Thanks. I was born after he had that operation so my memories are only of the effects from that. He was quite a lot older than my father and always lived at home with his parents. My father often commented that he may have been disabled but he had an acid tongue and kept his younger siblings in order! He was still not self-sufficient though and the highlight of his life was an annual trip with the Red Cross to various centres in places like Northallerton. They weren't hotels - I think they may have been a type of hostel for people with disabilities. My grandmother was effectively his carer throughout and he only left home to marry. I think at that point my grandmother felt her usefulness was over and she died not long afterwards. I also think that despite everything he was still contented with his lot, which is heartening given his problems.
I was very close to him as a child, he was a real countryman despite being so disabled. We used to go everywhere together, me holding his hand to slow him down and him speeding along with his lurching limp. He would send me off into the hedgerows looking for bird nests, dormice and lost golfballs in the local woods. People didn't understand him and I became his translator, even with cousins who didn't see him as often as me. It would probably be seen as very strange in today's climate I suppose... But I DO know he hadn't worked since he was a teenager and if his disabilities after the operation were an improvement then I can only assume he was severely impaired beforehand.
I don't think all that many people were sent to the US for the operation so I'm assuming they were selected for either the severity of their disability or after some sort of assessment of likely success. It was very experimental, and looking at how they re-sectioned nerves etc, it was dangerous too. I'm trying to find numbers and I have seen mention of 30, although at the moment I'm not sure if that is per group sent or a total. From my memories of him, he would have been pretty fearless about being one of the people taking part. It seems the NHS in those early days (this would have been right around its inception) didn't generally send people overseas so the whole thing will have been funded by either donations or a charity. All avenues to explore but I wanted to see if I could find him actually travelling and find some dates etc.
In fact I've just found an interesting one on Family Search, arriving into NY by AIR in December 1949 (apparently via Bermuda). It seems to suggest an Army connection so it may not fit, but I'm heartened to find a start!
