, was the sliproad for the town of Ypres originally amedieval ‘Leper’ town in the middle ages,today it is just a town like so many more oncontinental Europe. Maybe it is just a nameon a map, but time was, when it was a wholelot more, when events there were so awfulthat it stretched the hearts and minds ofpeople from all over the Western world toimagine the carnage that had taken place. Theabsolute lunacy of sending young men ‘Overthe Top’ to certain death within seconds, manydays, as the battles raged, they died in theirtens of thousands.

Tragedy, today is reported from war zones insingle figures, it is both saddening andmaddening to hear these things in our newsreports; But consider for a moment that in justa few days 64,000 men were lost at ‘TheBattle of the Somme’. It is beyond ourunderstanding as to ‘The Cause’ and ‘TheSacrifice’ which was felt in tens of thousandsof homes in Britain, Ireland, France and all thecountries of the Allies.

The generals probably didn’t cry out loud, butso many of the parents and families, sisters

and girlfriends, never recovered as an entiregeneration of fine young men who were just,obliterated.

It occurred to me that as I had some time tospare, plus a flexible ‘Ferry Ticket’ maybe Ishould take a closer look at the area.

I had expected to see a very damagedlandscape, with bits of artillery sticking out ofthe ground, maybe a few steel helmets hereand there, but ‘No’.

What lay before my eyes was a wonderfulgreen landscape, as if it were a land attendedby, the worlds’ most wonderful landscapeartist.

Standing there, I was transported back in time,to a time, in which I had not lived, for eventshere, being a major battleground of The FirstWorld War, predated me by over twenty yearsplus, before my birth.

I was viewing this scene through my owneyes, but with someone else’s words, after allthese years these words came back to me asif the story was being whispered to me, byMrs. Foster, now sadly long gone, for it wasmuch more fifty years ago that I first learnedthe history, or at least one man’s history of hispart, in the ‘Great War’; He, like so many hasleft us a faded sepia picture of himself andMrs. Foster, taken in a studio on a quietSaturday, he is dressed as a civilian, armyprovided ‘Walking out’ clothes, in the ChesterRegiment, The 22 of Foot Infantry. His lady,Miss Elizabeth Foster is wearing a fineevening dress, it is hard to see the love in hereye but it is much easier to note the awe andthrall which Richard holds for her.

The Exhortation

“They shall grow not old, as we that are leftgrow old,

Age shall not weary them nor the yearscondemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in themorning

We will remember them.”

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Mrs. Foster was by any measure a verycomplex woman, with a strong personalChristian faith and a good sense of duty and agreat work ethic. Although she was more thanseventy years old, she enjoyed rude goodhealth had a strong body and was fit to anychallenge.

We sat in the Front sitting room, or ‘The Bigkitchen’ as she liked to refer to it, outside, theday was really bright, a slight breeze caused agalvanized bucket to roll about, and it was theonly sound to be heard, just then, for noreason that I can ever recall, she sat in herfavourite chair at the top end of the table andlooked out towards the blue sea of Dublin Bay,with Dun Laoghaire harbour to the fore, Howthpeninsular in the distance and just on theedge of the ‘sea heat haze’ could be seenKish Lighthouse. An open front windowallowed a gentle breeze to keep the roomcool.

I was a very young boy of seven or eight andsat listening to her whilst hanging on to herevery word. She spoke in a quiet yetdetermined low voice, almost as if she werereading something to me.

She had a little mannerism of tapping the tablewith her long thin fingers, which reminded methat she might have at one time played thepiano or some keyboard instrument. Herhands, had a look of polished marble, well-trimmed and manicured nails, and each dayshe would use a hand crème or moisturiser,which kept them soft and I suppose, younglooking. She had a lot of jewellery but eachworking day, confined herself to just a goldnecklace and a gold wedding band. Her hairalthough now grey, going on to white wasalways carefully brushed each morning andheld in place, using hairpins or clips, it gaveher a ‘Head Mistress’ look.

So began a quiet monologue, in which sherevealed to me, what was, in essence, thestory of her life.

