So When Did It All Start? Part One.

The outbreak of 'mystery illness' at the Royal Free Hospital started in July 1955. 

According to Crowley, Nelson and Stovin, “On July 13, 1955, a resident doctor and a ward sister on the staff of the Royal Free Hospital were admitted to the wards with an obscure illness.”. Tony Richardson (see Ramsay’s letters) also said 13th July.

So it’s definitely July 1955. Well…

This was published in the 15th June 1977 edition of a long defunct publication called World Medicine, although the piece may have been written the previous autumn (she later refers to the incident being twenty-one years ago). Indeed Crowley, Nelson and Stovin also said “In April there were several cases of influenzal illness…The monthly report for May noted an unusual number of sore throats for the time of year” (same CNS link as given earlier).

Three entries in the RFH Nursing Committee minutes for that spring of 1955 back up the claims of a higher than normal rate of sickness prior to the closing of the hospital…

Back to Jane Eden in 1977…

What’s my take on all of this? It appears there may have been a higher incidence than usual of illness at the RFH in the early part of the year and when the “herding together” of people took place, that’s when ‘the bomb went off’. I think Eden may well be correct.

Coincidentally, there is an overlap in time of cases at the Addington Hospital in Durban and people beginning to falling ill at the RFH.