Design in history - flora & fauna

[nursesue]

Change of plan - have decided to tackle flowers and animal life as shown an many badges ( was originally going to do either midwifery or ortho this session). Many badges reflect there ideals as flowers or animals. A purple butterfly is on the Simpson Memorial badge - purple being the colour of immortality. An osprey backed by mountains is shown on the Highland badge. Midwifery badges tend to favour flowers/fruit. The pomegranate, as seen on the early Royal College of Midwives badge represents fertility. Snowdrops on the Glasgow Royal maternity is for motherhood. The 1962 Central  midwives board for Scotland shows a thistle ( for Scotland) 3 Oyster catchers (birds) associated with St Bride the Scottish saint  of fertility and 1 dove for care & attention. There is a phoenix on the Coventry badge to show its history finding the bombings during WW2 - the phoenix represents the re-building of the city.( the bombed out Cathedral is well worth a visit)
The Southampton eye hospital shows a symbolic eagle with drops of red enamel. The red enamel is the heraldic representation for surgery and the eagle is  a reference to the wonderful eyesight of birds of prey. The tree shown on the Orthpoaedic Cert and diploma badges is a plane and represents the one that Hippocrates stood under -its also linked to the badges of Orthpaedic associations. The white rose of Yorkshire is shown on their Woodlands Orthopaedic hospital badge. A white york rose can be found on the princess Elizabeth ortho hospital  in honour of the then Duchess of york ( late Queen Mother) A green leaved tree on the Wolverhampton & counties eye badge represents the fruit growing region of Worcestershire
And finally ...... a competition was held in 1968 for a design for the newly  amalgamated Rowley Bristow Ortho hosp. Its winning designer was Miss M Burnett a secretary and shows a horse chestnut leaf - which represented the avenue of horse chestnut trees that led to the hospital.
sue :D

[wilfb]

Sue, this series is a big plus for our board. I do hope that your 'And finally' doesn't mean the end of your posts on this particular topic. 'Design in history' is particularly good - lacking only what the board itself can't provide - the graphics which could illustrate your work.

We could perhaps add your material here to an illustrated page on the main site? Or perhaps you can publish in one of the main nursing journals... Eric Wilkinson from nursing badges (also a forum member here - 'eric') has just published an illustrated article on Northern Irish badges in a nursing magazine which we are hoping to add to the main SoN site. I for one really would like to see your posts in an article on SoN pages.

And more of the present if possible...

WB.

[nursesue]

no - the "and finally" was just for that piece. I don't want them to be too long or boring so that they lose the readers interest!! My next piece will be on myths and legends!!!! This way I can use the red dragons of Wales well they didn't exist so I couldn't really mention them with the animals of my last piece however tempting. I suppose on that theory the Coventry phoenix shouldn't have been included.  Ah well too late..........
sue :-*
ps I have been thinking about publishing an article - but don't know where to begin 

[backman]

  Great work Sue,Keep it up!

  Unidentified plants on badges-Peterborough and Stamford,possibly a Foxglove ?
                                         -All Hallows Ditchingham

  Others -Wokingham Hospital -Acorn and foliage
            -Very much in the Worcestershire vein Dudley and Stourbridge feature a Pear
            -Southend badges often feature Lilies
            -Barnet Area SOM -Acorn
            -Acton Hospital-Oak sprig and acorns
            -Fulham and Kensington-Oak leaves
            -Of course plently of Rose designs feature from assorted hospitals from Yorkshire,Lancashire and Hampshire
            -assorted Chester badges-sheaves of wheat
            -Chesterfield- Pomegranite
            -Crawley-Oak leaves
            -Shelton Hospital Shrewsbury-Tree of indeterminate nature!