This was very uncharacteristic behaviour forher, and a bit frightening for me, that she wasprepared, or felt able, to open her soul to me asmall boy of tender age, she glanced towardsme and said in an almost throwaway manner,

I remember when I was your age - aboutseven. In a moment she was transportedback to the late 1870’s. I was born in July inthe comfort and bosom of our family home, Iwas the middle child in a family of eleven, nineof whom survived into adulthood. The familyhome was somewhere between small andmodest, in fact it is still standing today, youmust have seen it, John, you’ve passed by itlots of times, but now extra rooms have beenadded it looks different.

Living as I was then, like everyone else, invery cramped conditions, it was almostexpected that, the girls of the family, at leastsome of them, would move away in the midteenage years, often to aunts or cousins,already living abroad. Often the older girlwould stay to help the mother raise theremaining family. At about seventeen, it wasdecided that I could move to Aunt Sissy, I hadonly met her once while she was on a visithome, she lived in a city in England calledChester.

My Mother started to create a ‘Travel Bag’ forme, she started with a small woollen rug, intothis she had sewn a sky blue taffeta silk lining.The carrier handles were cut and polished, re-cycled from a disused horse leathers, and theclosure was a large button from one of herown coats. Into this bag she had made a smallconcealed compartment which furthercontained a small purse for ladies, it hadsecreted within five new half sovereigns, to beonly used in case or cases of emergencies.The rest of the bag had such clothes as Iwould need, frocks, petticoats, stockings anda spare pair of shoes.

About a week later, we hugged and I kissed,my Mother and Father, for the first time everand then the rest of the family, ironically itproved to be the last time I would ever kisseither of my parents. My oldest brother tookme by horse and trap, to Kingstown, DunLaoghaire as it is known now, to catch theevening sailing of the Mail boat, to Holyhead. Ihad bought a rail ticket as a single journey toChester.

Aunt Sissy and her Husband Jack werewaiting for me at the station on my arrival.Jack worked as Signalman for the railway

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company and Aunt Sissy stayed at home, theyhad a nice little home in a good area of town,close, of course, to the railway station. Theyhad no children to care for, so I becamesomebody to love and care about. Aunt Sissyhad been aware of my impending arrival formany weeks she and Jack, had prepared aroom for me, it was bright and airy withbeautiful pastel colours on the walls and veryfeminine net curtains’.

She also had a little bit of influence in the areaof employment, in a way which I shall neverknow how, Aunt Sissy had a friend called LadyElizabeth Roland, or Lady Liz as she liked tobe known, she owned a large house on theedge of town. I was first introduced to LadyLiz a very few weeks after I arrived in Chesterat an afternoon tea with Aunt Sissy, Lady Lizand myself, during the course of which I wasgiven a job as a house maid. I would workunder the supervision of Miss Farleigh tobegin with, but eventually Lady Liz wouldreview the situation and if I wished could startwork next month, if, that was suitable to me,there was no talk about money, but I wasconfident, that it would be, well, OK.

It goes without saying I was walking on air fordays afterwards, I could not believe I’d hadsuch luck, being ‘Shoe Horned’ into a job withalmost no effort on my part, clever old AuntieSissy, I reckoned.

Miss Farleigh was a very fair, if somewhatstrict woman with her staff, so I tried to stay onher better side. In spite of what other staffmembers thought, she did have a pleasantmanner and if you did your work, she waseasy to please. I was in a ‘live in’ situationwith my new job, with a day off every weekand time to go to church every Sunday. I didn’tmeet Lady Liz very often, but when I did Ialways referred to her as the remainder of thestaff as ‘My Lady’, this was not a problem forme as I knew that Aunt Sissy would havewished it so.

When I started to work I knew little of the waysof ‘The Big House’ all big houses were moreor less the same and I just wanted more thananything else to be a part of it, to fit in, and ifthe training was that, of being in service, then Iwanted that to be the best I possibly could do,

at my job. Everything went well for me, thenineteenth century passed into the twentiethand Queen Victoria was still alive, we weredrifting into the age of the Edwardians and thebehind the door, morality or immorality, thatwas the practice of the upper and middleclasses of the age.

The servants’ entrance doorbell rang. When Ianswered it was Uncle Jack with verydisturbing news, Aunt Sissy had died in hersleep, the previous night, and would I tell LadyRoland? We attended her small but dignifiedfuneral a few days later, My Lady Roland alsoattended and had sent a wonderful wreath forher coffin.

