Creighton Ward - Lady Penelope, 1967

Creighton-Ward strip guide

Introductory Installment
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. Page 19, b/w.
The New Lady Penelope issue 53, dated 21 January 1967
Lady Penelope is about to officially open the children's ward at Martinside Cottage Hospital. She makes a speech in which she explains the story behind why it came to be built. Parker was driving her home when they witnessed an accident at the nearby crossroads. A boy was knocked from his bicycle by a van. They rushed the boy to Martinside Hospital in FAB 1, but the equipment need to save his life could not be made available in time. To prevent such an event happening again, Lady Penelope launched an appeal, and funds were made available for the building of the ward. It was decided to name this new children's specialist wing the 'Creighton-Ward', and Lady Penelope now declares it open.
Lady Penelope And Parker Witness The Accident
Notes:
• Whilst the Martinside Cottage Hospital building is clearly of the past (indeed, it was probably a country home before it became a hospital), the design of the new children's ward could easily be a part of the future.
• The van which is involved in the accident with the cyclist is also futuristic in design.
• Both Pat Langdon and Sir Marcus are introduced in this installment.
• Over the doors of the new ward is written ‘The Creighton Ward’, and it was referred to as the definite article in the stories.

Story One
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. Page 19, b/w.

Part 1: The New Lady Penelope issue 54, dated 28 January 1967
Student Nurse Pat Langdon is excited about her new job on Creighton Ward. There are three children on the ward at present and Sir Marcus Debenham, the resident surgeon, is about to make his rounds. When he gets to Creighton Ward, he finds the patients are having a pillow fight and Nurse Langdon is unable to control them...

The Children Have A Pillow Fight

Part 2: The New Lady Penelope issue 55, dated 04 February 1967
Sir Marcus frightens the children into behaving, but his method shocks nurse Langdon. She confronts him in his office, assuming she will be sacked for doing so, but Sir Marcus is pleased she has stood up to him and sends her back to the ward. Then Pat is told to prepare a bed for an emergency admission, but when the patient arrives Pat is horrified to find it is her sister, Sandra!

Part 3: The New Lady Penelope issue 56, dated 11 February 1967
Pat's sister has a cracked skull, putting pressure on her brain and requiring immediate surgery. Pat would have liked to help in the operating theatre, but Sir Marcus needs trained staff for an operation of this complexity. He reaches a difficult part of the surgery and demands silence as the slightest vibration could prove fatal. Pat is watching from outside. At the critical moment the strain is too much for her and she faints, sending a trolley crashing to the floor...

Pat Has Fainted

Part 4: The New Lady Penelope issue 57, dated 18 February 1967
The operation is a success despite the noise, but the incident forces Pat to question her vocation. Later, thinking that she will never make a good nurse, she tells the Matron that she intends to resign...

Part 5: The New Lady Penelope issue 58, dated 25 February 1967
Sir Marcus overhears Pat talking to the Matron about resigning. He tells Pat that she is acting out of self pity and that it would be better if she decided to learn from her mistakes rather than give up. He sends her back to the ward and then tells the Matron that Pat Langdon will make a good nurse. Back on the ward the children are having an argument about marriage... all but Bobby who is lying in his bed. Pat wants to know what is wrong, and one of the other children explains that it is something to do with Bobby's parents and that Bobby keeps saying that he wants to die...

Notes:
• Pat's sister isn't mentioned again after this story.
• This story introduces Sir Marcus Debenham properly. We learn that although forbidding on the outside, he is a kind-hearted person full of good sense. In character he is not unlike those Head Surgeons played by James Robertson Justice in the Doctor films which were popular in the sixties. A similar character would appear in one of the Lady Penelope As a Young Girl stories.

Story Two
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. Page 19, b/w.

Part 1: The New Lady Penelope issue 59, dated 04 March 1967
Bobby tells Pat that his parents don't care about him. She thinks that someone should speak with his mother and father, and, as it is her afternoon off, she goes to see them. However, Mr Watkins is at work and Mrs Watkins is very unpleasant and shuts the door in Pat's face. When Pat arrives back at the hospital she is told that Bobby has run away...

Part 2: The New Lady Penelope issue 60, dated 11 March 1967
Bobby needs injections of B20 Cormonal every four hours, so it is vital that he is found as soon as possible. A search party has been organised and Pat joins it. Bobby's parents are called to the hospital, and when they are told that their son is missing they actually are concerned. Meanwhile, Pat has caught sight of Bobby and follows him onto a railway line, but then she hears the approach of a train behind her...

