One of the most well-remembered characters in Merthyr between the 1930s and the 1970s was Dr Solomon Bloom, more commonly known as Sammy.
Solomon Bloom was born on 2 November 1898, one of seven children born to Eli and Sarah Bloom. Eli and Sarah (née Levine) were born in Riga, Latvia, but moved to Britain in the late 1800s, eventually settling in Merthyr in 1901 when Eli was appointed as the rabbi at Merthyr Synagaogue.
Sammy was educated at Cyfarthfa Castle School before going to study medicine at Cardiff University, and finishing his medical studies at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, graduating in 1922 as a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) and Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians (LRCP). He began his medical career as an anaesthetist at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport, but soon made the switch to become a surgeon.
In 1930, he returned to Merthyr to go into General Practice with his younger brother Myer (1905-1974), opening a surgery in Church Street; his older brother Abraham already having established himself as a pharmacist in the town, with premises in Victoria Street (right). Shortly afterwards, he was invited to become a member of the honorary medical staff at Merthyr General Hospital, and in 1940 he was appointed as consultant to the Merthyr Tydfil Corporation, working at St Tydfil’s Hospital.
His duties at St Tydfil’s included orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and he also became obstetrician at Gwaunfarren Maternity Hospital and venereologist at the Merthyr special clinic. At the inception of the NHS in 1948, he became senior hospital medical officer at St Tydfil’s. As well as his hospital duties, he carried on his general practice until 1961, when he was given the status of consultant surgeon, a post he relinquished when he retired from surgical practice at the age of 72.
Those who worked with him remember him as a consummate professional and a perfectionist in surgery, gaining the reputation as one of the finest surgeons in the town. Short of stature, he would often have to stand on a platform to perform operations. Despite his elevated medical position and brilliance as a surgeon, his humanity always shone through, and he would always go out of his way to do the best for his patients, and to his colleagues he was simply “a lovely man”.
As well as his medical duties, Sammy Bloom was active in local medical politics, being chairman of the local medical committee and one of the representatives on Merthyr executive council for 14 years. He also served time as chairman of the medical staff committee and of the North Glamorgan Division of the British Medical Association. In addition to this he was appointed chief medical officer to the Welsh Boxing Board of Control, and officiated at many fights. He was also a volunteer for the St John’s Ambulance Brigade as the local corps surgeon, and in 1958, he was appointed an associate officer of the Most Venerable Order of St John.
Away from medicine, his religion meant a great deal to him. A devout Jew, he acted as president of the Merthyr Tydfil Hebrew Congregation for many years, and represented Merthyr on the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
In 1971, he moved to London with his wife Norah, but kept abreast of medical matters by discussing them with four of his five children – two doctors and two optometrists.
Sammy died on 17 August 1989, whilst on holiday. According to his obituary in the British Medical Journal, “typically, he had been playing roulette successfully the night before”. He was 90 years of age.
Enjoyed the read really interesting
John Davies
Any relation to Rev Morgan Bloom who lived in Bryn Street, Twynyrodyn ?
I could be wrong , but I thought it was Broom .He was a chaplain for the Railwaymen .
Rev Morgan Broome. He was minister at Ivor Chapel in Dowlais and started a small church down in Troedyrhiw.
The first time I ever saw Sammy Bloom was in the outpatient department of Merthyr general hospital. He walked through smoking a large cigar!It was 1969 and I was a seventeen year old pre nursing student .
When my father came to live in Merthyr during the war he deliberately chose to join a Jewish Medical Practice. My mother’s family from Georgetown were already registered with the Blooms.
When I was eight I suffered a lot of pain in my stomach. Sammy, the consultant surgeon, came to our house in Third Avenue Galon Uchaf. I remember him vividly: beautiful overcoat, Homburg hat and an enormous cigar.
He said to my mother: Well, Dorcas, I’m not sure what it is because she says Ouch every time I touch her. I’ll have to take her in.
He operated in the General for what turned out to be an appendicitis – but he had to do a large incision just in case: eight clips and two stitches.
When I was pregnant in Reading 20 years later the doctors would bring in students to see ‘how they do an appendectomy in Wales’!
It was an amazing practice with Dr Myer Bloom and Dr Tom Cox.
There was a second surgery on the Brecon Road which is now Pauline’s hairdressers.