[NV028] : Anne at St George's 1952-1956


Anne: St. George's 1952-1956 Click photo to read and listen to her story

Anne was born in March, 1933 in Sydenham. Anne went to Guy’s to study physiotherapy. She found physics very difficult and was lonely, but liked the hospital world. Anne disliked the area round Guy’s to live in, so instead applied to St George’s to be a nurse, where she was accepted. She started her course on New Year’s Eve, 1951.

After PTS Anne started on Winchester, a female orthopaedic ward at St George’s, which had a very glamorous Sister. The patients served sherry before dinner to encourage their appetites the men in Oxford Ward were served Guinness. Patients always stayed for a very long time.

Anne remembers as a junior getting the breakfasts for herself and her senior nursing colleague she cooked and prepared it in front of the open fire.

She remembers Matron Powell coming round at 5am to check they weren’t waking the patients up.

At Atkinson Morely Hospital the student nurses had nicknames for Possil House, which they renamed Fossil House, while Copse Hill became Corpse Hill. She loved it there.

She did consider then that she might do psychiatric nursing., however, she was taken one day on a tour round Horton, the psychiatric hospital in Epsom. They were shown round wards with endless rows of beds and lockers and patients strapped to their beds and that put her off the idea of psychiatric nursing.

In her last year, 1954, Anne went to Tooting to train on the TB wards, Caroline and Edward Wilson and decided she would like to specialise in TB she did six months at Tooting and six months at King George V (KG V) in Godalming.

Anne completed her four years’ training and went on to do midwifery (Part 1) and then got married and did Part 2. Her husband was in the Army, so they moved around, working in various places but she never went back to St George’s, because they never lived near there.

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