Pat Hears A Train Approaching

Part 3: The New Lady Penelope issue 61, dated 18 March 1967
Pat stands paralysed with fear, unable to move out of the path of the oncoming train. Booby, seeing that she will be killed, runs back and pushes her out of the way of the train, saving her life. The search party, including Sir Marcus, are impressed by Bobby's act of bravery, and his parents tell him how proud they are. Knowing that his parents do care about him after all, he is happy to return to the ward and get well.

Futuristic Vehicles Notes:
• The police car has a decidedly futuristic look to it, and so do the other vehicles involved in the search for Bobby.
• The police uniforms appear to be a mixture of English and American uniforms. It is similar to the police uniform seen in the story Double Trouble which appears in the Penelope annual ©1969, which was also drawn by Michael Strand.

Story Three
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand.
Page 19 (to issue 63), page 10 (issue 64 onwards), b/w.

Part 1: The New Lady Penelope issue 62, dated 25 March 1967
Mary Fletcher is admitted to the Creighton Ward. Mickey, one of the other patients, tries to be friendly and offers to let her look at a book of his. Meanwhile Pat has been told that Mary is paralised from the waist down after a car crash, but that the family's GP is of the opinion that the paralysis is psychosomatic. Pat returns to the ward and finds Mary furiously tearing the pages from the book lent to her by Mickey...

Mary Tears Up Mickey's Book

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 63, dated 01 April 1967
Pat asks Mary why she did such a thing, but the girl will only say that she wants to go home. Pat tells Mary that she must stay until she is better, and suggests that she make friends with the other children. Later, at visiting time, relatives visit their children, but no one comes for Mary. Pat wonders what sort of woman Mrs Fletcher must be if she will not visit her own daughter in hospital...

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 64, dated 08 April 1967
Pat visits Mrs Fletcher, who lives in a large, expensive house in nearby Framlingham. She finds Mrs Fletcher to be a self-involved woman who imagines herself to be ill, and who thinks it selfish of her daughter to expect a visit from her. Pat realises that she will not be able to persuade Mrs Fletcher to visit Mary, and asks if she can take something to Mary to show that her mother is thinking of her. Reluctantly, Mrs Fletcher agrees to Pat taking some books, and writes a small note for Mary. Now that Pat has met Mary's mother, she begins to understand the girl's situation, but wonders what can be done about it...

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 65, dated 15 April 1967
Pat gives the books to Mary, and the girl's eyes light up on seeing the note from her mother. Called into Sir Marcus' study, Pat is told that he has received a letter from Mrs Fletcher complaining about Pat's visit to her. Pat explains that she does not think that Mrs Fletcher is ill at all and that Mary's paralysis probably has something to do with her mother, but Sir Marcus dismisses this, considering her insufficiently qualified to make such a diagnosis. She returns to the ward only to find that Mary does not want to see her. Mary has torn up the note from her mother. Picking up the pieces and putting them together, Pat is able to read part of it:
Dear Mary, •
I really think it unfair sending a nurse to complain of my treatment of you. You know how ill I am...
Pat now thinks she may have made things worse! •

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 66, dated 22 April 1967
Pat discusses the situation with another nurse, Sue, who then asks if Mrs Fletcher is Norma Fletcher - a famous ballerina whose career was ended by a car crash in which her husband was killed. As they talk, the fire alarm sounds: Creighton Ward is on fire! All the children are moved to safety, but Pat see this as her last chance to help Mary. Telephoning Mrs Fletcher, she tells the woman that her daughter may be in great danger...

Part 6: Lady Penelope issue 67, dated 29 April 1967
Pat's call brings Mrs Fletcher to the hospital. Mary sees her mother and runs over to her - the paralysis was psychosomatic, although one of the doctors appeas to think it's a miracle cure! Mrs Fletcher thanks Pat for showing her how selfish she has been and promises that things will be different in future. As for Creighton Ward, the damage has been slight, and within a week it is back to normal... but Pat wonders if anything is ever normal on a children's ward.
Mary Runs To Her Mother

Notes:
• Did Mrs Fletcher give up dancing because she was seriously injured in the accident or was it an emotional response to the death of her husband?
• The letter Mrs Fletcher sends to Sir Marcus arrives very quickly. Perhaps she had it delivered by hand?
• The firemen appear to be dressed more like military police than conventional firefighters. Perhaps this is another indication that this is set in the future?

