Between 1932 and 1946 Alice trained in Tuberculosis nursing, completed her SRN and Registered Midwife qualifications, then for three years worked night duty at the Royal Waterloo Hospital whilst completing the part time tutor’s course offered at Battersea Polytechnic. The War behind her, she was now ready for change and on the recommendation of her matron at The Waterloo, she applied for and was accepted as Nurse Tutor at Leeds General Infirmary.
Alice, and another tutor, Mabel who was to become a life-long friend, were assigned to run the SRN Preliminary Training School (PTS) which they did for the next ten years. PTS was a huge responsibility, hopeful students arrived, some very sure of their vocation, some seeing nursing as an easy option, others ‘wet behind the ears’. Alice and Mabel had three months to teach nursing skills such as bandaging, washing and bed making alongside anatomy, physiology, invalid cookery and public health.
From the beginning students dressed in their uniform, learning to accurately fold the hospital cap, which had to be ‘exactly 11 inches across at the top’. They travelled by bus from the rather grand Roundhay Hall, which housed the PTS, to the wards at Leeds General Infirmary as tasters for the training to come. Examinations at the end of the three months were then the portal to acceptance and a contract of employment as a student nurse, or the end of their dreams.
In addition to the teaching, perhaps more importantly, Alice and Mabel skilfully used this time to inculcate into their raw recruits the values that were expected of them, and to nurture the comradeliness and resilience they would need to complete the training, and go on to be successful staff nurses. Friendships were made in PTS that lasted a lifetime.
Whilst teaching, Alice continued her own education, getting up at 5 am to study prior to work for three years as she completed The University of London Diploma in Nursing, on a part-time distance learning basis. This was one of only two nursing diplomas available in England at the time. Gaining her diploma in 1949, Alice wanted more. There was no English route to graduation as a nurse, but her employer encouraged her to think big, she applied for and won a Red Cross Scholarship. This gave her the opportunity, rare for an English nurse tutor, to study full time for one year at the internationally renowned Teachers College in New York. Alice’s next adventure soon began.
To be continued…
Alice Bird’s life story can be found in the Papers of Janet Hargreaves: Accession Number 3542
