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The Directory and the Child: what a survey of Britain’s orthopaedic institutions kept, and what it left out
A 1935 directory of Britain’s institutions for ‘crippled’ children, and the boy it would send to King Edward VII Hospital, Sheffield: what the records kept, and what they left out.
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Forgotten Children Bovine TB: Hidden History Wins Award
There is a particular satisfaction in receiving recognition for work that is not really about you. ‘Yet’ recovers the story of the forgotten children of bovine tuberculosis. Hundreds of thousands of British children were hospitalised for months, sometimes years, in the era before effective treatment existed. When I learned the book had been awarded Runner-up…
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The Voyage of the Shalimar, 1859: The Man Who Sailed Away and the Wife He Left Behind
On 12 September 1859, Thomas Alexander Kidd stood on Liverpool’s bustling docks with his family, ready to leave everything behind. The former merchant, magistrate and police commissioner had sold his comfortable life for steerage tickets to New Zealand. Beside him waited his wife, Mary Agnes, and their six children—Eliza, Georgina, Mary, Helen, Frances and young…
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Mary Allott Fought Back: Victorian Divorce Court 1875
In 1875, Mary Allott sat in a Sheffield office facing a pivotal moment. She was an improperly married woman about to testify in the Victorian divorce court 1875—a system designed to judge women like her. Every word would be recorded, sent to London, and published in local newspapers for all to read. She testified anyway.…
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The Recipe Book That Sustained a Life: Mary Allott’s Victorian Story of Abandonment, Scandal, and Survival
In 1860, a young woman with a newborn opened a blank notebook with an A-Z index and began to write. Mary Allott, née Hopkinson, was about twenty-four years old, a mother of two. A few days before she gave birth, her husband Charles had sailed for New Zealand, leaving their two-year-old son with his mother…
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British Society for the History of Medicine Reviews Yet — A Moving Story of Childhood Illness, Resilience, and Hope
I was moved to tears to see ‘Yet’: A Story of Triumph over Childhood Separation, Trauma, and Disability reviewed by the British Society for the History of Medicine (BSHM). Seeing my father Harry’s story recognised by such a respected organisation means a great deal. ‘Yet’ tells of Harry’s childhood battle with bovine tuberculosis in 1930s Sheffield — a…
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‘Can’t Do to Can Do … Yet’: Harry Drabble’s Journey Through Disability, Work and the Fight for a Livelihood in 20th Century Britain
Harry Drabble’s story of resilience, from being written off as a child with a disability to building a successful life, highlights the fight for inclusion in 20th-century Britain. Shared for UK Disability History Month, his journey inspires us to challenge prejudice, reframe limitations, and strive for true equality.
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From Harry Drabble to Diddly Squat Farm: The Lasting Impact of Bovine Tuberculosis
The recent bovine TB outbreak at Jeremy Clarkson’s farm highlights the disease’s emotional and economic toll. Harry Drabble’s 1937 battle with TB, detailed in Yet by Helen Parker-Drabble, echoes today’s struggles. His resilience and mantra, “I can’t… yet,” inspire hope amidst the enduring challenges of illness and adversity.
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Listen to Harry’s Story: A Long‑Stay Child Patient’s Journey of Resilience and Hope
The podcast discusses “Yet”: A Story of Triumph Over Childhood Separation, Trauma, and Disability, focusing on the author’s father, Harry Drabble, and his experiences as a long-stay child patient in Sheffield due to bovine tuberculosis. It highlights his resilience and the importance of preserving these children’s stories through a Kickstarter pre-launch campaign.
