Nursing
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Nursing
Register of Nurses
The Register of Nurses was first published in 1922, and was then produced annually until the late 1940s. These volumes list the nurse by name (including maiden name where appropriate), registration date and number, permanent address at that time, and where they qualified with dates. Later volumes were produced in the 1950s, which list only new nurses for each year and do not give the address.
Originally there was the main General part of the Register with supplementary 'Mental', 'Male', 'Fever' and 'Sick Children's' parts of the Register. These supplementary parts have changed over the years. When searching check all parts of the Register and the late entries list, which sometimes appears at the end of the General part.
Nurses would pay an annual fee to be on the Register. After the 1943 Nurses Act it became compulsory to be a State Registered Nurse (SRN) and it is still a legal requirement to practice nursing in the UK. In Scotland, the term originally used was Registered General Nurse (RGN).
Publication of the Register ended in 1968.
Roll of Nurses
Another type of nurse appeared after 1943: the Assistant Nurse, later known as the State Enrolled Nurse (SEN). This is not the same level of qualification as a SRN or RGN, but the Assistant or Enrolled nurse was recorded in the same way in the Roll of Assistant Nurses, also known as the Roll of Nurses. The GNC kept the Roll, set the syllabus for the examinations and approved the schools of nursing within hospitals.
Irish Registers
The General Nursing Council for Ireland published Registers from 1921. This was replaced in Northern Ireland by the Joint Nursing and Midwifery Council (JNMC) from 1922, which continued to publish Registers and later the Roll of Nurses.
Locations of Registers & Rolls
- GNC England & Wales at the National Archives,
- Kew,
- Richmond-upon-Thames.
- Register of Nurses and supplementary registers 1921-1973: reference DT10.
- GNC Scotland at the National Archives of Scotland,
- Edinburgh.
- Register of Nurses 1921-1983; Roll of Nurses 1944-1983; Register of Health Visitors 1933-1983: reference GNC.
RCN Archives holdings
GNC England & Wales Register of Nurses 1922 to 1924 and 1926 to 1968.
GNC England & Wales Roll of Nurses 1947 to 1968 with parts of 1947-48 missing.
GNC Scotland Register of Nurses 1945 to 1948, 1955 and 1957 to 1967.
GNC Scotland Roll of Nurses 1959 to 1962 and 1964 to 1966. Also a Midwives Roll from 1947.
GNC Ireland Register of Nurses 1939, 1943 and 1945 to 1948. No Roll.
JNMC Register of Nurses 1943 and 1946. Register and Roll combined 1949, 1951 and 1959.
Costs for searching these volumes can be found under Research Prices.
Nursing & Hospital Directories
Burdett's Directories
Sir Henry Burdett, Victorian philanthropist, published Burdett's Official Nursing Directory 1894-9. These were annual volumes listing the law pertaining to nurses, the particulars of training schools in the UK and abroad, nursing institutions etc and a list of nurses giving their names, addresses and a very brief résumé. Nurses could pay to have their names added, which many of the London based nurses did. The RCN Archives has a copy of the 1898 and 1899 editions for reference.
Sir Henry also published Burdett's Hospital Annual 1890-1893 which became Burdett's Hospital & Charities Annual 1894-1930. It lists the hospitals, institutions, charities and organisations, which existed in the UK. It gives membership of hospital boards, names of senior nursing and medical staff, details of training available, size of hospital and of the nursing staff etc. The RCN Archives has copies from 1922-3 and 1928.
Many hospital records relating to nursing have unfortunately not survived to the present day, but those that do can often provide training and employment records containing genealogy information. The online Wellcome Trust / National Archives Hospital Records Database can provide information on UK hospitals and the location of their records. If the records are not at the local record office, they may still be with the hospital.
In England and Wales, possible locations include the county record office in the area where the hospital was located.
In the London area the records may be at the:
- London Metropolitan Archives,
- 40 Northampton Road,
- London,
- EC1R 0HB.
- Tel: (020) 7332 3820 Fax: (020) 7833 9136
- E-mail ask.lma@corporationoflondon.gov.uk
The LMA also hold a handbook of London County Council (LCC) staff published annually from 1909 to 1939.