Story Four
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand.
Page 19 (to issue 70), page 15 (issue 71 onwards), b/w.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 68, dated 06 May 1967
It is time for Mickey to leave the ward. Pat is sad to see him go, but she is glad that he is well enough to return home. He gives her a small bunch of flowers, and as she puts them in a vase the Ward Sister tells her there is a new arrival. This boy's name is Timothy Gibbs, and, returning to the ward, Pat finds him fighting with another patient. She intervenes, but Timothy claims she has hurt his arm. Pat is full of remorse, but when she has gone Timothy tells a boy that he was only pretending to be hurt, and that he will soon have the nurse eating out of his hand...

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 69, dated 13 May 1967
Timothy pretends that his arm is hurting, so Pat calls a doctor to look at him. When the doctor arrives, Timothy tells him that there is nothing wrong with his arm and the doctor realises that the boy has been pulling Pat's leg. She feels embarrassed, and after the doctor has left, the other children joke that they have painful arms or feet. This leaves Pat wondering if she will ever be able to cope with children...

Pat Wonders If She Will Ever Be Able To Cope With Children

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 70, dated 20 May 1967
Timothy tells the other children on the ward that his father shot down lots of enemy aircraft during the war. he also claims that his father is to be awarded a medal at Buckingham Palace, and that he is now a test pilot. When Pat enters the ward, Timothy asks her what is crawling up her leg...but it is another joke. Having heard some of what Timothy said about his father, Pat suggests that the children ought not to believe everything Timothy tells them, but one of the boys replies, "Why not? You do?", which causes more laughter. Later, Pat pushes Timothy in a wheelchair into the hospital grounds so that he can get some fresh air. She gently advises him not to tell tales to the other children, but he interprets this as being called a liar. He is determined to punish Pat for this, and when she leaves him he pushes over the wheelchair and lies beside it... where Sir Marcus finds him!

Paying Pat Back

Part 4: Lady Penelope issue 71, dated 27 May 1967
Sir Marcus is angry with Pat, assuming that she must have forgotten to put the wheelchair's brake on. Timothy's father arrives at visiting time and the children ask if he is the man who won all the war medals. Mr Gibbs answers that Timothy has been romancing again; indeed, he is too young to have been in the war at all. Later, after the visitors have gone, Pat moves some bed screens and finds Timothy tied and gagged, and with a notice which reads: I am a rotten liar!

Part 5: Lady Penelope issue 72, dated 03 June 1967
The children explain that they tied up Timothy because he is always telling tales. Timothy pretends that he does not care if the others will not talk to him - but that's a lie too. In the hospital grounds, Timothy uses the binoculars his father brought him and finds he can see his house. He notices a man lurking in the garden, but no one will believe him. Next morning, Pat is told that Mr Gibbs has been brought into casualty after being hit over the head by a burglar...

Part 6: Lady Penelope issue 73, dated 10 June 1967
Pat asks Timothy to describe the man he saw in the garden, but, because he is angry that no one believed him, he denies he saw anyone...until Pat tells him what happened to his father. A constable has arrived at the hospital to interview Mr Gibbs and Pat suggests that he talk to Timothy as well, but when Pat takes him into the hospital grounds all they find is an empty wheelchair...

Part 7: Lady Penelope issue 74, dated 17 June 1967
Timothy is beside his father's bedside, trying to wake him. He thinks that if he had not told so many stories then he would have been believed about the burglar. The police constable asks Timothy to look through some photographs in order to se if he can identify the man who attacked his father, but Timothy is too distraught: he thinks his father will die and that it will be his fault...
Timothy Cannot Wake His Father

Part 8: Lady Penelope issue 75, dated 24 June 1967
Pat reassures Timothy that his father is not going to die, and the boy looks through the photographs and recognises one. A nurse tells Timothy that his father is awake and is asking for him. Going to his bedside, Timothy informs his father that he will never tell lies again. The policeman returns on the following day and tells Timothy that the burglar has been caught, and that there is a reward from the insurance companies! Back on Creighton Ward the other children beg Timothy for details, but this time he does not want to talk about it. When they have recovered, Father and son leave the hospital together, and Mr Gibbs tells Pat that in future Timothy is going to write down any stories he thinks up. Timothy adds that one day she may pay to read his stories! Knowing Timothy's imagination, Pat thinks that could be the truest thing he's ever said.

