History of Thurcroft

Origins of Thurcroft Village Surgery

This brief practice history has been pieced together from a variety of sources sent to us by a relative of Dr. Kenny who tells us that Dr. O'Hara described the early years in a hand-written document of 1990 written a few months prior to his death. Most of the later information has come from chats with Dr. Lyle and the current partners.

Dr. O'Hara writes:
Dr. George S. L. Kemp was the first General Practitioner to be resident in Thurcroft in about 1922. He was a slightly built and very likeable man. The son of a Worksop doctor he had been schooled in Cheltenham and had served in the Royal Navy in World War I. I understand he used a motor bike as transport in his early days in the practice.

He was assistant to Dr. Kenny who lived and ran his practice from the Grange on Morthern Road, Wickersley. I was told he was a large and highly coloured Irishman whose means of transport was a horse and trap with driver.

Thurcroft Colliery had not long been in operation at this time. Colliery workers, as all other workers who stamped an insurance card, were entitled to be panel patients giving them free general practice attendances and medicines - not so their dependants, who were private patients unless covered by club arrangements. The colliery had such a club and insisted that the appointed doctor be resident in the village. So Dr. Kenny sent his assistant Dr. Kemp who was provided with a house (then 2, Rotherham Road now 2, Laughton Road).

His surgery was a green wooden structure in the back yard - years later this ended up as the pavilion on the cricket field! Dr. Kenny died not many years later.

Dr. Kemp built a house and surgery at 86, Katherine Road (then No. 2 in the green fields) and continued to practice from there until 1947, when he retired at the age of 55. He then sold the practice house and surgery, and the 'good will' to Dr. Jack O'Hara.

There were at this time branch surgeries (on rental) at Wickersley 30 minutes daily,; Whiston & Aughton 30 minutes three times per week, and a 'call-house' at Ulley. Surgeries at Katherine Road were 9-10 a.m. and 6-7.p.m. Monday to Saturday and Sunday mornings.

All medical practices were nationalised on 5th July 1948 at the inception of the NHS against our will at the time.

The practice at Aughton was dropped. Late in 1948, Dr. Wilbourn of Dinnington and Dr. O'Hara formed a partnership, intended to be temporary, so that they could employ an assistant between them. So, Dr. Austin Reid came to live at No.1 Rowena Drive, which had just been built and had been assigned to the Thurcroft Practice - he was the first occupant.

Dr. Reid left the district in November 1952 and Dr. Harry Lyle joined Dr. O'Hara at Thurcroft whilst Dr. Batty joined Dr. Wilbourn at Dinnington - the partnership was dissolved.

Dr. Lyle lived at No.1, Rowena Drive whilst he built his new home at No.1, Ivanhoe Road during 1953/54. Practice continued from the 86, Katherine Road until 1966 when we moved to the new clinic at Locksley Drive under the auspices of a rental system. Dr. O'Hara moved to a new house in Laughton in 1968 and the branch surgeries at Whiston and Wickersley were dropped.