Marjorie Earley 1909-2001

Marjorie was born 13^th September 1909 at 6, South View, Eaton Road, in the Chester Castle Sub District of Chester. Her parents were Mary Alice Early (Neė Webb) and Henry William Early. Marjorie was the third born of their 4 daughters - Kathleen Alice (1901); Dorothy Mary (1903); Marjorie herself (1909); and her younger sister Doris (1914). Her father Henry was born in Wiltshire, and at the time of her birth was an acting Sergeant Major in the Royal Field Artillery. That his was a military family - highly mobile - is attested to by the birth of each of his children in different geographical locations. The family line, which can be traced back to 1778, was the fourth generation of this Earley family.¹  The census of 1911 shows the family living at 13 St Mark’s Terrace, Saltney, Chester - a red-brick mid-terrace in a row of 14.

By 1918 Henry, Mary and the four girls had moved to Portsmouth where he worked supplying goods to the Forts situated in the waters off the coast, having retired from the Army in 1913. Young Marjorie attended a private school, Daley's Commercial School, and also learned to play the piano which she continued diligently taking the requisite exams from 1918 to 1925. Such establishments were well known not only for promoting intellectual development but also spiritual and moral development, for instilling a sense of purpose! (In the 1950's Daley's became St, Teresa's Grammar School. In the 60's St, Teresa's Grammar School The Ladies of Mary, and in 1966 amalgamated with The Convent of the Cross). Marjorie had to choose between school work and music and reluctantly gave up the latter. Her mother had recommended that all her daughters take a secretarial course on leaving school. Marjorie later related that the Pitman's shorthand that she learned was to stand her in good stead later when note taking during her nursing training.

On leaving school Marjorie obtained a job as secretary to an architect, which was to be short lived, as falling ill with Scarlet Fever was to change the course of her life. She was sent to hospital and nursed back to health, fortunate to make a good recovery in the days before the availability of Penicillin. This stay in hospital fired her with the resolve to become a nurse. Being a determined young woman she could not be dissuaded from the course of action and enrolled at St. Mary’s Hospital Portsmouth to begin her training.

Commencing her nurse training on 2nd June 1930, she would have been taken on as a probationer nurse. There were two types - 'Lady Probationers', who paid for their training and who were destined for the higher ranks of the profession, and 'Probationers' who received a small stipend, board and lodging. The latter had a particularly hard, almost convent-like lifestyle, with rigidly set conditions which applied to both work and off duty periods. That Marjorie apparently found life as a probationer to be very hard is not surprising, for that is precisely what it was. Perhaps her education at Daley's School was to stand her in good stead.

Years later, Marjorie was to tell her daughter Ann that it was because she enjoyed her training so much that she could overcome the hardships. Marjorie told her that training then was rigorous with ward cleaning an important task, with beds to be made perfectly, ‘hospital’ corners - and ‘open’ ends of pillowcases to lie away from the ward doors. She complained that she was always hungry, and described one incident when she was hidden in a cupboard with a bowl of rice pudding to consume! It was also hard on the feet and she developed flat feet which had to be treated. She demonstrated the exercises - which gripping a pencil with her toes meant to help. Together with special arch supports these cured the problem.

Study time also had to be found and Marjorie was most proud of her 4 volumes of Modern Professional Nursing, published by Caxton, which she kept for many years after they had served her well during her training. She lived in the Nurses home (living-in was compulsory in many hospitals at the time). Nurses Homes at the time were not luxuries either - the majority were ruled by a home sister, who was not only responsible for their welfare, but often lived there herself - able to ensure that her charges led chaste lives - and that they were always on duty when they should have been! Such homes were locked at night and the majority of residents did not have keys. Marjorie's training covered most aspects of nursing, theatre work, and going out with ambulances. (*Photo of her with ambulance of the day). She later related that she saw a great deal of poverty and hardship on these visits to the community. There was quite a bit of laughter, however, to lighten the sombre side of training - with the doctors teasing the young nurses, and the inevitable harmless mistakes made causing much hilarity. The mixing of patient dentures was a source of such hilarity in many hospitals, when, taken for cleaning, the less thoughtful nurse would place all, collected from different patients, in the same bowl without knowing which belonged to whom - or even which tops and bottoms made a set! But that training was taken very seriously by everyone concerned can be seen by the well known visit to Matrons office - well known by every trainee up until the 1970's - to explain a broken clinical thermometer, and perhaps have the cost deducted from pay!

In February 1932 Marjorie took her Preliminary Examinations - there were usually two sets of examinations - those set by the hospital and those set by the General Nursing Council - in Marjorie's case the GNC for England & Wales. She must have passed the hospital examinations, although there is no existing record of these. She was informed that she had passed the state preliminary exams a month later by the GNC. She must have met the high standards required in nursing practice - constant supervision by qualified staff - particularly Ward Sisters, was known to be very strict, and there were regular reports to the hospital Matron, every one of which would be discussed by her with each probationer before they were allowed to continue with training. Failure here more often than not meant dismissal. In October 1933 Marjorie sat and passed her final examinations - which again would have been both hospital and State. In November 1933 she was informed that she had passed her State Finals and that her name had been approved by the Council for entry into the State Register for Nurses.

She developed her career and sphere of special interest by successfully undertaking Midwifery training, a not uncommon career path for SRN qualified Nurses. The first child recorded in her Pupil Midwives Case Book is a baby boy born 13^th December 1934 - and the last case, (*almost) was a baby girl born1st July 1935. One wonders what sort of life these children had?

Marjorie’s name was entered on the Midwives Roll August of the same year. She was most proud of delivering 100 babies in her career and had photos taken of her with her ‘jubilee’baby. *In actual fact the final birth recorded in her Case Book is that of her daughter some years later! A decade, a war, and 3000miles away in Alexandria, Egypt.

SECTION 2
nursingbadges
historyofhospitals

SECTION 3
Nursing Organizations

Statutory Bodies.
Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Professional/Trade Unions.
Royal College of Nursing.