This object consists of 111 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Emergency Ward 10 Hospital

Hospital Playset
1962-1967 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hospital Building, two storey rectangular building constructed on three tray like floors and two-sided room compartments together with the lift areas; held together with tongues and slots; decoration is in green and yellow with white and grey. On top is a pink plastic moulded flagpole, with white knob at the top and white 'rope'; it ends with a knob which fits into a sucker-stand. The flag hangs at a slight angle and is covered with paper printed in red to show the name of the hospital.

The base, larger than the rooms, is marked to show driveways, stonework and inside, the floor of one ward; lift end is marked with parking and lift instructions. Under the base there is a corrugated cardboard lining marked with cut away areas

The top floor is marked as a leisure area in green with yellow, bordered by stonework; outer edge is red with white lettering.

The middle floor is marked inside with the floor of one ward and outside with stonework; outer edge is red with white lettering.

The outer sides of both rooms are yellow with squares in red and white; each have five windows along the long side and one in the end, windows of clear plastic designed to swivel; insides are yellow with blue panel around the lower part; each has at the lift end a pair of clear plastic swing doors; the lift area block is of lithographed metal; lift doors are red plastic and the same as the top of the lift - bottom area has two and middle area has only one.

Lift Turret, a metal structure, white printed with yellow and red. At either end is attached by tongue and slots, red plastic doors which can be raised and lowered. At either side are double windows of clear plastic housed in white fittings. The roof is metal attached by tongues and slots; outer side printed in red with white lettering. At the centre of the roof is a metal handle, enamelled white, which turns the ratchet to raise and lower the lift - inside the housing below the handle is a length of white cord with a metal ring near its bottom end which is to be attached to the lift itself. Along bottom edge are tongues which are to slot into the top of the building.

The lift itself is a bridge-like structure with arches and lugs to hold the lifting yoke which attaches to the cord.

It runs on a metal rod which passes from the roof of the lift block, through the edges of the lift platform and into holes at the bottom. It is capped with a knob of brown plastic.

There are clear plastic partition walls moulded flat on one side and corrugated on the other; at the top it is section representing clear windows. Down one edge, on both sides, are a set of dots which stablise the windows when placed between the window fittings of the rooms.

Hospital beds are four-legged with open slats at one end and a central panel at the other end representing the case note board. With the beds are blue and pink mattresses, moulded to represent a mattress with a diamond and stud pattern and a pillow.

There are various other items of furniture and equipment including tables, chairs, basins, loungers, rocking chairs, trolleys, stretchers, an operating table, instrument table, stools, drip stand, oxygen cylinder, bucket, chamberpot, crutches and a bench.

Figures include doctors, surgeons, nurses, and patients with various injuries. Standing, seated and lying down. There is also a white plastic skeleton.

The instructions are of coarse paper folded in half and printed in black to show the title and illustrations for assembling the hospital and arranging the contents. The original box is made of cardboard which is printed on the outside and stapled along the centre bottom.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 111 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Toy Hospital
  • Lift Building
  • Lift
  • Rod
  • Rod
  • Cap (Closures)
  • Cap (Closures)
  • Wall
  • Wall
  • Bed
  • Bed
  • Bed
  • Bed
  • Bed
  • Bed
  • Mattress
  • Mattress
  • Mattress
  • Mattress
  • Mattress
  • Mattress
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Cabinet
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Basin
  • Basin
  • Basin
  • Basin
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Wheelchair
  • Wheelchair
  • Stretcher
  • Stretcher
  • Trolley
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Table
  • Stool
  • Stand
  • Base
  • Bottle
  • Bottle
  • Cylinder
  • Cylinder
  • Bucket
  • Bucket
  • Bowl
  • Bowl
  • Chamberpot
  • Crutch
  • Crutch
  • Skeleton
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Miniature (Size Attribute)
  • Bench
  • Chair
  • Chair
  • Flag
  • Base
  • Suction Pad
  • Instructions
  • Box
  • Insert
TitleEmergency Ward 10 Hospital (manufacturer's title)
Materials and techniques
Lithographed tinplate, injection-moulded and cast plastics, metal, printed paper
Brief description
Metal toy hospital with accessories, Emergency Ward 10, made in Britain by Mettoy (Playcraft Toys Limited) 1962-67
Physical description
Hospital Building, two storey rectangular building constructed on three tray like floors and two-sided room compartments together with the lift areas; held together with tongues and slots; decoration is in green and yellow with white and grey. On top is a pink plastic moulded flagpole, with white knob at the top and white 'rope'; it ends with a knob which fits into a sucker-stand. The flag hangs at a slight angle and is covered with paper printed in red to show the name of the hospital.

The base, larger than the rooms, is marked to show driveways, stonework and inside, the floor of one ward; lift end is marked with parking and lift instructions. Under the base there is a corrugated cardboard lining marked with cut away areas

The top floor is marked as a leisure area in green with yellow, bordered by stonework; outer edge is red with white lettering.

The middle floor is marked inside with the floor of one ward and outside with stonework; outer edge is red with white lettering.

