Memories
Childhood memories of Dr. Lyle
The older residents of Thurcroft will no doubt remember the Doctor's surgery at the top of Katherine Road. I remember as an eight year old in 1964 being taken there to have a wound in my leg stitched up after an accident on the Rec.
The surgery if I recall correctly, was quite small. While in the waiting room, Mrs. Thompson the Receptionist, dabbed my leg with a funny smelling purple liquid, and then I was taken to have my leg stitched up by Dr. O'Hara, much of which I can't remember because I was hiding my face behind a curtain, I was just glad when I was on my way home!
Prior to this my earliest memories are of Dr. Lyle. As a toddler on Christmas Day 1959, I gashed my forehead on a piano stool at my Grandparents house on Limetree Avenue, I was taken to Dr. Lyles house on Ivanhoe Road, he was very kind and put a couple of stitches in my forehead, afterwards he gave me a lollipop off his Christmas tree, I remember this as if it was only last week!
Dr. Lyle was my Doctor for many years, he was always very pleasant and I liked him very much, I was quite sad when he retired.
At one time I can remember the Methodist Church (Acro Sports Hall) being used as a Baby Clinic, I can only remember being there once, though no doubt I went a few times, but on this one particular occasion, my Mother had informed me that I was going to go for a needle, I can remember being sat on her knee feeling really scared because in my young mind I thought I was going to have a knitting needle stuck in my arm or leg, the only needles I knew were the ones that my Mother used for knitting!
The surgery I remember the most, was the one on Locksley Drive.
In the school holidays me and my friend would sit on the clinic wall on a Monday afternoon to watch all the mothers take their babies to be weighed, those were the days of the big coach built prams, which were lovely.
The clinic on Locksley Drive was eventually closed down and the practice relocated to the present building on Laughton Road.