Notes:
• The interesting question is: which war was Timothy referring to? Without a doubt he is thinking of the Second World War, as the apparent setting for Creighton Ward is the 1960s. However, if the opening installment of the series is taken at face value then this story is actually set in the mid twenty-first century, and Timothy must be referring to the Atomic War which is a part of the non-canonical Anderverse. This is an instance of the misunderstanding surrounding Lady Penelope's place in time. Although it was always clear in TV Century 21 that she was part of the 2060s, some of the writers for the Lady Penelope comic appear to think she lived in the 1960s. This misunderstanding would also be apparent in the Penny As A Young Girl stories, although with less justification.

Story Five
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. Page 15, b/w.

Part Four: Lady Penelope issue 76, dated 01 July 1967
Pat has one of those days in which everything goes wrong. She spills medicine down her apron while trying to stop two boys fighting. Sir Marcus notices the state of her uniform when she bumps into him, and he complains to the Ward Sister. Later, she breaks yet another thermometer. It's the final straw for Pat when a girl refuses to take her medicine. Pat looses her temper, but is then filled with remorse at having made the girl cry. Later, in the nurses home, she tells Sue that she no longer feels she is cut out to be a children's nurse...

Part Five: Lady Penelope issue 77, dated 08 July 1967
Sue suggests they go to the cinema in order to get Pat's mind off of her problems, and the idea works. Later, returning to the hospital, they see a man rush out of the grounds, jump into a car and drive off at high speed. Sue notices that a young girl has been left outside casualty. The girl is unconscious, and Pat thinks there may be a connection with the man who left in such a hurry...

The Man Drives Off In A Hurry

Part Six: Lady Penelope issue 78, dated 15 July 1967
A doctor tells Pat that the girl found outside casualty has weals down her back, probably the result of her having been beaten. Later, a police inspector questions Pat about the man she and Sue saw driving off, but she cannot recall anything useful. Meanwhile, the girl is moved to the Creighton ward with a serious problem: she cannot remember who she is...

Cannot Remember Who I Am

Part Seven: Lady Penelope issue 79, dated 22 July 1967
Pat decides to call the mystery girl ‘Helen’ until they discover her real name. Helen is older than the other children on the ward and she organises games for them, sings songs, tells them stories and comforts a girl after a nightmare. The ward has become a happier place thanks to Helen, and Sir Marcus notices the change, but Pat cannot help feeling a little resentful that Helen makes a better nurse then herself...

Part Eight: Lady Penelope issue 80, dated 29 July 1967
Helen finds a bird with a damaged leg and she brings it onto the ward. Pat knows this is against ward rules, but the children are so insistent about looking after it that she finds them a shoebox to keep it in. Sir Marcus accidentally knocks the box off of a table, releasing the bird. The Ward Sister tells Pat that she should have known better than to allow an animal on the ward, and the bird is released into the hospital grounds. Later, Pat asks Helen why she seems to have such a hold over children and animals, but Helen replies that she cannot remember and tells Pat to leave her alone. That evening, Julie, one of the patients on Creighton ward, sees a face peering in through the window, and she screams...

Pat Tells Helen The Police Will Be Able To Trace Her Family Part Nine: Lady Penelope issue 81, dated 05 August 1967
Pat comforts Julie and, leaving Helen in charge, goes outside to see if there is anyone there. She sees a man run to a car and drive off. Pat thinks it may be the same man she saw on the night Helen was left at the hospital, and this time she is able to get the car's license number and report it to the police. Later, the police tell Pat that the owner of the car has been found, and he has confessed to having knocked Helen down: he had returned to the hospital because he wanted to see if the girl was recovering. Now that they know where the accident occurred the police are confident that they can trace Helen's family. Pat tells Helen the good news, but it upsets the girl and she moans that her uncle will beat her. Pat wonders if Helen really has lost her memory after all...

Part One: Lady Penelope issue 82, dated 12 August 1967
The police find Helen's uncle on a Gipsy site close to the scene of the accident. When they tell the man about Helen, he replies that she will be beaten for all the trouble she's caused. He collects her from the hospital, but it is perfectly clear that she does not want to go with him. The other children are upset too, but what can Pat do... ?

