Hold On, Edna! by Aneira "Nye" Thomas
Genre: Historical, Biography, Non-Fiction
Read: 2nd January 2024
Published: 12th March 2020
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
THIS HEARTBREAKING, HEARTWARMING, TRUE STORY FOLLOWING THE HISTORY OF A FAMILY IN WALES IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS EVER WRITTEN.
'I am a proud supporter of our National Health Service which has shown yet again what an important and valued institution it is in the UK. As the first NHS baby through to her work today, Aneira's story shows her dedication and passion for protecting this phenomenal service for future generations.' KEIR STARMER
'This book speaks from the heart about a passion to preserve our NHS - as powerful a symbol of goodness as we have. Nye's own experience and that of her family represents our deep need to fight for a society where all are equal in worth and value. And how the NHS stands fast as a symbol of equality, of fairness, and of compassion for all.' MICHAEL SHEEN
'Aneira has written a memoir which is a deeply personal, richly researched and incredibly timely tribute to Britain's commitment to provide free and equal healthcare to all.' - DAILY MAIL Book of the Week, 22 May 2020
'Moving tribute to the NHS.' - WI Life
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'Edna,' says the doctor, coming to stand beside her bed. 'You need to wait. It's not long now. Don't push. Just hold on, Edna!'
The birth of the National Health Service coincided with the birth of one little girl in South Wales: Aneira 'Nye' Thomas, the first baby delivered by the NHS.
This is the touching story of Nye's family - their loves and losses - and the launch of a treasured public service that has touched the lives of every family in the nation.
MY THOUGHTS:
'Congratulations...your mother truly did make history that night.'
'Well, I might well have been born just before midnight, but I expect the attending doctor would have pushed me back in - just to make sure a Welsh baby was born first!'
These words were exchanged with the then future king, Prince Charles of Wales, at a function honouring the NHS, and the author and first baby born under the scheme, Aneira (Nye) Thomas had me chuckling, not just the notion but the sheer forwardness of doing so with someone so public and from the Royal family. I may have thought it but I'm not sure I would have been so bold as to utter them.
This book is something different from my usual fare but its concept and history so fascinated me that I opted to do something I don't usually do - spend so much on a book by an author I've never read and therefore have no idea if I will like. But HOLD ON, EDNA! is not just a walk through time peppered in facts and history but it's also a story of one woman's family who, interestingly enough, has a long history in healthcare of the day with her own great-grandmother a midwife to the women of Glamorgan. Even her own parents were working as nurses when they met. And many of her sisters and aunts were also nurses. And yet it didn't end there. Aneira herself also became a nurse and her daughter a paramedic. Her entire life is thanks to the NHS - from her very first breath till no doubt her very last.
On 5th July 1948 at just one minute past midnight, baby Aneira is born in a village hospital in South Wales. The first NHS baby - born under the very scheme that was the brainchild of a Welshman himself (Aneurin "Nye" Bevan) - and Aneira was named in his honour. Her mother, having birthed all of her previous six children at home under the guiding hand of the local midwife, Edna and her husband Willie have some difficulty comprehending this new service being offered to them that will cost them nothing. "It's free!" But it's not charity. It's paid for by the taxpayer and is based on need not wealth. At last a healthcare that is for everyone and not just the rich.
Aneira, also called Nye, details her family's origins as far back as 1834 when her great great grandmother was but a 9 year old child in a Somerset workhouse. But she retells it in such a way, as told to her by her own mother Edna, that you could be reading a Catherine Cookson or Lindsey Hutchinson novel. She keeps it real and yet interesting throughout whilst peppering her own input along the way. One baby, so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, whose birth was also that of the UK's National Health Service that for over seventy years has serviced millions of people that 100 years ago in Edna's time would surely not have thrived or even survived. Her story about the generations of her family from the workshouse to the mines, we follow their daily struggles most of which we take for granted today.
Aneira reflects on how had the system been in place in her ancestors' times, the mortality rate would have been considerably lower. Fewer women would have died in childbirth. Fewer children would have succumbed to illnesses that are eaily treatable today. Had the tools available today been available then life may well have been a little easier. But as it were, healthcare wasn't readily available to those unless you could pay for it. So if you were poor, as most were, then had to muddle along as best you could until the inevitable. It wasn't ideal but it was all one could do.
HOLD ON, EDNA! isn't just Aneira's story. That comes later. This is about her family, their struggles, their lives. And she tells it beautifully drawing parallels with history alongside today, painting a picture that is sure to leave readers thankful that they are lucky to have such a system in place.
Healthcare based on need, not wealth. That is the basis of the NHS and why Nye Bevan fought tirelessly to pass the bill through parliament to ensure that no one need suffer needlessly because they cannot afford basic healthcare. Today we see it as a basic huamn right but it wasn't always. This book reminds us just how lucky we are to have our a public healthcare system in place, where ever we are in the world. It's also a sobering reminder that not every country in the world is lucky to have a health system like the NHS. In Australia, we have Medicare which has only been in place for 40 years (this year) and while it is flawed it is the best system we have and we are lucky to have it...because not everyone does.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book which is not long-winded or bogged down in factual text. It is a quick read that is kept interesting through Aneria's anecdotes as told to her by Edna and is a wonderful compelling read. I loved immersing myself into the era from 1834 through to the 1960s. Despite it being a biography, it doesn't have that droning and boring biographical feel. It is more like Lindsey Hutchinson cross Catherine Cookson peppered with Call the Midwife.
A truly wonderful read.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Aneira Thomas was born at one minute past midnight on 5 July 1948, making her first baby in Great Britain to be born into the NHS. She was named after Aneurin Bevan, the minister for health at the time who led on the plan for the NHS. Aneira spent her career working in the NHS as a mental health nurse (her four sisters were also nurses, and her daughter is now a paramedic), and continues to be an active supporter of the NHS, speaking out on a range of issues in the media and at public rallies.
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