Lot 743: Two Northumberland County Council Ambulance Service Notices, 1955-1956

Two items of paper ephemera relating to the Northumberland County Council Ambulance Service. Both documents are printed on heavy brownish cardstock and feature black hanging loops secured through punctures at the top edges. The first sheet is a public notice concerning telephone arrangement alterations effective from 21st April, 1956. It lists ambulance stations serving the regions of Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth, Seaton Delaval, Wideopen, Throckley, Prudhoe, Wallsend, and Whitley Bay. The text provides specific instructions for contacting local stations between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays, and directs calls to Wideopen 492 during evenings and weekends. A final instruction at the foot advises “IN AN EMERGENCY CALL 999”. A printer’s mark in the bottom left corner reads ‘Ward & Son, Ltd., E 2109’.

The second sheet, dated October 1955, outlines the operational regulations of the service. It specifies that conveyance is available for persons suffering from illness but notes that doctors are not authorised to issue certificates if patients are fit for public transport. It further details requirements for medical certificates, claims for travelling expenses through the National Assistance Board, and the allowance for companions. The notice bears the printed name ‘JOHN B. TILLEY, County Medical Officer’. A handwritten number ‘2336’ is present in the top left corner.