[NV103] : Margaret at St George's


Margaret Click photo to read and listen to her story

Margaret was born in Raynes Park, south west London in April 1938.

She attended school in Wimbledon and after leaving school thought that acting was the career for her. She wished to attend drama school but her Father would not allow it, so she decided to study Speech Therapy with the idea of switching to a acting course whenever possible. The waiting list for these courses was very long however and so Margaret changed her mind and settled on nursing. Her headmistress suggested St George’s as a good place to train as she thought it ‘such a happy hospital’.

Margaret applied to St George’s and remembers doing several psychometric tests, introduced by Muriel Powell, before passing her interview and being offered a place.

In 1957 she moved down the road from Raynes Park to Tooting and begun her training. Preliminary Training School lasted for 3 months and Margaret was taught how to lay out trolleys and make beds in the classroom and then practice her skills on the wards on Thursdays afternoons.

Margaret’s first ward was Allingham, a TB ward. She considered it a very good introduction to nursing as there were both medical and surgical cases to deal with, but in manageable numbers.

Margaret continued through the blocks of training and worked on medical and surgical wards in Tooting before moving up to Hyde Park Corner.

Margaret enjoyed her time at Hyde Park Corner and remembers taking advantage of afternoons off whilst on a split shift, to shop on Oxford street or in Knightsbridge.

Whilst at Hyde Park Corner Margaret worked on Marie Tempest, the private ward, where she treated a member of staff from the Dorchester Hotel who had all his meals sent to him from the hotel on enormous silver platters, and a Duchess whose husband sent fresh Gardenias every day!

Margaret's training also took in time spent at Horton Psychiatric hospital in Epsom and Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon. Here she worked hard caring for patients recovering from brain surgery.

Having completed her 3 years of training Margaret took up a post of Staff nurse on Fitzwilliam, a busy surgical ward. She worked here for about a year before leaving St George’s and beginning her Midwifery training. She completed both parts of her Midwifery training and then became a District Midwife in Exeter. She remained in Devon, married and had a family and continued to nurse, working as a midwife and later running a nursing home. Margaret says that ‘St George’s grounding stood me in good stead’ and that her nursing home ‘had a very good name, but I’m sure it was down to St George’s’.

To read & listen to Margaret's experiences whilst at St George's please click on Margaret's Story