Father took over the Meadow Lane practice
THE recent Echo story that Meadow Lane Veterinary Centre in Loughborough has opened up a new surgical facility as part of a £250,000 expansion programme, sparked memories for Echo reader John Bryson.
John wrote in to say: “It is now small animal only, but I remember when the practice was approximately 65 per cent large animal, 35 per cent small animal.
“The house and veterinary buildings were all in one, with the veterinary buildings and garages around the yard, with two lawns, one either side of the drive into the yard.
“There was a path to the house, which is one of the oldest in the town, with various veterinary items in the cellar, which kept them cool. The practice office was also located in the house.
“Reginald Phillips, from Cornwall, was a vet the practice from around 1902.
“In October 1945 a 24 year old veterinary surgeon, newly qualified from Trinity College, Dublin, joined the practice. He was from a farm near Magherafelt, right in the centre of Northern Ireland. He was my Father, Hugh Bryson.
“Starting as an assistant and lodging with a very nice couple of Mr and Mrs Bullock, dad eventually became a partner. My parents married in March 1954.
“Not long after my parents married, a matter of a few weeks, Dad was walking up the path to the house one evening and saw members of the staff looking out of the kitchen window, clearly looking for him. Dad realised something was up, and he was told Mr Phillips had had a stroke.
“If my memory serves me correct, Mr Phillips was 71 and still working. He never recovered and died 11 days later. Mr Phillips is buried in Marazion, Cornwall, overlooking St Michael’s Mount - I have seen where he’s buried.
“This was quite a sudden change for my parents. Mr Phillips never married and employed housekeepers. So Dad moved in to No.9, Meadow Lane, while my mum was living in the house they had bought in the town, not far from the Great Central Railway station.
“Mum had for many years worked at the Bell Foundry as a tracer, and had to give that post up and moved into Meadow Lane, selling the house they had only recently purchased.
“Dad was in practice full time for about six weeks short of 40 years, moving to Nanpantan in September 1985. Sadly, dad passed away suddenly in January 1990, at the age of 68, from a heart attack.
“My mother was from Loughborough and also from a farming background, and understood what it was like to be a large animal vet’s Wife. Mum passed away in June 2012.
“I had never lost contact with the area, and moved to Loughborough with my wife Jane in October 2012.
“From time to time I go to a funeral of one of Dad’s old clients and I get recognised - I went to such a funeral in January this year, was drinking a cup of tea at the funeral tea when this gentleman said to me ‘I know who your father was’.
“He had worked on one of the large farms in the Loughborough area, and when he told me his name I remembered who he was from taking calls on the telephone (pre-mobile days) for a vet to visit.
“I even get Dad mentioned to me by one of the older regulars at Loughborough Dynamo who had been one of Dad’s clients. I find it quite special that, more than 28 after his passing, he is still remem- bered in the area.”
By coincidence John’s great grandfather and grandfather, on his mum’s side, owned the old Glebe Farm on the opposite side of the road
John shared a fascinating picture of the farm with readers a few years ago.
The farm was right at the top of Meadow Lane, near to All Saints’ Parish Church and the Windmill pub.
It was farmed by both his great grandfather, William Barrowcliffe Smith and grandfather Joseph Abraham William Smith.
Joseph saw service in the Leicestershire Yeomanry during World War One and John said that because of his farming background he was appointed to look after the horses in France during the conflict.
He married Rebecca Bosomworth on May 6, 1916 and another photo John has provided, shows the couple on the big day. Joseph died on 1977, aged 85 and Rebecca in 1943.
John also said: “The farm nearest to the town centre. It was at the top of Meadow Lane, on the left as you head out of town. Some of the buildings are still there. My mother was born there.”