It was about a year later that I first metRichard, he was a career soldier and wassoon to be sent to serve in India, we becameengaged to be married, but decided to ‘put off’the event until he returned to England.

It was a strange time in which to have lived,with Victoria having died, and the wholecountry was now in mourning, as she hadbeen for the previous forty years. Britain nowled the world in engineering innovation, youfelt that it could have gone on forever, withexports at an all-time high, full employment forall who wanted to work, but morally thecountry was bankrupt.

Richard was a private serving in The ChesterRegiment or the 22nd of Foot was as thename implies an infantry regiment, it had beenin existence for 300 years without a namechange and without ever have to merge intoany other battalion.

Tours to India could last for ten or twentyyears, but Richard was going to be secondedfor just one year, to teach new recruits, ‘Fieldcraft’ the essence of being an infantryman. Wedecided that when he returned we wouldmarry.

As he left for England having completed histour, an amazing turn of events took place, inof all the most unlikely cities in Europe;Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

An irredentist young Serbian named GavriloPrincip, working for an undergroundmovement decided to assassinate Archduke

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Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie as theymade their way out of the city of Sarajevo,they were crossing a narrow bridge, whenthey were both fatally wounded, the gun usedin this attack, is on display at Dubrovnik inmodern day Croatia.

This was the spark, or as the military men ofthe day called it ‘The casus belli’, whichstarted The First World War in August 1914.When Richard arrived in Southampton docks,he was granted just one week’s furlough, andthen told to report for war duty in France.Guided by the news in the papers of the day,‘It will all be over before Christmas 1914’ soonce again we delayed the marriage decision’.

That Christmas passed as did several more,and the war to end all wars, became the warwithout end, it just went on and on, we wroteletters to each other, almost weekly, somewould arrive very quickly others never arrivedat all, then in 1917 the letters stopped, nomore word was ever received, except byRichards’ parents. They had received theultimate letter, in the way of a War Officetelegram, the so called ‘Killed in Action’telegrams. I went to visit Richards’ parentsthey were bereft at the loss of their only son, Ihad never met them before, but they knew mefrom the ‘Saturday portrait’ which was on theirmantle place. I left Richards’ parents to theirgrief and sorrow, hugging each of them for amoment before I left, knowing, in my ownheart; That they would never ever, recoverfrom the outcome of this terrible war,

Richard had been lost somewhere out thereon these lush green fields that was Ypres. Inthe trenches they called this place ‘Wipers’which is how the military men always addressproblems, by just laughing about them! Hewas amongst numbers, which your youngmind could not possibly imagine, when thewar was over, they checked this area to try toeven guess at the total numbers that couldhave been lost, in the area of Ypres andsurrounds, losses during the four-year conflictamounted to 700,000 men, that was just herein Ypres. They came from all over the world, todie, on what seemed too many to be just a fewacres of fields. In fact some Australian andCanadian Officers owned farms which were

larger than the lands they were trying to winover from the German forces, they eventuallygave their lives to this cause. Names likeHaig, and Joffre who were the British andFrench leaders of the battles in this theatre ofthe war, were considered by Prime ministerLloyd George to be personally responsible forso many lives being lost.

I sometimes try to imagine, what greatwarlords of the past, would have to say, if theycould be, by some form of, ‘Magic’ they couldwitness the carnage taking place on this littlepart of Belgium. Genghis Khan or Alexanderthe Great, who were in their time responsiblefor great battles, and huge loss of lives inconflict which they had led in their past.

How would they judge the military tactics andstrategies being employed on this battlefield,the great loss of soldiers, I am confident theywould abhor. It was all very unnecessary, not amoment of thought was ever given to the long-term impact that such a disastrous decisionwas having on societies, in Britain andthroughout the Empire, Haig and Joffre wereusing tactics which were proven wrong in theCrimea War and The Boer War and yet nolesson seemed to have been learned, nobodyshouted “Stop”! enough, is enough.

The great Warlords would have dismissedgenerals after the very first skirmish, or giventhem ‘The summary justice of their time’.

Were senior officers afraid to question thecommand of these two Generals and manyothers besides? Generals that had sent, somany tens of thousands of fine young menneedlessly to horrific early deaths, in Europe,The Middle East and Burma.