Part Two: Lady Penelope issue 83, dated 19 August 1967
Pat visits the Gipsy camp. Helen is very unhappy and Pat tries to comfort her by pointing out that Helen will soon be old enough to leave of her own free will. Helen shocks Pat by revealing that she is already nineteen years old, although she looks a good deal younger, and her uncle is not going to allow her to leave while he has her as his unpaid servant. Pat is told to leave by Helen's uncle and on her way back to the hospital she meets Mrs Brown, the mother of Bobby, a former Creighton ward patient. She tells Mrs Brown about Helen and Mrs Brown thinks she may have a solution: money talks with men like Helen's uncle. She makes a deal with him and arranges for Helen to be her children's nursemaid, much to Helen's joy. Later, when Pat attends Bobby's birthday party at his home, she asks Helen what her real name is. She is told it was ‘Angela’, but it's going to be ‘Helen’ from now on - a new name for a new life!

I'm Helen Now

I'm Already Nineteen Notes:
• The best of the stories. Pat's feelings of resentment when she finds that Helen is better with children than she is herself lifts this story way above the others.
• Pat and Sue go to see a horror film at the cinema. Afterwards, Pat looks at the lobby poster for the film, which shows a frightened woman, and remarks, ‘Well, I'd rather have my troubles than hers!’
• The moment when Helen reveals she is nineteen is truly shocking!
• We do not find out the details of the arrangement Mrs Brown makes with Helen's uncle. It may be that Helen has to pay him part of her wages. However, it is more likely that Mrs Brown made a large one-off payment to him in order to free Helen completely.
• An adult reader is left with the nagging concern as to just what Helen's uncle might demanded of her apart from cooking and cleaning.

Story Six
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand.
Page 15 (to issue 88), page 9 (issue 89), page 8 (issue 90 onwards) b/w.

Part Three: Lady Penelope issue 84, dated 26 August 1967
Pat bids goodbye to a patient who is now ready to go home. This leaves the Creighton Ward empty - but not for long. It is to be used to house the overflow from the maternity ward: six women and their babies, all due to leave in a few days. Looking after the babies is a new experience for Pat, but she gets a lot of help and advice from one of the women, Mrs Briggs. Her baby is to be named 'Cilla', short for 'Priscilla', a name chosen by majority vote! Pat Wonders what this can mean, but all is made clear at visiting time when Mrs Briggs' other children arrive: there are nine of them!

Part Four: Lady Penelope issue 85, dated 02 September 1967
Mrs Briggs tells Pat that her husband is away working in the North and that her eldest child, Sarah, helps look after the younger children. Pat thinks this is a lot of responsibility for Sarah, and she worries about it all day. Pat offers to help when she can, and on her afternoon off she visits the Briggs' home, an isolated house made by knocking three cottages together. When Pat arrives she finds the children playing boisterously and that Sarah is just about to bathe the younger ones...

Pat Visits the Briggs' Cottage

Part Five: Lady Penelope issue 86, dated 09 September 1967
Pat helps Sarah bathe the little ones and put them to bed. Then other children go out to play for an hour and Sarah settles down to do her school homework. But she is exhausted and falls asleep over her books. Pat works into the evening trying to complete the homework for her, but it is some time since she did quadratic equations...

Part Six: Lady Penelope issue 87, dated 16 September 1967
Pat continues to help Sarah whenever she has time from work. Meanwhile, Mrs Briggs is due to leave the hospital. Pat asks Sue to join her in helping Sarah get the house ready for Mrs Briggs' homecoming. Sue agrees to help, and they spend the day cleaning and tidying. Later, Pat and Sue are about to leave, but it is now pouring with rain and a bolt of lightening hits the roof!

Part Seven: Lady Penelope issue 88, dated 23 September 1967
No one is hurt, but the roof is damaged and it becomes necessary to find somewhere else for the children to stay. Pat and Sue take them back to the hospital, but, as the Ward Sister points out, they cannot stay there because none of them require medical attention: it is really a matter for the police. However, it turns out that George really is ill: he has German measles. This means the children will have to be put into isolation, and the women and babies are moved out of Creighton Ward so as not to endanger the babies. The children are settled into the ward, but Pat wonders what will happen to them now that they no longer have a home to return to...

