Page 23 - Life in Langham 1914-1919

Langham’s Health Services

There were still cases of

smallpox amongst local

children and these were sent

to a small isolation unit in the

grounds of the Oakham

Workhouse. Other infectious

cases were sent to the Oakham Workhouse

Isolation Hospital in Shacklewell Hollow near Empingham

(now a Scout camping venue), like eight year old Nellie Storer of

Langham who was taken there by horse ambulance in 1913 when

she had scarlet fever.

Ernest Walker recalled that in 1916 his baby brother caught a

severe cold which turned to pneumonia. In those days, when a
baby of seven or eight months old reached that stage, the family

Doctor accepted the inevitable outcome, and that such a young

baby was too young to treat. My mother did not accept this, and

with night and day careful nursing and attention, and log fires in

the cosier back bedroom, plus liberal amounts of pure Vaseline

being placed down his little throat, (which she said many times

afterwards, saved his life), he slowly recovered.

School Medical inspections had been introduced in 1907 and every

child had to be regularly inspected by a qualified doctor or nurse

(soon to be known as the’ nit nurse’). Dr Christopher Rolleston,

Rutland’s Medical Officer for Health, inspected the school children

at least once a year and also when called upon by the headmaster

Mr McCelland. Winters were severe; coal for heating was in short

supply and illness amongst children and staff required

Mr McCelland to close the school on numerous occasions.

Ringworm, a persistent problem, was highly infectious, meaning

infected children were excluded from school for many weeks.

At the start of the autumn term in 1914, over twenty returned with

ringworm and were sent home again.

Sickness included coughs, colds, chilblains, measles and chicken

pox; in 1918 a whooping cough and influenza epidemic closed the

school on two occasions. During the Christmas holidays the school

was thoroughly disinfected and colour washed to rid it of infection

before the new term began.