Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Did CH have more than it's fair share of monoped employees? In my time there was Kit Aitken (from whom I learnt the correct spelling of that immensely useful word Eschscholtzia), the school barber (who at the speed he worked must have been paid per head), and the bokker in the wardrobe.

Since leaving I don't recall ever having met anyone with a wooden leg.

Tydd St Giles wrote:Did CH have more than it's fair share of monoped employees? In my time there was Kit Aitken (from whom I learnt the correct spelling of that immensely useful word Eschscholtzia), the school barber (who at the speed he worked must have been paid per head), and the bokker in the wardrobe.

Since leaving I don't recall ever having met anyone with a wooden leg.

Did the barber have a wooden leg? I thought it was just some form of leg irons (Polio?)

Tydd St Giles wrote:Did CH have more than it's fair share of monoped employees?

Oh no, you've just made me think of Dudley Moore playing Mr.Spiggott, the Tarzan-wannabe......

AndrewH wrote:

Tydd St Giles wrote:Did CH have more than it's fair share of monoped employees? In my time there was Kit Aitken (from whom I learnt the correct spelling of that immensely useful word Eschscholtzia), the school barber (who at the speed he worked must have been paid per head), and the bokker in the wardrobe.

Since leaving I don't recall ever having met anyone with a wooden leg.

Did the barber have a wooden leg? I thought it was just some form of leg irons (Polio?)

The barber was known as "Peg leg" if I remember rightly. So presumably it was a wooden leg.

AndrewH wrote: Did the barber have a wooden leg? I thought it was just some form of leg irons (Polio?)

You could be right. Either way he never struck me as a very happy soul, but I don't suppose there was much job satisfaction in carrying out 100 hair cuts every Tuesday.

Tydd St Giles wrote:

AndrewH wrote: Did the barber have a wooden leg? I thought it was just some form of leg irons (Polio?)

You could be right. Either way he never struck me as a very happy soul, but I don't suppose there was much job satisfaction in carrying out 100 hair cuts every Tuesday.

Wasn't all the lopping carried out amid a smog of fag smoke?

You are right the place was full of smoke.
In the late 60's early 70's we all wanted long hair so used to nick off and get someone else to sign the book. The barber must have been paid for lots of hair cuts he never did.

Pegleg the barber used to drop ash onto your hair so if it wasn't cut off, it was burnt off.

Kit Aitken had a terrifyingly loud creak as he churned along swinging from side to side like a galleon under full sail and apparently once took the leg off and threw it at some child who irked him.

I think this may be one of those CH myths that abound like the ghosts, but a wonderful image none the less.

I think nowadays it is sometimes difficult to tell if someone has a lower limb prosthesis. There is even a paratrooper with two. Lady McCartney has one, well several for different occasions I understand.

As a nurse, when you prepare someone for an operation you have to remove all prostheses, "false teeth, glass eyes, wooden legs" just about covers it.

I have been surprised several times by legs being handed to me.

Very few false teeth nowadays, the odd bridge from rugby players.

Glass eyes are my nightmare. I have only fainted once, when a glass eye was plopped into my hand after asking a patient if he had any "false teeth, glass eyes......etc". Most embarrassing.

Tydd St Giles wrote:Did CH have more than it's fair share of monoped employees? In my time there was Kit Aitken (from whom I learnt the correct spelling of that immensely useful word Eschscholtzia), the school barber (who at the speed he worked must have been paid per head), and the bokker in the wardrobe.

Since leaving I don't recall ever having met anyone with a wooden leg.

Kit had what was closer to a peg lug (though he had a shoe on the end) and depended on his stick. Long before he lost his Douglas Bader had 2 legs fitted and walked without a stick (through guts and determination). AFAIR that was the early 1930's - he was a fighter pilot in WW2.

Since then the science has improved almost out of recognition so it is very possible that one such could be walking down the street ahead of you without you knowing. (A friend has lost all the bone between just below the elbow to just below the shoulder - they have given him a new bone and elbow inside his own skin, tendon and muscles). Of course bicycles are far less used these days.

I saw film of experiments where they connected an amputee's nerves to motors inside the artificial leg to help him walk; that is still very early stages

sejintenej wrote: Kit had what was closer to a peg lug .....

A wooden ear????

Richard Ruck wrote:

sejintenej wrote: Kit had what was closer to a peg lug .....

A wooden ear????

OH DEAR !!!!!!


I fear another crop of 'funnies' on the way.

Sounds like a fair DEAL to me !

He must have been a chip off the old block.

englishangel wrote:He must have been a chip off the old block.

You've twigged!

I think everyone's starting to, ahem, BARK up the wrong tree