As a diabetic myself, I’m always interested in stories about advances in treating the disease so was particularly drawn to a story published in the Watford Observer in early July 1965.

Headed “Search for ‘magic’ twigs”, the story told of a Croxley Green woman who was backing an expedition to the Argentine which, she claimed, could bring “magic relief” to diabetics.

The woman in question was Mrs Barbara Woodhouse – who many will remember from her nationwide fame in the 1980s as the country’s top dog owner, thanks to her hugely popular BBCtv series “Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way”.

But by the time her TV show gripped the nation, Mrs Woodhouse was already in her early 70s (she died in 1988, aged 78). Some years earlier, she had spent three years in Argentina training horses, and it is to those days that this news article refers.

In it, Mrs Woodhouse claims her life was saved by an old Indian cook when she was “stricken with diabetes” in the Argentine.

The claim set in motion a Lawson Trail Memorial Trust expedition into the country, to find out more.

The story continues: “Headed by trust secretary Mr Wilfred Risdon, the quest will be for twigs from a delicate shrub Phyllanthus Sellowianus, of which there are five varieties. ‘Only one of them can help us,’ said Mr Risdon.

“‘We are taking Mrs Woodhouse’s information very seriously,’ he added. He said too that a Guy’s Hospital doctor had said: ‘There may indeed be a twig treatment for diabetes.’

“Said Mrs Woodhouse: ‘I was on a ranch in the Argentine when I was suddenly stricken with diabetes. Doctors gave me 10 days to live. Then an old Indian cook came to me clutching a bundle of twigs. She poured boiling water on them and told me to drink this water.

“‘I did, and immediately I felt better. I carried on with this treatment and within 10 days I was on the way back to recovery.

“‘That twig out there in the Argentine can help diabetics. I am living proof!’”

Having read that, from 1965, I was slightly sceptical – my own condition wasn’t diagnosed until 1971 and no-one’s ever suggested a magic twig remedy for me.

That said, a quick search for “Phyllanthus Sellowianus” online, reveals that its blood sugar lowering properties are well-known, so who knows. And with stories in the national press just this week about how the number of young people with Type 2 diabetes has risen six-fold over the past two decades, maybe Mrs Woodhouse’s twig remedy deserves further investigation.

Watford Observer: Mrs Barbara Woodhouse and her 'magic' twigs

[from the West Herts and Watford Observer of July 2, 1965]

“Jane Asher, the prominent young actress who is to play the part of Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion at Watford’s Palace Theatre next week [July 1965], chooses an evening gown at Clements. With her in the picture is Thelma Holland, of Clements’ showroom staff.

“Flame-haired Jane, 19, is the middle child of three – her elder brother Peter is the first half of the Peter and Gordon pop group. Her father is a consultant physician, broadcaster and writer; her mother teaches the oboe at the Royal Academy.

“Jane’s showbusiness career started at five years of age when she played the part of the deaf mute Nina in the film Mandy.

“Since then she had played in a dozen motion pictures, including The Greengage Summer and The Prince and the Pauper.

“On television she has been Juliet in Rome and Juliet, Lise in The Bothers Karamazov and Maggie Tulliver in The Mill On the Floss.

“On the lighter side, she has made appearances on Juke Box Jury, First Impressions and The Celebrity Stage.

“On the West End stage she was the youngest Wendy in the history of Peter Pan and also played in Will You Walk A Little Faster at the Duke of York’s and Race Against Time at the Lyric.”

Online tomorrow: Searching for the missing branches of one family's family tree PLUS a simple Swedish snack for the end of the day

These Nostalgia stories were published in the Watford Observer on June 21, 2013. The next Nostalgia column – with information (and pictures) of the day world-famous goalkeeper Pat Jennings left Watford FC for Spurs, an early book signing for writer Leslie Thomas and the day The Zombies played without a fee at Rickmansworth Week fete plus Gladstone's visit to Watford – can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated June 28, 2013) or read online here from 4pm next Thursday.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here watfordnostalgia@london.newsquest.co.uk