Marjorie Earley 1909-2001

But of course there was another side to Marjorie's life - that with her family.

A pleasant holiday in Guernsey for Marjorie and her eldest sister Kathleen took place in 1936. She was also had other  recreation in the form of the League of Health and Beauty. Despite her tiredness after working on the hospital wards, she found this latter quite invigorating and took part in some of the Displays ‘Busby Berkley’ style in Portsmouth Guildhall. Marjorie had loved acting as a young girl and received good notices after her appearance on the stage, age 12 , of the Theatre Royal Portsmouth when she appeared as Tatiana in a Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Before the outbreak of  WWII Marjorie had wanted to do something more with her career. She decided to join the Territorial Army Nursing Service, which she did at the age of 28 years in 1937. She was then a Staff Nurse working at St Mary’s Portsmouth. Marjorie was proud of her hospital and apparently very much aware of the professional snobbery amongst nurses from London hospitals. She is recorded as having once told other T.A. nurses, who had trained at Guys Hospital - one of the leading London Hospitals, ‘I’m Provincial and proud of it’ with reference to her training. Quite a statement given the who and where. The precise circumstances surrounding this are not clear, but that there also existed an inverse snobbery by 'provincial' nurses was well known amongst them all, often taking the form of derision by provincial hospital trained nurses - based on the perhaps groundless theory that the large hospitals, particularly London Hospitals had medical students to train - and that this left their nurses lacking in practical skills and experience! Nurses of Marjorie's generation were trained to be very conscious of their status from the day they entered their first training school. The well known 'Pecking-order', which within the profession was absolutely rigid. Any challenge to it had to be met immediately.

Between 1937 and 1940 whilst being a member of the T.A. 5th Southern General Hospital (Portsmouth) Marjorie remained at St Mary's. She became a ward sister in 1939 - the year of commencement of war with Germany and WWII. She was a sister on the ward for patients suffering from Tuberculosis, a well known disease at that time. Her ward was situated right at the very top of the hospital, which she confessed was a little alarming at times. Her anxiety was not without due cause. 1939 was the year that war broke out between Britain and Germany. Portsmouth, a major Naval base, became a priority target for the German forces and was heavily bombed during WWII. It is a fact that 901 people were killed during the German bombing of Portsmouth, the target of 67 bombing raids, 3 of which were major Blitz. The largest took place on January 10th 1941 when 171 people were killed. (The two other large raids - 24th Aug 1940/27th April 1941 killed 227 people). Even visiting her parents home at 9, Evans Road, she spent quite a few nights sheltering in the Anderson Shelter that her father had installed in the back garden. It must have been a miserable time, chilly and dark, listening to the sound of bombs dropping. She recalled queuing for half a cake when rationing started - whilst her sister was queuing for the other half!

A sense of humour was obviously a serious necessity.

By the time of the Blitz raids, however, Marjorie had already been mobilised and posted to her first active QA unit at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

This first posting, as Sister Marjorie Earley, QARANC T.A. (R) took place on 19th March 1940. It was to the 24th London General Hospital, based at Hatfield House Hertfordshire, and lasted until the 31st March 1940, when she was posted to the 34th London General hospital from 1st April, 1940. Both the  24th and 34th General Hospitals were based at Hatfield, where even the Great Hall became a hospital ward. That posting continued until 31st January, 1941.

Her daughter Ann says that one of her aunts, Marjorie’s second eldest sister, went to visit Marjorie her there during her time at Hatfield, living near enough at Beaconsfield, in nearby Buckinghamshire, and that another more well known lady also visited Hatfield in 1940 - none other than Elizabeth The Queen Mother'. Hatfield house in Hertfordshire was used as military hospital from 1939 onwards during WWII, as it had been during the first World War. Hatfield House was the Stately home of Lady Salisbury, who had agreed to the use of her home for this purpose. Marjorie remembered her time there with great fondness, and was photographed by the 'Tatler' magazine - standing in front of the great fireplace in her QA uniform. (Photo).

