We were privileged to have Briony Hudson, Director of Amersham Museum, as our guide to sickness and health in Amersham over the ages. Starting with the use of medicinal herbs in the 1600s we weren’t entirely convinced about Sneezewort. This was used to make people sneeze to distract them from other ailments, such as toothache.
Moving onto the workhouse system, did you know that many workhouses, including Amersham’s, went on to become hospitals when they moved under local control in the 1930’s? Additional blocks were added over time and it also served as a military hospital during World War 2.
We heard about some of the medics associated with the area, including: Dr Arthur P Luff who was the founder of forensic science, Margery Abrahams who was a doctor and dietician and who was part of the kinder transport network during world war 2 and Dr Beatrice Turner who served as a nurse in world war 1 and was awarded a British Red Cross scholarship to study medicine. She became a Gynaecologist and Obstetrician and was asked to set up an emergency maternity hospital at Shardeloes House. Over 5,000 babies were born there during the war, including, Cricket fan and lyricist Tim Rice.
Finally, we learned about some of the medically related businesses in the vicinity, including Amersham International. The company originally processed Radium to produce luminous sights for weapons during the war. It then diversified into medical applications of radio chemicals such as needles for treating cancer. Hearing Briony’s talk left me wondering about the untold stories of other towns around the UK and what a fascinating country we live in.