Wigan Album
St George's, Wigan
6 CommentsPhoto: RON HUNT
Item #: 30883
They just passed Regent St. ,the building on the far corner
was the Doctor's Surgery, the entrance for patients was on Regent St.
location is Greenough Street, just past regent street.
Doctor Hoey's can be seen, which was part of kill and cure; doctors - a house and the Regent Pub. I lived in that house for 21 years.
Back in those days, Dr Hoey was the police surgeon, and carried out the post mortems, at the mortuary, situated in the corporation yard, near to Sovereign Road.. I had to go to his house in Greenough Street, for my police medical.
Dr Holy was our family doctor.He succeeded Dr Elisha Monks.My grandmother somehow acquire his Doctor's bag.In it were kept all the important documents
Mostly insurance policies,I imagine.DR Hoey's surgery was coal fired & always full of coughing men.If you weren't bronchial on arrival ,you were on departure.He
himself,I recall as a chain smoker.His daughter Maureen & her husband Dr Ince & their partner ,Dr Mills,,were all held in high regard
During my first visit to a p.m. Dr Hoey commented that you could still smell the coal gas emitting from the lungs.( suicide. Coal gas poisoning). He said to me.” Can you smell it?. Fool me said. “No”. He then stuck the lung under my nose, and said. “ Can you smell it now?”. I nearly collapsed.
My mother came over from Dublin In the early 1940’s and was in service at Doctor Hoey’s.My dad was a patient of his and I assume that was how they met.