Schools of Nursing Forum

The NMC are running a competition for a celebratory commemorative badge.  Not really sure who will get one from reading the information.  Thoughts?  Copy the link below, hope it works.

https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/press-releases/competition-celebrating-100-years-of-always-caring-always-nursing-opens-for-entries/

I agree Sarah, I believe most of the Victorian and Edwardian buckles seen and sold as "Nursing buckles" are likely to be fashion items of the time,a few of which may perhaps have found their way into uniforms of the period.The evidence of such buckles being worn as part of a uniform, on photographic Cabinet cards and Carte de Visit of the 1880s-1910 is very limited. In fact that do not seem to appear widely until the late 1950s onwards, perhaps reaching their peak in the 1970 and 80s? Many of the earlier fashion buckles were recycled as Nursing pieces and the practice of gifting them seems to have found a whole new market for earlier buckles.The fact that new buckles were manufactured to meet demand shows in the appearance of hallmark dates from the 1970s onwards and advertisements in the nursing journals of the day. I have found few hallmarked buckles at all dating between 1914 and 1960 which may indicate a lack of such demand? Clearly a lot more information required but perhaps yet another nursing myth to be debunked?
Oh and as for the buckles consisting of full plated links I have never seen any such buckle being worn in  confirmed nurse photograph, being impractical to the nth degree. What I do seen what I believe to be Mental Nurse pictures are which leather belt to support the weight of the large numbers of keys for locked wards. Will try and add supporting pictures when I can

That's odd, surely the library might have archived pay scales? Is there an archive at the NMC?

I've just enjoyed looking at the buckles article, food for thought. Some of the non organisation specific Victorian and Edwardian buckles may not have been worn by nurses- my great grandmother gave me a special one when I qualified, which I wore in intensive care- but she was not a nurse- we have pictures of her wearing it in her school photos.

Another Suggestion

Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council Handbook.  (? Pay and Conditions of Sevice?)

Will.