Then there were the survivors, who sufferedall their lives from ‘Shell Shock’ or ‘GasPoisonings’, and those who would never talkabout the war, but would never be ‘Right intheir Minds’ as a result of what they had seen.

My poor Richard was just lost without trace,probably ‘Blown to Pieces’. Nothing to bury,no stone in a local graveyard, eventually hebecame, just a name on a very long role; ‘Lestwe forget’. Everywhere you went from thesmallest village to major cities, monuments to

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‘The Fallen’ endless lists of names, cut intostone, the lettering highlighted in the jet black,of death. Inside churches on bronze plaques,the dead of that parish, were named, a glint ofsunshine coming through the stained glass,picking a name in red, blue or green, as thesun passes to reflect a new name, each one,A Father, A Son, or A Brother, gone and lostforever.

The soldiers of the day, sang, as all soldiersdid, during those days, popular songs of themusic halls and end of the pier shows,Richard and I often attended shows in ‘MusicHalls’ and Vaudeville to see Harry Lauder,George Formby, performing small sketches

and ending with a song, usually with theaudience joining in the chorus. It’s a Long Wayto Tipperary, Roses of Picardy were popular.Welsh Regiments especially sang, as youmight expect ‘We’ll keep a Welcome in theHillside’. And also, as they had done in theBoer War, they would break into a rendition of‘Men of Harlech’.

What on earth was I going to do now, mywhole future lay in a field somewhere in Ypres,there was no body to recover and his finalresting place became ‘Known only to God’. Itwas probably the lowest point in my life, onthe train coming back to Chester, having saidmy ‘Goodbyes’ to Richard’s parents.

TRINITY COLLEGE AND THE APOTHECARY By Michael Martin

Did you know that there is an important linkbetween Trinity College and Chemists? TrinityCollege, formally known as the College of theHoly and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabethnear Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letterspatent from Queen Elizabeth I and is the soleconstituent college of the University of Dublin.The foundation stone was laid by anapothecary named Thomas Smith, then LordMayor of Dublin.

TCD’s website reads: “An apothecary namedThomas Smith who was Lord Mayor of Dublinat the time founded the University of Dublin in1592, but it was not until 1711, following theconstruction of the first Anatomy SchoolBuilding, that the Medical School was officiallyopened. Since the School of Medicine hasdeveloped into a unique institution. With aproud tradition of scholarship and research, ithas made a significant contribution todevelopment of medicine.”

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LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL SUMMER PARTY2018

Well done to all the LPH staff who made thesummer party such fun! The food wasdelicious, as always. Many thanks to the

catering team. Many thanks to Michelle andher band - the music was superb.

STOP PRESS! WELCOME BABY DAVID HARTIGAN!

Just as we were going to press, we heard thewonderful news of baby David Hartigan’sarrival on Wednesday 3rd October 2018.

Congratulations to Mary and John on the birthof your lovely 8lb 5 oz little boy, David! Wewish you all health, happiness and a lifetime offun.

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CondolencesOur sympathy goes to the relatives and friends of those recently deceased:

Ann O'Keeffe

Leonard Kelly

Frances Mullen

Samuel Spencer

Maureen Ryan

Sylvester Pidgeon

Muriel Parnell

Helena O'Dwyer

Michael McCoy

Terry Martinez

Seamus Fee

Anne O'Rafferty

Lousie Mockler

Anne Ahearne

Nancy Fagan

Bridget Boyce

Jeanne Mathews

Elizabeth Sheehan

William Flanagan

Agnes Kearns

Christina Flynn

Leo Caffery

Emmanuel Rigby

Joseph Patrick Cannon

Majorie Fitzgibbon

Desmond Caldwell

Fergus O'Brennan

John Lacey

Johannah (Anna) O'Sullivan

Jenny Conlon

William O'Sullivan

Marion Jones

Teresa Mc Cormick

Noeleen O'Gorman

John Lestrange

Joanna Pluck

Frank Doyle

Margaret Behan

Patricia (Pat) Sheedy

Monica Heaps

Eileen Helen Walsh

Maria Mc Coy

Patricia Walsh

George Chambers

Elizabeth Goldie

Brigid (Bree) Gleeson

Nancy Dillon

Kathleen Dunne

Teresa Mc Garry

Kathleen Kavanagh

Documents

LEOPARDSTOWN PARK HOSPITAL CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT