Richard Murdoch left his appendix in Market Harborough

I've long known that the comedian Richard Murdoch had family connections with Market Harborough, and that he had his appendix out at the cottage hospital here. You can see it (the hospital, not the appendix) in the photo above. But this rabbit hole has proved to be more interesting than I expected.

Let's start with a story from the Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail for 17 February 1939:

Richard Murdoch's Huge Fan Mail

Every day large boxes of chocolates. letters and other gifts are arriving at the Market Harborough and District Hospital for Richard "Stinker" Murdoch, BBC "Band Waggon" comedian and nephew of Dr C.T Scott, Market Harborough. who a week to-day underwent an appendicitis operation at the Hospital.

The letters are coming from Mr. Murdoch's admirers from all parts of the country. and in addition scores of telephone calls have been made to the Hospital inquiring as to Mr. Murdoch's condition. 

Mr. Murdoch, the 'Advertiser and Midland Mail' is informed, is making satisfactory progress.He has a specially fitted wireless set in his private ward, and on Wednesday night he of course listened-in to the broadcast "Band Waggon" show. High light of the programme was an imaginary telephone conversation with Mr. Murdoch by his partner. Big Hearted Arthur Askey. 

While Mr. Askey was telling listeners that Mr. Murdoch was having a great time in the hospital. Mr. Murdoch was laughing heartily in his hospital bed. "I had no idea Arthur was going to put an imaginary call through to the Hospital." Mr. Murdoch said afterwards, "but it was certainly a fine show. 1 shall be glad when 1 am back on the air again with him."

I've read somewhere  that crowds of children besieged the hospital demanding to "see Stinker" and that he entertained them by putting his feet up on the window sill and waggling his toes. Simpler times.

What interested me in this report was that Murdoch was Dr Scott's nephew. Scott was still remembered in the town when I came to Market Harborough in the Seventies and my mother worked at the doctors' surgery.

I had understood that Murdoch was Dr Scott's son-in-law, but a check on Wikipedia shows that Richard Murdoch's mother was born a Scott, which is consistent with Richard being the doctor's nephew.

Murdoch's mother (and Dr Scott's sister) was the daughter of the Revd Avison Scott, who served as vicar of Tunbridge Wells and as Archdeacon of Tonbridge. He was also a cricketer, playing for Cambridge University and for Cambridgeshire at the end of the brief period (1857-71) when the county enjoyed first-class status.

And Avison Scott's uncle, and therefore the great uncle of Dr Scott and his sister, was George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the hotel at St Pancras station.

When I was in holiday in Blakeney years ago, I was told to look for a memorial to Dr Scott's son.

I found the memorial by Blakeney Harbour, and you can read more about it in an article in the Blakeney Area Historical Society Newsletter no. 42 (January 2017). This reveals that the memorial has been replaced with a new one as the lettering had become hard to decipher.

Peter Avison Scott, Doctor Scott's son, died in an air crash in Essex. He is remembered at Blakeney, says an Eastern Daily Press report, because it has many connections with the Scott family. The report also says the tablet and clock were originally sited at the Church Rooms in the village.

We've come a long way from Market Harborough Cottage Hospital, which was demolished a few years ago apart from a memorial to all the men of the town who served in the first world war.