This large image is one of the collection displayed in the courtyard of St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts) in London. The hospital is celebrating its 900th year of service, and showcasing various moments from its history.

I never knew that Barts had any connection with dyslexia, and I had never heard of Maisie Holt, a phsycologist and neurologist, born on the Isle of Man in 1900 and educated in Cambridge and in London. It was she who apparently came up with the first effective treatment for what was then known as ‘word blindness’. Part of her treatment involved the children posting simple words through the door of the little house, then collecting them and reading them back. As they got the measure of the words their confidence began to return.

Maisie Holt died in 2003 on the Isle of Wight after a life working in education, pyschology and the arts. I also read that she helped in the selection of bomber and fighter pilots for the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.

Here is a link to her obituary on the Wootton Bridge Historical site. She sounds like quite a woman.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023