One of my publications that has been particularly popular is Children’s Convalescent Homes of Broadstairs by Tony Euden click her to buy it online.I have the following from one of my customers who would like to contact other people who stayed there as children.
“Thank you so much for the book The Children’s Convalescent Homes in Broadstairs. It was very interesting reading.
When I spoke to you on the phone, I wondered how I could get in touch with other children who had been at The Yarrow Home. You offered to put it up on your blog. It would be very kind of you if you could do so.
My name was Sally Barns and I was there in the late 1930`s, just before WW11. Perhaps there are not so many of us alive now, but I would be very interested in getting in touch with anybody who was there.”
I have put up some sample text and pictures from the book about the Yarrow Convalescent Home click here to read it.
Michael, of course it's now 'The Yarrow Building' and forms part of the college. If the relocation goes ahead it will become flats with the listed exterior staying as it is.
ReplyDeleteJack the collage tried to get permission to demolish it in 1997 after much opposition the application was turned down and the building made grade 2 listed.
ReplyDeleteWhy save it? old buildings can be ugly, just like new buildings. how long before they list Arlington House?
ReplyDeleteWW11? Yikes! I must have missed the other 9!
ReplyDeleteWhoops Richard must have hit the one key one more time than I should have, I’m blaming this flue bug that I can’t seem to throw off, life’s all a bit foggy at the moment.
ReplyDeleteYou can get the Colleges proposed layout for flats in Yarrow on UKPlanning 07/1151.
ReplyDeleteThe internal staircases and corridors are also listed.
Sally Barnes, you were a Yarrow Patient in late 30's so was I. You wanted to make contact. My home no is 020 8657 5673.
ReplyDeleteDavid,
i stayed in the yarrow convalescent home in 1959 i had a very good time there,i remember a girl called catheren meaner she came from london,she was very kind to me,anyone out there remember a deirdre barber.
ReplyDeleteI was there November/December 1959, aged 7 (referred from Westminster Children's Hospital). I had an dreadful time and only got away by pretending to have recovered more than I had. My experiences included being punished for unexpectedly vomiting, repeatedly hit on the back of my heels by a nurse wheeling a buggy for walking too slow on one of the 'constitutional' walks around the seafront (I had not walked for about 6 weeks prior to that as I had been in hospital with near terminal peritonitis, so I was a bit slow, I guess - at the time I weighted just 3 stone)and, while in the sick wing, I was woken up in the middle of a night by the night matron who picked me up by the shoulders and threw me back on the bed screaming at me that 'I must learn to sleep exactly in the middle of the bed'. It was this sort of thing most days. I believe most of this would now be regarded as abuse. The only person in charge there who seemed to be in any way sane was the day matron, possibly this Catheren Meaner might have been an exception too (the name does seem vaguely familiar). They could be too faced though. Glad to hear that you were luckier, but I did hear that the place had been the subject of an investigation in the early 60's. No idea what this 'Convalescent Home of the Better Classes' might of been ! We were a mixed bunch of ordinary kids in the state system, mostly from London as I recall. Regards, Martin
DeleteI was there around the same time,I was referred by the Prince of Wales hospital. I do not have very fond memories of the place. Two that come to mind, firstly you were expected to do a number two every morning and one Sunday I could not go and the nurses locked me in the loo and forgot me there I was only let out because it was visiting day and my parents wanted to know where I was. Second fond memory was I caught measles there and it got into my legs and I could not walk very fast. I soiled myself and I was put in a Tin bath my under pants were thrown in and I had to wash them. Kids crying themselves to sleep every night cod liver oil, bullying nurses not a happy time.
DeleteRegards Tony
I wasn't a Child there, but I was one of the Cadet Nurses working there in 1961 ish. Are there any other Nurses who remember me.
ReplyDeleteBeverley Semmens
My wife Valerie stayed at the home on 2 occasions between 1961 and 1963 referred from westminster childrens hospital. She remembers a song they all learnt to the music of thelaughing policeman.
ReplyDeleteIhad the scarlet fever Ihad it very bad
They took me off to Broadstairs and put me in a van
The van was very bumpy I nearly tumbled out
And when I got to Broadstairs I heard the baby shout
Mummy Daddy take me home from this convalescent home
I've been here a week or two now I want to be with you
I have in my possession a beautiful silver trowel which was used in setting the memorial stone by Mrs Yarrow when the foundations were laid on 28 May 1894.
ReplyDeleteMy great grandfather was a mason with offices in Glasgow and London which undertook some work in Kent.There may have been a working relationship or friendship with the Yarrow family in Glasgow. I recall meeting Lady Yarrow when I was younger.
On my mother's death this trowel was passed to me and I feel it warrants a better home than the drawer it has languished in for perhaps more than a century. Any suggestions as to the best place?
I live in london and am due to make my first visit to Broadstairs on Tuesday next 13/9/11. I will visit the Yarrow Building( which is now a technical college) and also look in on the Crampton tower museum.
I have been offered a lot of money for the trowel( by a former resident of the home). I would prefer to give it to a public building where everyone can enjoy it.
