A REUNION is being held to mark 25 years since the wards closed at Leamington’s Warneford Hospital.
The Victorian building on Radford Road shut in 1993 when it was sold and demolished to make way for housing. It had been a ‘landmark’ for local healthcare since 1832.
The site, which was named after Samuel Warneford – a philanthropist who donated nearly all of the £4,000 needed to build the hospital – saw services transferred to Warwick Hospital or University Hospital Coventry.
And to mark a quarter of a century since the closure, former staff are reuniting and calling on anyone who worked there to get in touch.
Former surgical ward sister Reva Huff said: “It’s 25 years since we were all last together at the Warneford. We were a close-knit team, everyone from kitchen staff to consultants, laundry to ambulance and all of us nurses and midwives. The reunion is a chance for us to catch up and share memories of our time there.”
The reunion is being held at the Irish Club on Adelaide Road on Friday November 9 from 7.30pm.
It has been organised by Reva along with fellow sister Millie Soros and Adrian Caswell who worked in pathology as a technician.
The event will include a slide show featuring memories of the Radford Road hospital and the people who worked there.
Millie said: “I was at the Warneford from the 1960s. It was a teaching and general hospital, so people came to train or work there from around the UK and overseas. We have all got a little older and we have lost some good friends over the years, but 25 years on we want to get together and celebrate the good times and hard work we put in for the NHS.”
The trio have set up a Facebook group called ‘Warneford 25 Year Reunion’ for those interested in going. They are also calling on people to share photographs, memorabilia and stories of the hospital and their time there.
Tickets to the reunion cost £8 including a buffet and entertainment. If ticket sales exceed event costs a donation will be made to local NHS charities.
Visit the Facebook group or email [email protected] to book tickets or find out more.