Hospitals with their own Archives
Middlesex Hospital Archives Department
University College London Hospitals,
Mortimer Street,
London,
W1T 3 AA.
Tel: (020) 7636 8333 ext. 4498 / Fax: (020) 77380 9264
Royal Free Hospital Archives Centre,
Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust,
The Hoo,
17 Lyndhurst Gardens,
Hampstead,
London,
NW3 5NU.
Tel: (020) 7794 0692
E-mail enquiries@royalfreearchives.org.uk
Royal London Hospital Archives & Museum,
Royal London Hospital,
Whitechapel,
London,
E1 1BB.
Tel: (020) 7377 7608 Fax: (020) 7377 7413
E-mail jonathan.evans@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk
St Bartholomew's Hospital,
Barts and the London NHS Trust,
West Smithfield,
London,
EC1A 7BE.
Tel: (020) 7601 8152 / (020) 7601 8150
E-mail barts.archives@bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk
St George's Hospital Archives,
The Library,
Hunter Wing,
St George's Hospital Medical School,
Cranmer Terrace,
London,
SW17 0RE
Tel: (020) 8725 5466 / (020) 8725 3255 Fax (020) 8767 4696
E-mail nthevaka@sghms.ac.uk
St Mary's Hospital Archives,
Paddington,
Praed Street,
London,
W2 1NY.
Tel: (020) 7886 6528 Fax: (020) 7886 6739
E-mail E kevin.brown@st-marys.nhs.uk
Health Boards - Scotland
In Scotland, the hospital records were the responsibility of Health Boards (or Services) in each area. These were often absorbed into the archives of the universities when they took over the role of training nurses, but some are still held by large hospitals.
Northern Health Services Archives,
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
Woolmanhill,
Aberdeen,
Grampian,
AB25 1LD.
Tel: (01224) 555562
Dumfries and Galloway Health Board Archives,
Crichton Royal Hospital,
Easterbrook Hall,
Bankend Road,
Dumfries,
Dumfries & Galloway,
DG1 4TG.
Tel: (01387) 244228 Fax: (01387) 269696
Lothian Health Services Archive,
University of Edinburgh Library,
George Square,
Edinburgh,
EH8 9LJ.
Tel: (0131) 650 3392 Fax: (0131) 650 6863
E-mail: lhsa@ed.ac.uk
Greater Glasgow Health Board Archive,
77-81 Dumbarton Road,
Glasgow,
G11 6PW.
Tel: (0141) 330 4543 Fax: (0141) 330 4158
Email: gghb@archives.gla.ac.uk
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board Archive
Highland Health Board Archives,
University of Stirling,
Highland Campus,
Old Perth Road,
Inverness,
Highland,
IV2 3FG.
Tel: (01463) 705269
Fax: (01463) 713454
E-mail hhsl1@stir.ac.uk
Specialist Archives
The Wellcome Trust holds the records of the Queens Nursing Institute (district nursing in England & Wales)
Kings College London hold the records of the Royal British Nurses Association (membership roll published 1909).
The Royal College of Psychiatrists holds the records of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association which trained and registered Mental Nurses or Attendants.
The Royal College of Midwives hold their own records of midwifery certification and membership. The Roll of Midwives (covering England & Wales) 1902-1983 will eventually be moving from the RCM to the National Archives at Kew.
Military Nursing
Research Guides on military nursing are available on the National Archives website: Military Records Information 55, 56 & 57. These provide a brief history of Army, Navy and RAF nursing. Each contains a detailed list of relevant records held at the National Archives and other UK archives.
The Volunteer Aid Detachments (VADs) were started by the Red Cross and St John's Ambulance Service to provide assistance for army medical services during World War One. They trained volunteers in first aid and other skills. During the Second World War they came under the jurisdiction of the military despite being civilians. Information on the VADs can be found at the Imperial War Museum and service records can be found by writing to the
British Red Cross Society,
Archives Section,
Bamett Hill,
Wonersh,
Guildford,
Surrey,
GU5 0RF.
Journals
Matrons, Assistant Matrons, Superintendents and nursing leaders are often named in the nursing press. Historical journals can help to trace awards, military postings, promotions, obituaries etc. One of the oldest journals we hold is available to browse online: British Journal of Nursing / Nursing Record 1888-1956.
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