Question Author
What wasn’t diagnosed at the time was that I had been short-sighted since birth. It was finally picked up when I went to school and an observant teacher realised that I couldn’t read the blackboard. Once I had NHS spectacles with those “Harry Potter” styled frames (all the rage in the 1950s, but hardly a desirable fashion item) there was no stopping me and my reading and learning skills improved dramatically.
To add to my misfortune (in this age before routine vaccinations and immunisations) it wasn’t long before I succumbed to chickenpox, mumps and measles in quick succession, and then had to have my tonsils out. Consequently, I lost a lot of school time, but I managed to rebound quickly – in spite of a couple of cruel teachers, who made it difficult for me. Eventually, I sailed through my 11+ and was one of the lucky few to go to Grammar School, where I concentrated on the Sciences with a view to going to University to read Medicine