Dave Gooderham, project manager for the Forget-Me-Not Dementia Campaign Memory Walk, give his personal view of the completion of the imaginative work along the corridores of the hospital.

Take a walk around a 100-metre stretch of the hospital corridors, close to the Diabetes Centre, Breast Care Unit, physio department and wards G4 and G5, and something will stop you in your tracks.

It might be a striking image of a full-house Theatre Royal where patients, visitors and staff can stop and spot who they know.

It might be the impressive Newmarket Racecourse or Bury’s Market Square from over 30 years ago.

Or, on the other side of the corridor, it might be iconic national images where Torvill and Dean sit next to Princess Diana and Only Fools and Horses leads onto photos of old skateboards and disco balls.

Two years in the making and costing around £30,000, the Forget-Me-Not Walk is now complete.

It is believed the L-shaped walk is the longest in the country dedicated to patients with dementia.

Maggie Woodhouse, dementia trainer at the hospital, said: “It is nice to think it is one of the longest, if not the longest, dementia walk in the country.

“But the most important thing is how it will provide support to our patients with dementia at the hospital.

“The walk allows us to discuss with patients the key images and talk to them about their own memories. It has proven that reminiscence is a key care and support tool in helping patients with dementia.”

A memory walk at Blackpool Hospital was used for inspiration, and the project team quickly decided to place a heavy focus on iconic images around West Suffolk – the Sudbury water meadows, Mildenhall’s military history and Greene King all feature.

Alongside this, they also wanted to include national – and even international - figures from the 1950s through to the 1980s.

Turning the corner in the middle of the walk, you are greeted with a two-metre high homage to the Beatles on Abbey Road which then leads to England’s World Cup win, Elvis and Marilyn.

Smaller “conversation-starters” are also a big feature with the likes of the Coronation and fashion through the ages featuring, as well as traditional 1970s wallpaper and a 1950s kitchen.

On the opposite side is dedicated to local images, old and new, to highlight the “West Suffolk” in West Suffolk Hospital.

Towns such as Haverhill, Sudbury and Stowmarket feature heavily, as do picturesque villages such as Lavenham, Pakenham and Long Melford.

Donations of images have flooded in from the likes of former East Anglian Daily Times photographer Andy Abbott, who lifted the lid on his 40 years’ photo archive, and members of the We Love Bury St Edmunds Facebook page and beyond.

But every single image has been scrutinised by the hospital’s dementia team to answer the question: “Would this be a talking point for a patient with dementia?”.