Any suggestions appreciated
Garrey Blackwood
07747494482
Dear Garrey,
DeleteI have left you a voicemail on the number you have provided. The Yarrow is now a public building and if the offer of the trowel is still there please give me a call
Kindest Regards
Craig Stafford
if you where to google The Yarrow Home for Convalescent Children of the Better Classes there are some pictures taken from inside of it recently
ReplyDeleteI was sent to the Yarrow in 1954 (aged 4) - my memories are mostly pleasant ones: group walks along the beach, seeing the donkeys, having treatment in the 'sun room', wearing the funny goggles. Not so pleasant, lying in an oxygen tent, no visitors until the weekend, sharing my sweets, loosing my new doll's booties.
ReplyDeleteGarrey you showed me your trowel, do you remember?
I was there in 1954 also, aged 10,I have a few old photos.. The dormitories were named,Florence,Minnie,Evelyn, and we had a doctor Anderson. one of the nurses was named Henrietta,one was Carol. there was a sandpit in the grounds. After a few days of feeling homesick I loved it there- I would love to go back to visit.
DeleteI was at the Yarrow in 1954 too. I remember the song we all sang,I think the nurses made it up! there was a sandpit in the grounds,I have a photo somewhere.. We ate food that was home grown on the adjoining farm. I remember a Dr. Anderson,the sister was named Miss Boon,and two nurses I remember were Henrietta and nurse Cozens. two girls I ws friendly with,Pat,and Gillian Wiffin. the dormitories for the girls were named after Yarrow family members; Evelyn,Minnie,Florence. We were in Florence ward.After a few days feeling homesick,I loved it there. The summer that year was perfect.
DeleteI was a nurse at the Yarrow in 1954 prior to training at Westminster hospital.I remember Nurse Atkins and a Mrs Coe who was drafted in to wash the children's hair.Poor little David with terminal kidney disease,Anthony in his cot and a child with cystic fibrosis.The staff ate at a long table in strict order of seniority with Matron at the head.As soon as she had laid down her cutlery we were all expected to follow suit.As I am a slow eater I nearly starved to death in the beginning. I was very happy there despite not seeing my family for 6 months.
DeleteMy mother was a nurse at the Yarrow 1955-1956 (again prior to training at Westminster hospital). I have several photos of the children and other nurses - and snow on the beach in 1956 - please contact me if you were there at the time.
DeleteLloyd Powell was there 1954 and 1958.
ReplyDeleteLloyd has met a lovely lady called Margaret Axford,who was also there but not sure if it was at the same time,unbelievable if she was,Margaret was put out in the corridor all night for not drinking her milk, i remember a spoonful of Malt and a drink that was very sour every morning. Parents came down weekends if they could,if they didn't we were very tearful,i am 63 now and will never forget my time at Yarrow Home.
ReplyDeletei was in yarrow home in 1950. i remember the sun room and having malt and going for walks also being made to eat very runny boiled eggs.i didnt like being there and wanted to go home.
DeleteMy name is john Soall.
ReplyDeleteI was in this covalescent home when I was aa child of about 5 or 6 years old.
I have a lung condition called Bronchiectasis and was sent there from St Annes
hospital in Tottenham In north London.I stayed approxx 6 months and the Nuns looked
after us very well.I went back to have a look at the home and so surprised and shocked
to see the bad state of the place.After all the care the Nuns took af all the sick children.
It was quite upsetting.
I am 61 and still have memories of this place and the kindness of the Nuns.
John
my name is Jim Chambers.
ReplyDeleteI was at the Yarrow Home in 1950 convalescing from a Lung abscess and remember the walking in crodile to Dumpton Gap and into Broadstairs,old Victorian-style prams leading, and the companionship of other chaps of about 11 years of age, learning swear-words I never knew before from a chap who came from Hainault in Essex, and being spoken to by Sister because I wasn't putting on weight at the right speed..names I recall were Peter Collins and Colin Broughton and Brenda Gibbs.
I remember doing little bits of carpentry in the basement of the vast building, and going out scrumping for cooking apples in the orchard in the grounds.. the summer-houses, one for the boys and one for the girls, that could be turned on metal tracks to face the sun.
It was an educational 7 weeks now that I look back on it; it certainly taught me the value of solitude!
does anyone one have any memories of holy cross,it was run by nuns,also for sick children it was behind the yarrow homes.
ReplyDeleteI was there at holy cross in 1954 until january 1955 for9 months,of what I can remember the nuns were strict but not cruel as some comments I read. Loved the malt, hated the runner beans, some good memories. I went back in 1965 to visit and the nuns gave me tea and cakes,but the nun I remembered sister veronica had moved.
DeleteHi my name is Rosemary and i was in the yarrow homes about 1959/60 i was about 4/5 years old. I can only remember the large grey rocking horse by a huge window overlooking the gardens and also the coming down a large flight of stairs in to the hall for dinner.