The Roof Has Been Struck By Lighteniing

Part One: Lady Penelope issue 89, dated 30 September 1967
Sarah asks if she can have some of her school books while she stays on the ward, so Pat makes a visit to Sarah's headmaster. From him she learns that Sarah is the school's star pupil and that it is a pity she will be ending her studies at the end of term: the Briggs family will need all the money Sarah can earn, so further education is out of the question. Pat goes to the Family Welfare Offices to see if they can help, but is told that the Briggs have already refused a council house. The Welfare Officer is of the opinion that the children will have to go to foster parents. Pat is horrified by this news, and she talks to the editor of the local newspaper in the hope he can run a campaign to raise support for the family. However, Mr Sharp is unsympathetic, blaming the Briggs children for his son contracting German measles. All seems lost, but on her way out Pat is stopped by a young reporter who may have a way to help...

Part Two: Lady Penelope issue 90, dated 07 October 1967
The reporter introduces himself as Denis Stafford. He tells Pat that he has already contacted a television company regarding the plight of the Briggs family. A television unit turns up at the hospital, and the children are interviewed on the ward - and so is Pat! The next morning a sack of mail is delivered to the ward, all from people who want to help keep the Briggs family together. Pat and Denis take the letters to Mr Sharp, and, given the large public interest, he agrees to run a story. Help pours in and work begins on repairing the Briggs' damaged home. Mr Briggs turns up and Pat, angry that he has not supported his family, tells him that she has a few things to say to him...

Part Three: Lady Penelope issue 91, dated 14 October 1967
Mr Briggs explains to Pat that working on big construction jobs is the only way he can earn enough money to support his large family. The working conditions are very isolated, and he had not heard of the plight of his family until that morning. Pat realises she has misjudged him. A man has overheard this conversation and he introduces himself as the owner of a construction company. He has been looking for a local man with Mr Briggs' experience, and he offers him a job. This means that Sarah will now be able to continue her education after all! Eventually the repairs to their home are completed, and in a follow up to the first television programme, the Mayor is filmed presenting the family with the key to their new home.

Mr Briggs Explains

Notes:
• The post arrives on the morning following the television programme. Oh, for a postal service like that now!

Story Seven
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand.
Page 8 (to issue 93), page 9 (issue 94 onwards), b/w.

Part Four: Lady Penelope issue 92, dated 21 October 1967
There is only one patient on the ward, it is raining heavily and Pat is feeling a little bored: but things are about to change. A helicopter lands in the hospital grounds and Pat is told to report to Dr Thorpe at reception, where he gives her a bundle of clothes and tells her she can change in the helicopter. Pat asks where they are going and the doctor explains that the dam has burst, flooding a village, and causing great damage to the school...

A Helicopter Lands At Martinside Cottage Hospital

Part Five: Lady Penelope issue 93, dated 28 October 1967
Temporary shelter has been set up for the injured, most of whom are children. Dr James Thorpe and Pat set about helping. Pat sees a boy clinging to wreckage in the swollen river and she dives in to rescue him. She is surprised by the strength of the current, but manages to reach the boy. A man on the bank notices them and he calls out that they will be swept over the weir!

Part One: Lady Penelope issue 94, dated 04 November 1967
Pat and the boy are swept towards the weir. A tree is also heading downstream. As it strikes the end of the weir, Pat grabs onto it and, as it slews round, she is able to get the boy to safety and give him the kiss of life. Dr Thorpe is furious: he tells her she's there to do a job, not to play at heroics!

Pat Rescues The Boy

Part Two: Lady Penelope issue 95, dated 11 November 1967
As Pat is now soaking wet, Dr Thorpe thinks he ought to send her back to the hospital. Pat insists on staying, and changes from the rescue clothes back into her uniform. She attends to the patients in the tent, and it is decided to send some of the children to Creighton Ward. Pat is sent with them and on the way the ambulance driver tells her that when the dam burst it hit the school, which was full of children at the time. Pat already knows that some of the children have yet to be found, and the driver expresses his opinion that the construction engineers will have a lot to answer for. Arriving at the hospital they open the back of the ambulance to find that two boys are fighting, one calling the other a murderer!...

Part Three: Lady Penelope issue 96, dated 18 November 1967
One of the boys is Kenneth, who Pat rescued from the river. The other is George: his younger brother is among those children still missing. George explains to Pat that Kenneth's father is Chief Engineer on the dam, and as Kenneth left school early that day then he must have known the disaster was going to happen. The search for the missing children continues and Pat is kept very busy - so much so that she nods off while on the ward. She is woken by strange noises. Investigating, she finds George and another boy holding Kenneth down in a bath of water. George tells her that they are showing Kenneth what it is like to be drowned!

