getting childhood illnesses in the fifties

I got the lot too. I was a weakling. Scarlettina, measles, whooping cough, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox, but the worst ones were polio and rheumatic fever. polio when I was 5 in my legs...which thank God got better, I remember going back to school and the teacher saying I should still be in bed because I was so white. When I had rheumatic fever I remember reading comics beano and dandy, and brownie. There was a fire in the grate in the bedroom and the windows were closed. A delivery boy who brought our groceries was allowed to come up and read to me. He was only about 14 and I just loved that boy. He got under my bed to sing me a song because he was shy I remember that like it was yesterday. THANK YOU whoever and wherever you are now. Your visits made it worthwihile being ill.

I had whooping cough when I was about five, measles at 6, chicken pox shortly afterwards and remember being sent home from school with measles in the charge of an older child who was about 8! It was a walk of about two miles through snow!!!

I had meningitus at 11 the B strain and was desperately ill but by some miracle survived unscathed.

I've been told that if you had bad chicken pox as a child, which I did, it's unlikely you will have shingles in later life. If it was a mild case the virus remains dormant and can resurface.