End of the line for Hospital League of Friends

The contribution of its members has been huge.

Now everything is changing at West Cumberland Hospital and it’s all change with the Friends too.

With most of the volunteers now in their 70s and 80s and the buffet bar they run being demolished, they have decided to call it a day.

Their contribution from the early days of the Ladies Linen League to the present day has been quite phenomenal, and often gone unrecognised. There will be a sadness in the local community at its demise.

The North Cumbria University NHS Trust has been undertaking a review of the service provided by volunteers and will still welcome voluntary help, but the League itself is being disbanded

In contrast to the 10 members who currently comprise the committee of West Cumberland Hospital League of Friends, the Ladies Linen League, formed in 1910 to support the Howgill Street Infirmary, attracted 150 helpers, women keen to embark on raising funds via bazaars and sales of work so they could buy all the linen and blankets the infirmary would require.

We all like to support local health facilities because none of us know when we, or those we care about, may need them.

Fundraising for the air ambulance services rely on this thinking.

In the early 1900s, the Whitehaven Ladies Linen League was one of the first of its kind in the country, and was soon turning its thoughts to helping the staff as well as the patients, raising money to help build a nurses’ home.

Due to the outbreak of World War I, an infirmary bazaar in this cause had to be cancelled, but later, a large house, Lyndhurst, off Corkickle, was to become the nurses’ home for the Whitehaven Castle Hospital, in handy walking distance.

When the hospital moved to Whitehaven Castle the women continued their good work, extending the provision of bedlinen to include uniforms for nursing staff.

The Castle and its grounds had been gifted, along with £20,000 by local tannery owner Herbert Walker of Oaklea (later the Chase Hotel) and in 1925 it provided 72 beds with a nursing and domestic staff of 37.

There was a formal opening by Princess Mary in January, 1926 and the first patient to be admitted after the ceremony was T R Wilkinson, a miner who had suffered a leg injury at Haig Pit.

In 1930 the Linen League had sent 2,000 blankets and linen items to the hospital.

In 1933 the Countess of Lonsdale was chairman of the Linen League and Mrs Muriel, the wife of surgeon Dr Bertram Muriel was vice-chairman.

It had an astonishing 860 associate members who came from not only Whitehaven, but also Cleator Moor, Beckermet, Lamplugh, Ponsonby, Moresby, Bootle, St Bees, Egremont, Wasdale, Ravenglass, Harrington, Braystones, Bigrigg, Moor Row, Millom, Calderbridge, Drigg, Silecroft, Muncaster, Ennerdale Bridge, Distington, Frizington, Seascale and Gosforth.

By 1936 the hospital patient numbers were ever rising but income was hit by the loss of £500 through the cessation of workmen’s contributions with the closing down of pits. In 1948 the League of Friends was under the chairmanship of Mrs Nancy Stout, who was also chair of the Joint League established in the Sixties.

The work of these volunteers has been extremely important in helping with the running and the upkeep of the hospital.

Over the years millions have been raised. Besides fundraising for a broad range of equipment, practical help was offered in the early days with rolling bandages and cutting and folding special swabs for theatre.

A library trolley was taken round the wards, and in 1958 a telephone trolley was provided so patients could make a call without getting out of bed.

First to use it was a Mrs Margaret Woffinden, who was able to call relatives in Thurso, southern Scotland about the birth of her baby daughter, Alison.

Television sets were provided for each ward by the League of Friends in the 1950s and broadcasts to patients of football and rugby matches were organised via a special relay service.

Play materials were provided for the children’s ward and all patients up until last Christmas received a seasonal gift from the Friends, quite an undertaking.

In the late 1950s they provided the student nurses’ room with a record player and three LPs: The King & I , South Pacific and Carousel , were all played until the grooves were nearly worn off!

The work of other voluntary bodies such as the WVS, St John Ambulance Brigade, and the Red Cross was also greatly valued and, under the direction of Lady Ponsonby, the Red Cross ran the hospital’s appliance department.

They also introduced the trolley shop, visiting patients in the wards who could buy a newspaper or a magazine.

Gifts also came from other leagues – Cockermouth, Maryport, Ennerdale, Lamplugh, Workington, Egremont and Galemire.

Money came in from staging a broad range of events and there were collections on Alexandra Rose Day and Daffodil Day.

In 1964 Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport and Cockermouth all combined to form the Joint League of Friends and one of the first gifts to the new West Cumberland Hospital was a communion set for the chapel, which is still in use.

The Joint League became a registered charity in 1973 recalling that in the previous 10 years alone more than £100,000 had been donated to buy equipment for West Cumberland Hospital, equipment that could not otherwise be bought.

As a result patients benefited in their treatment and staff were helped to do their work as well as possible....and from every raffle ticket sold to every cake baked, that’s what it has always been about.....a debt of gratitude is owed. Thank you.

A special tea and presentation in honour of the Friends will be held in the hospital’s new restaurant on Wednesday, October 21.