On 1st February, 1941 she was posted to the 57th TA General Hospital, a unit about to embark to the Middle East. On the following day, 20th March,1941, her unit embarked for MEF (Middle East Forces) as part of a convoy on the TSS 'Louis Pasteur'. Her posting to the 57th continued until 19th March 1941. Her military nursing career had commenced in earnest. As had the road that would lead to her future husband and family.

Possibly Marjorie’s choice of the Army as a career development could have been influenced by her father’s 23 years service in that branch of the British Forces. Henry had taken part in the Boer War some 40 odd years before. When she was posted abroad in 1941 to join the 23^rd General Scottish Hospital, it was perhaps a trick of fate that she joined a unit that originated from 205 (Scottish) Field Hospital - whose previously amalgamated active service units had also served in South African Boer War, and had subsequently become the 23rd Scottish General Hospital. Such is fate. She had her tropical uniform ordered - with the distinctive red bordered grey shoulder cape. Regular QARANC sisters wore scarlet capes (tippets) whist the reservist TA nurses wore grey tippets with a wide scarlet border. She joined her convoy in Glasgow, where the ships waited to leave for the long journey to the Middle east via the tip of Africa. It was considered too dangerous for them to travel through the Mediterranean. Her ship, the 'Pasteur' also known as the 'Louis Pasteur' had been launched only 2 years or so earlier - in August 1939 - only a month before the outbreak of war.

*That the Mediterranean was a very dangerous route for allied ships can be seen from the story by another QA from another Unit who traveled that route later - in December 1942...

The convoy sea voyage took some time, (although it is recorded that due to her speed as a troop transporter, the Pasteur could have normally made her crossing alone, not in convoy), and it was necessary to put in at a South African port. Marjorie and the other nursing sisters were entertained by local families and she had fond memories of her time spent with a charming couple who showed her round Cape Town. In typical fashion she kept in touch with them for many years. Eventually, her ship - the French built  'Louis Pasteur', docked in Alexandria, where she took up her nursing duties after the welcome interlude at sea. Ironically the Pasteur was, after the war, sold to Germany and reverted to her role as luxury ocean liner.

Quite how Marjorie and her unit spent the voyage is not recorded, But the following extract from 'epsomandewelllhc' on one of her voyages can perhaps give some idea...

Marjorie's daughter Ann was able to provide an inkling of her mother's voyage - "She had not talked much of the actual sea journey apart from the fantastic sight of the rest of her convoy. I think it left a lasting impression on her, seeing all the other vessels surrounding their own. She talked of the Louis Pasteur with great fondness. She did mention the crossing the line ceremony, and also noted some 'friendships' with an odd naval chap! There is a photo of one such officer, holding a model aeroplane. His name is on the back and elsewhere 'went on deck with Johnny' is noted. Mum was always bright and friendly so she was not short of admirers!"

Her future husband, Flt Lt Dennis Jordan, (although they had yet to meet), was apparently not so lucky, as their daughter Ann, after reading the account of the journey by 'epsomandewelllhc', relates,    "The account .. reminds me of my father who went to the M.E. courtesy of the Royal Navy and suffered an attack in the Med. by Germans. He had a copy of the actual engagement written down and recalled that it was a terrifying experience being below decks and hearing the roar of shells above. They sounded like an express train he said, and he and the rest of his fellow passengers felt quite helpless since all they could do was sit out the attack and hope for the best."

Marjorie's ship, the 'Louis Pasteur' arrived at Alexandria, Egypt, on May 6th, 1941 and disembarked on 7th, whereupon  unit immediately took up it's duties in Alexandria.

SECTION 2
nursingbadges
historyofhospitals

SECTION 3
Nursing Organizations

Statutory Bodies.
Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Professional/Trade Unions.
Royal College of Nursing.