The outer sides of both rooms are yellow with squares in red and white; each have five windows along the long side and one in the end, windows of clear plastic designed to swivel; insides are yellow with blue panel around the lower part; each has at the lift end a pair of clear plastic swing doors; the lift area block is of lithographed metal; lift doors are red plastic and the same as the top of the lift - bottom area has two and middle area has only one.

Lift Turret, a metal structure, white printed with yellow and red. At either end is attached by tongue and slots, red plastic doors which can be raised and lowered. At either side are double windows of clear plastic housed in white fittings. The roof is metal attached by tongues and slots; outer side printed in red with white lettering. At the centre of the roof is a metal handle, enamelled white, which turns the ratchet to raise and lower the lift - inside the housing below the handle is a length of white cord with a metal ring near its bottom end which is to be attached to the lift itself. Along bottom edge are tongues which are to slot into the top of the building.

The lift itself is a bridge-like structure with arches and lugs to hold the lifting yoke which attaches to the cord.

It runs on a metal rod which passes from the roof of the lift block, through the edges of the lift platform and into holes at the bottom. It is capped with a knob of brown plastic.

There are clear plastic partition walls moulded flat on one side and corrugated on the other; at the top it is section representing clear windows. Down one edge, on both sides, are a set of dots which stablise the windows when placed between the window fittings of the rooms.

Hospital beds are four-legged with open slats at one end and a central panel at the other end representing the case note board. With the beds are blue and pink mattresses, moulded to represent a mattress with a diamond and stud pattern and a pillow.

There are various other items of furniture and equipment including tables, chairs, basins, loungers, rocking chairs, trolleys, stretchers, an operating table, instrument table, stools, drip stand, oxygen cylinder, bucket, chamberpot, crutches and a bench.

Figures include doctors, surgeons, nurses, and patients with various injuries. Standing, seated and lying down. There is also a white plastic skeleton.

The instructions are of coarse paper folded in half and printed in black to show the title and illustrations for assembling the hospital and arranging the contents. The original box is made of cardboard which is printed on the outside and stapled along the centre bottom.
Dimensions
  • Playset height: 415mm (maximum)
  • Playset width: 620mm (maximum)
  • Playset depth: 285mm (maximum)
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'OXBRIDGE / GENERAL / HOSPITAL' (Printed on the flag)
  • 'METTOY / HOSPITAL' (Printed on lift tower)
  • 'GENERAL HOSPITAL / QUIET PLEASE / OPERATING THEATRE / SURGICAL WARD' (Printed around outside of upper floor of hospital)
  • 'EMERGENCY WARD 10 / OUTPATIENTS / CASUALTIES / LIFT' (Printed around outside of lower floor of hospital)
  • 'MADE IN / ENGLAND' (Moulded onto underside of rocking chair)
  • 'Britains Ltd' (Moulded underneath bench)
  • 'PATENT APPLICATION No. 21100/59' (Moulded onto sucker which supports the flagpole)
  • 'emergency ward 10 / HOSPITAL / INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSEMBLY' (Printed instructions)
  • 'ARCLE NO. 6306 / MADE IN GT. BRITAIN' (Printed instructions)
  • 'Assembled / EMERGENCY WARD 10 / HOSPITAL / 24 Assorted Figures / Nurses, Operating / Theatre Staff, Patients / Over 60 Pieces of Hospital Equipment / Beds, Chairs, Lockers / Theatre Fittings, Stretchers Etc / Movable Transparent Partitions, Opening Windows / Operating Lift, Sliding Lift Shaft Doors / Wards Fitted with Swing Doors / MADE IN GT. BRITAIN / METTOY / PLAYTHINGS' (Printed on box)
  • 'METTOY PLAYTHINGS / EMERGENCY WARD 10 / HOSPITAL / Brightly printed metal / Construction' (Printed on box)
  • '...W H SMITH & SONS LTD / 3 GREENGATE STREET / STAFFORD / STAFFORDSHIRE / P67722' (Retailer information)
  • '...PLAYCRAFT TOYS LTD /SWANSEA INDUSTRIAL ESTATE / SWANSEA / AURORA HOBBIE KITS' (Manufacturer information, printed on box)
Credit line
Given by Alison Britton
Historical context
Emergency Ward 10 was a popular television programme shown first on BBC (1954-57) and later ITV (1957-67). In 1962, a range of merchandise in connection with the programme was proposed. This toy, designed to sell for 89s 11d, was approved by Gilbert Pickett, Managing Director of Televeision Character Merchandise, 65 Victoria Street, London, SW1.

Other toys also approved were playsuits by D Dekker retailing from 18s 11d up and a pocket book edition by Mayfair Books at 2s 6d. each.

Mettoy published an illustration in their 1963 catalogue which was sent to Games & Toys.
Production
Mettoy Playthings was one of the tradenames of the Mettoy Co Ltd which later was joined by Playcrafts.

Marked 'MADE IN GT. BRITAIN.' Some parts made in Hong Kong; some parts made by Britains Ltd.

Reason For Production: retail
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic reference
Games & Toys, September 1962, 70 Games & Toys, April, 1963, 56
Other number
Article No 6306 - Model number
Collection
Accession number
B.254-1998

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Record createdJanuary 5, 1999
Record URL
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