City General Hospital Nursing badges

[hillsbro]

Oh, Sister Russ... Maria Russ [1927-1988] was a no-nonsense Yugoslav who had the ward completely under her thumb; I never knew a better organiser. Sister Green was also an excellent sister - they both knew their job inside out and were a credit to the NGH. At mealtimes if there was food left over Sister Russ would share it out among her staff. She couldn't bear to waste food, having come through the war with all its hardship (from Yugoslavia via Austria to London), then to post-war Manchester where she did her R.S.C.N.

[Daven]

The NGH has changed so much that I hesitate to give a location that would be understood nowadays, but Ward 17 (as of 1969) is in the background of the photo. This was the ward for babies (up to 1 year old) and 10-16 year-olds. Behind the photographer was Ward 16 (ages 1 to 10). Evidently somewhere near the blue dot in this photo.

 

The photo is a very old one of the NGH as the old Victorian Vickers corridor ward buildings are still there.

The childrens wards are south west of your blue spot - the buildings just south of where the 2 red cars are parked together.

The building you have blue spotted was the Social Work department in the late 70's when I started working there.

By that time Ward 16 had become ward 15 and 16. Ward 15 was for medical paeds and Ward 16 for surgical paeds. Ward 17 for babies and teenagers. I worked my 2 months on Ward 15 with Sister Gregory - I believe she was a nun ? Sister Green I remember being very kind to me. I think Sister ? Bonfield was based on Ward 16.

I remember Sister Russ very well. She worked mainly nights when I worked there as a student nurse and scared me ! She was a lovely lady but looked very stern. She knew her stuff though and could get any 'difficult to feed' baby to take it's feed ! She stood no nonsense from the teenagers too.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Daven

[hillsbro]

Hi Daven - yes, I recognise the chidren's wards in the photo now. What "threw" me was the fact that what I remember as the school of nursing has evidently disappeared - it stood where the car park can be seen near the top centre of the photo. Sister Green was lovely - like a mother to her staff and the children in her care. I remember we once had a little boy with acute intermittent porphyria. I decided to look it up in the nursing school library - and whom should I see there but Sister Green, looking up the same rare illness! The paediatric registrar Dr James Heggarty was a superb doctor whom everyone thought very highly of - including the misandrous Sister Russ!