Hannah “Nancy” O’Driscoll was remarkable in many ways but like most nurses from the last century she remains largely unknown. She was a nurse midwife with the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky which had been modelled on the Highlands and… Read More ›
nursing history
Old Bill, Black Angels and Gertie and Jamini
Welcome to my first newsletter of 2024… it takes the theme of unheard voices and unsung heroes…. Old Bill Old Bill (left) and Thomas Rafferty (right) He was one of the best-known British characters from World War One. Artist Bruce… Read More ›
Sister Dora – the first female statue?
The first public statue for a woman in Britain turns up in an unlikely place. Walsall is an industrial town in the Black Country north of Birmingham. I have a lot of affection for it – it’s where I did… Read More ›
Motorcycling nurses
Meet district nurse Elizabeth McPhee with her rather splendid BSA motorcycle in 1926. She is the headline image in a stunning online collection at the US National Library of Medicine. The exhibition, curated by Julia Hallam, of Liverpool University, who talks… Read More ›