[NV058] : Margaret at St George's 1949-52, 52-54 & 57-60 |
Margaret was born in Somerset in 1926. At 7 years old her mother died and she moved, with her Father, into her Grandmothers house. Margaret went to school in Chard and later Illminister, and remembers family holidays, with her aunts and cousins, to Cornwall.
After leaving school at 16 Margaret went to work at the Post Office. She then trained as a Nursery Nurse in Bristol. She worked in Harpenden and Oxted as a Nursery Nurse, before deciding to move on and do her General Nursing Training.
Margaret applied to St Georges, after deciding against Westminster, and was accepted to begin in January 1949.
Her Preliminary Training School took place in Cumberland House in Earls Court, and she was trained under a new system that involved her going on to the wards in the first week. Margaret spent her PTS period on Williams Ward working under Sister G. G., which she enjoyed immensely.
After PTS Margaret moved up to Knightsbridge. She was trained under the Block System, which she felt was useful. Although she was shocked by the dirt and noise of London, after growing up in Somerset, Margaret found St Georges to be an enormously friendly and supportive place.
Margaret remembers the post war rations making the food and portions disappointing, she also remembers working, with the help of Muriel Powell, to get the food improved.
Margaret worked hard at her training and served on the Student Council. She completed rotations at Atkinson Morley Hospital, and worked on TB wards at The Grove. She took her finals on the day King George died, and passed with flying colours.
Upon graduation Margaret went to work on William King ward, where she remained for six months. She took a brief hiatus from Georges to begin her Midwifery training in Edinburgh, but after Part1 of training decided it was not for her and returned to London to be nearer her Father and the rest of her family and friends.
Miss Powell welcomed Margaret back to St Georges, and used her experience of nursing patients with TB, by making her Sister on a TB ward. After a year of this work Miss Powell suggested that Margaret do the Tutors course, so in 1955 Margaret attended Queen Elizabeth College, where she gained her Tutor Diploma.
Having qualified as a Tutor Margaret returned to St Georges to teach at the PTS. She remained in this job until she left St Georges in 1960. Margaret still remembers the friendliness and supportiveness of St Georges and is glad she didn’t train elsewhere.
To read & listen to Margaret's experiences whilst at St George's please click on Margaret's Story