DeleteTo start with i was there with my brother and two sisters, they left after a couple of weeks/months (it didn't seem very long at my age then) they were taken home and i was left there for a time on my own (again for the age i was i don't know how long that was) does any one remember the Hewitt family. Please feel free to get in contact through this page. Thank you
I was in a Convalescent Home in Broadstairs for around four or five weeks in the summer of 1965but don't know for sure which one it was. I was 10. I think it might be the Yarrow though, as I remember some of the things others have noted, namely - the sandpit, the reference to taking drugs (we were given big white pills for the first week of our stay),the malt, the song (slightly different words, see below) and the investigation. My mother told me there was an investigation soon after I left and I was apparently interviewed but didn't say anything. She said the home was closed soon after.
ReplyDeleteThe only information I have seen states the home was closed in 1964the year before I would have been there. Am I mistaken or could it have closed in 1965?
The song went:
I had dramatic fever, I had it very bad
They wrapped me in a blanket and put me in a van
The van was very bumpy, I nearly tumbled out
But when I got to Broadstairs I heard the children shout
"Mummy, daddy, take me home
From this Convalescent Home
I've been here for weeks or more
Now they make me scrub the floor".
I was in the converlestant home around the same time, I remember the song very well. During my stay I fell off the seesaw and broke my arm. 😣
DeleteI was in Yarrow for two weeks in October 1958. It was a terrible experience and I am currently trying to find out about the investigation that took place as I was physically, mentally and sexually abuse in my two weeks at Yarrow. I remember a large frightening female member of staff who was very frightening. I think we were in a bathroom, there was a younger boy in there too and the ‘nurse’ was telling me to take my clothes of which I didn’t want to do. I was crying and she shouted at me and then threatened to scrub my appendix scar if I didn’t undress. What I have remembered as an adult is being sexually abused in a place that was like an industrial building with a square metal framework In the roof. I have gained more memory through nightmares and flashbacks. I have also had email contact with other people who stayed there and remember as I do, extreme cruelty from the staff. Can anyone help with their own memories and information about the staff or the investigation. Jill
DeleteI was at the Yarrow home in 1936. My brother Frederick and I were sent there as our father was dying. He passed away in November 1936. My memories of the Home are mostly pleasant except that I overheard one nurse telling another that my father had died. This was not a good way to learn this news.
ReplyDeleteAlan Johnson November 30 2015
I have been researching my family's history (Kippin/Perry families)and my great Uncle Lindsay Albert Kippin was cared for here at the turn of the century. His parents Albert James Kippin and Annie Perry, were employees of Lord Amphill who most generously paid for Lindsay's care at the home. The family subsequently migrated to Australia in May/June of 1913. Lindsay, although, physically deformed) went on to make a great life for himself and was a wonderful recreational sailor, and telephonist in his career. He was a very generous and kind man and his name lives on to this day in my grandchild - Taj Lindsay.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Jane Cairns (nee Kippin)
My Grandmother, Kathleen Gust, was there in about 1929/1930. I would love to find out why. She was the middle child of 5 from Bermondsey.
ReplyDeleteHi. I visited Yarrow Hotel last week. My brother and I were there in circa 1962. If anyone calls being separated from the only person you could relate to and having one’s clothes taken away and put in grey clothes a pleasure I beg to differ. I needed to revisit to ensure that I had the right place. It was a cruel cold place and i would like the staff at the time, if still alive, to examine their call of conscious. Mr Yarrow as a philanthropist was very inward looking and all about glory. Did he know what went on there and how traumatised it left many of us. I know many would disagree but do not judge please until you have walked in our shoes. Sorry if I sound bitter but his surviving family should know what actually went on. Thank goodness we live in a different age now.
ReplyDeleteMy beautiful late Mum worked at the Yarrow up until 1954. Her maiden name was Marie Beavis and told me many stories from her time there. Mum simply adored children and said how they loved muffin the mule!!!I have one photo of mum on one of the balcony with Matrons dog Suki.mum cared so much, and was a wonderful mum to us.
ReplyDeleteWas there c.1959 for 6 weeks (6yo-ish) after 3 weeks in Westminster Children's Hospital (perforated appendix).
ReplyDeleteThere was a kind German nurse - but someone senior was very unpleasant: got put into a broom-cupboard as scrambled-egg on toast made me puke: pretended to eat it but actually stuck the lot behind some pipework!
Learnt to tie my shoelaces there...and seem to recall that one had to make ones bed.
My Dad, now aged 95, was there as a child in 1928 (the first time) and then another time a bit later. He was sent there because his Mum became too ill to look after her three children. He remembers feeling sad because he missed his Mother so much.
ReplyDeleteDad and I have just found a photograph of him, aged 5, at The Yarrow Home.
ReplyDeleteAt 2 yrs of age, I had been in a London hospital for some time with tuberculosis and then became a member of the first intake of kids to the Yarrow Home after the soldiers left in 1946.
ReplyDeleteMy first memory in life was travelling down in a train carriage from London with all the kids and nurses singing 'rain rain go away'.
I remember the sandpit being built and filled with sand and part of the song. My version went:
Mummy Daddy take me home from this convalescent home
I've been here a month or two now I want to stay with you.
This nice lady would visit me once a month with a toy - I had no idea who it was. It turned out to be my mother. I must have been there much longer than a month or two!
I am trying to find out the date that it reopened for children after WW2 and would grateful for any help.