Kenneth Is Shown What It's Like To Be Drowned

Part Four: Lady Penelope issue 97, dated 25 November 1967
Pat sends the boys back to bed and comforts Kenneth. She reports the incident to the Ward Sister, who thinks it best that kenneth is sent to a private ward. The following day is Pat's day off, but Matron has asked her to take Kenneth home to his father: Kenneth's mother is ill, and Matron wants Pat to find out if Mr. Foster can cope. Pat takes Kenneth to his home, but outside is a group of people demanding that Mr. Foster come out and answer for the deaths of their children...

Part One: Lady Penelope issue 98, dated 02 December 1967
As Pat tries to push her way through the crowd, Mr. Foster opens the door and tells Kenneth to go inside. Mr. Foster faces the angry mob and informs them that there is to be an enquiry into the disaster: if he is found guilty then he will face the consequences. Someone in the crowd throws a stone and it hits Pat on the head. Mr. Foster tells the mob who Pat is and how she helped in the rescue operations, and the crowd becomes silent, wondering if Pat is badly hurt...

Part Two: Lady Penelope issue 99, dated 09 December 1967
Pat recovers consciousness in the ambulance on the way to Martinside Hospital, and is concerned about Kenneth and Mr. Foster. The next morning, Pat wakes to find herself on a hospital ward. She has two visitors, George and his father. George's brother, Tommy, and the other missing children have been found: they were on the far side of the flood playing truant! George is sorry for what he did to Kenneth, and he shows her an aircraft kit he has bought for the boy. Pat is soon back on her feet. Returning to Creighton ward, she finds two boys having a pillow fight - everything is back to normal, at least for the time being.

George Gives Kenneth An Angel Interceptor Kit

Notes:
• The outcome of the enquiry is not given and so we never find out what happened to Mr. Foster. However, such cases can take a great deal of time to be resolved, so the absence of a quick resolution a touch of realism.
• The aircraft construction kit which George gives to Kenneth is clearly an Angel Interceptor (see image above). Is this deliberate product placement?

Story Eight
Writer: Unknown. Artist: Michael Strand. Page 9, b/w.

Part 1: Lady Penelope issue 100, dated 16 December 1967
Christmas is near and packages, donated by children, begin to arrive for the patients on Creighton Ward. Pat asks Sue to help her sort them, but her friend appears to have something on her mind. When pressed, Sue explains that she has just received a letter from her mother...and she has to give up nursing!

Sue Has To Give Up Nursing

Part 2: Lady Penelope issue 101, dated 23 December 1967
Sue explains that she comes from a wealthy background and that her mother thinks she is wasting her time in nursing. Sue is to meet her mother the next day, and Pat goes with her. Mrs. Johnson, Sue's mother, is angry that her daughter has not come alone, and she tells Pat that her advice is unwelcome and that she does not want Sue to waste her time looking after dirty faced children. This makes Sue angry enough to face up to her mother, then she and Pat leave. Pat expresses her concern that she may have made things worse by coming along, but Sue tells her that she is grateful for her support. Meanwhile, Mrs Johnson has followed her daughter from the hotel, and in her haste to cross the road to speak to her she runs into the path of a van...

Sue's Mother Runs Into The Road

Part 3: Lady Penelope issue 102, dated 30 December 1967
Mrs. Johnson is taken to Martinside Cottage Hospital. As the casualty ward is full, she will have to be put into the Creighton Ward annexe - right next to the children's ward, and she dislikes children! Sir Marcus examines her and finds she is suffering from shock and mild concussion: she will be fine in a few days. Pat asks the children to play quietly so as not to disturb Mrs. johnson. All goes well until the party on Christmas day, during which Sir Marcus, dressed as Father Christmas, hands out presents. Worried that the noise may disturb Mrs. Johnson, Pat and Sue go to see her. They find her surrounded by children, all eager to show the presents they have received. The two nurses begin to herd the children out, thinking that Mrs. Johnson will not want them there, but she surprises them by asking to have the children stay. Mrs. Johnson has been doing a lot of thinking while recovering, and the children have helped her to see that Sue is doing something worthwhile after all.

Notes:
• The Post Office van used to deliver the toys to the hospital is futuristic in design.
The Model Of The FAB 1
• One of the presents donated to the children on the ward is a model of the FAB 1. Is this more product placement or playful humor?