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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: scuda-j on Saturday 28 April 12 14:54 BST (UK)
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I've found a great-aunt of mine living at 80-82 Upper Gloucester Place in the London Electoral Roll for 1930. As she was a nurse, and there are many other spinster ladies at the same address, I imagine this was a nurses' home: can anyone tell me which hospital it might have belonged to, please?
Thanks, Jane
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Hi
I'd think that it might either be the Middlesex Hospital or St Mary's Paddington. However, as it was central London, it could be one of the smaller hospitals in the area.
gnu
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Thanks, gnu. I'll see if any staff records are available for either of those two.
Jane
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I should also have asked about Great Quebec Street and Upper Montagu Street. The same lady seems to have been boarding with a family rather than in a nurses' home in these two streets (both in the 1930s). Would the same two hospitals be likely?
Sorry to bother you again,
Jane
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Hi
if you check the maps, (Google or Streetmap or alts), you'll see that they're all in the same area. The nearest large hospital is St Marys but, as I said, she could have been in another smaller hospital.
If she became State Registered, there might be a central listing that would give details of which hospital she trained/worked at.
gnu
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Thanks again, gnu. I always seem to get lost when my ancestors stray into London, I'm better with the villages of Gloucestershire! I have information on her training pre-WW1, as a nurse in the war, and when she retired, but the 1920s and 30s are a puzzle which I'm trying to sort out.
Jane
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I spent the 1960s in London and lived in that area for a while ;D
Would it be worth searching for an obituary for her? Where/when did she die?
gnu
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I don't think there's anything from when she died. She returned to her Gloucestershire roots after the war (WW2, that is), and I have her death certificate and will. She was very close to my father, and he probably could have told me about her life, but of course I never thought to ask until it was too late.
Thanks again, Jane
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Hi
The Royal College of Nursing guide to tracing nurses' records.
http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/rcn_archives/research_advice_-_tracing_nurses
Searching the online Nursing Journals might give a clue
http://rcnarchive.rcn.org.uk/
The National Archives guide to nurses' records
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/patients-doctors-and-nurses.htm
The National Archives database to hospital records and where they are held, when you are sure which hospital it is you are interested in.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hospitalrecords/
Regards
Valda
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Thanks for those links Valda - in fact I've already exhausted most of them, just about the only thing left is the records of particular hospitals, which is why I was trying to pinpoint which one(s) to look at.
Jane
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Hi again Jane
If you've exhausted the various lists, I think that it might be worth scouring the local newspapers in the area that she died in for an obituary, as I suggested last evening. I have found much valuable information about relatives this way.
If you can't get to one of the local libraries and if you think she might have warranted an obit in The Times, you could try the Times Archive, via Gale newspaper archives* (as a member of a library, you would probably get access) or the new newspaper site http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk I'm not sure if your local newspapers would be covered yet as the project is 'ongoing'
I've also contacted local libraries directly and they have usually been very helpful; sending me copies of obituaries for the cost of a photocopy and postage.
gnu
* amended to append 'archives'
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Hi gnu. I did check the Glos papers from around the time of her death and found nothing, but now you've given me a push I'll try again. The British Newspaper Archive hasn't got far enough to be of help, but when it gets there it will be a good check against my scouring of newsprint on microfilm! There's no sign of anything in The Times, but I wouldn't really have expected there to be.
Thanks again for your help and encouragement.
Jane