sets of badges

[nursesue]

Great news letter Wilf and just love those hats.  Mike, I know, collects sets that are belonging to the same nurse If i get a same nurse set then i tend to keep them together. I am trying to currently get a set of Scottish registered nurse badges and am just missing the RMND ( and the reg male nurse!) I have had hard fought battles trying to match up groups of the same hospital and in paticular collecting scottish badges Recently missed out on the Dumfries ( for the 2nd time) as its price went a bit to far for me. The seller previously outbid me on this one the 1st time round.
I also like to get the matching SRN and SEN badge from the same hospital, like many others I have had to sell badges to raise funds for others especially at the moment as they are commanding high prices again. Oh and the Edinburgh Chalmers only acquired from "out bid rage" but neverthe less a weighty solid piece which I love....
As for repros well i have some of these and I know that they're not original but enjoy them all the same - especially the prices. They are of good quality and the seller is very good
sue x ;D

[wilfb]

Hi Sue.

Thanks for that. We do try - and the support and contributions of members makes it all worthwhile.  Your own contributions are by no means insignificant. Comments massaging my ego will always be well received!

I know what you mean. Getting a complete set of Scottish badges is traumatic... My own efforts are for a Scottish enrolled assistant nurse badge, maybe one day the gods will lend a hand. I am wondering about the Edinburgh Chalmers 'out bid rage'?.....

The repro's are a fact of life in any field of collecting. The subject of our next article. I don't want to pre-empt that (mentioned in the news) except to say that it is imminent.

Thanks again for you kind comments - may the sun shine on your Scottish collecting.

W. x

[Persis]

Hello,Nursesue.
When you say 'repros' do you mean it is possible to obtain reproduction badges.If it is not against the rules where does one get 'repro badges'?
Best Wishes.
P

[nursesue]

yes repros means reproductions There's a great guy on ebay who sells repro mental hospital badges - he's got 2 on at the moment at £5 and a set starting at £30. If you're after a paticular badge you could always email him He also is a member of the derelict places site and sometimes lists badges for sale on that site
Wilf "outbid rage" is a term my mate Lee and I coined - its when you set a limit on what you're going to bid an a badge on ebay but somebody keeps outbidding you - then you get angry and have to have it and far exceed your limit!!!!

[smutters]

Aaaahh yes... outbid rage!!! A very dangerous condition that often leaves the sufferer with a bad case of "skintagainitis"  ;D

[backman]

No, Can't say I've ever suffered from that condition,although I understand that part of the symptoms include a retrograde amnesia that allows you to forget that you shouldn't have bid that high and that you won't do it again!!!!!

[Persis]

 'We and Ours to God' - Plaistow Trained nurse.

I recently aquired a Plaistow Trained Nurse Badge on a Ribbon.Can anyone tell me when these Badges first were issued?

[backman]

The simple response is that I don't know which is the fact for an awful lot of nursing badges.Unless a badge is silver and hallmarked ,or engraved with the award date to the rear,or the history of the badge has been recorded for posterity then much dating is a matter of educated guesswork.I know that Jennifer MegLaughlin when writing her reference book did correspond with many of the original Schools of Nursing to identify the known history of each badge and some of this information was in her records which were passed on to the RCN.With the closure of these original SoN much of this history appears to have been lost and hence this and other groups attempts to preserve and record these details.I believe part of any photographic archive should be to try and identify the dates of issue of the different variants of badge but this isn't always possible.Perhaps a first step may be for members to add known dates to the images in our photofiles?
As far as the Plaistow badge it is one of the earlier issued badges and was certainly in use circa 1910 as I was lucky enough to acquire a range of ephemera whch includes a photograph of a nurse wearing hers!
see;   http://nursinghistory.multiply.com/photos/album/1/Nurses_#photo=32

[wilfb]

Peter is absolutely correct regarding lacking information - especially date information, about a great deal of our history.

In our collection of nursing badges there are over 2.000 items in the nursing badge history section. Adding date information is high on our list, as well as other basic facts about these items - metals; weights and so on...  As only Administrators and Moderators have the ability to change details on the photographs after upload (anyone can upload) extra facts - but only accurate facts will be much appreciated. 'Educated guesses' are fine - but please state them as such - it stops me for example, cross refrerencing up blind alleys!

We are currently working very hard on the database concerning the geograpical location of each badge - the search facility on the 'National' nursing badge collection. As soon as that is more or less complete, badge weights and metals used will be next... But please keep the badge photo's coming - it doesn't seem that long ago that one member 'Eric' wondered via email when the 500th badge photo would arrive (I wondered whether it ever would !) - but we are now over 2.000 - do I hear 2500? 3000 maybe?! Please Don't stop now....

[Persis]

Thanks forthe comments,Backman,wilfb,on the Plaistow Badge.Most educational an informative.Especially the Nurses photographic site.
Persis

[sjchong]

Dear Sue and Wilf,
I have been blown away by the passion you all show for badges. Here is Australia, badges are still not recognised as an artifact from within the culture of nursing. For the last 12 months I have been trying to complete my honours thesis on the badges of Tasmania, their history and symbolism. I am hoping to take this to a PhD which will include the whole of Australia, but this may be a long way off yet.
Australian Schools of Nursing/Universities no longer award a badge upon graduation, therefore the hospital and state  badges are becoming rare and the history of those individual badges and the memories and emotions they evoke are are becoming lost. Its my aim to capture those stories before they become extinct. No one in Australia has written a history about Australian badges, so this is why I am attempting to have a go.
Thanks for the website and the opportunity to post, it's just fantastic.
From a warm and suuny Aussie morning, have a lovely day.
Cheers
Sarah

[wilfb]

Hello Sarah.

Thank you for your kind comments - they are much appreciated.

You are a star attempting this thesis. Without our nusing/hospital badge heritage in the UK I believe that much of our nursing history would have been a lost cause. You have our full support - it is difficult to know what we can do to help, but all you have to do is to ask. No doubt Sue will tell you the same. But the real villains of this site are people like Peter (backman), Eric (Eric), Barry (barrysutton) and several others who are serious collectors of nursing badges. They have extensive collections and expertise which they have freely provided and shared with us - to say nothing of their valued support.

Our articles (Sue; Edelweiss James; my own) are also very badge-related so far, and the first nurse-history - Mollie Watkin - has an decent collection of her own therein , plus military badges given to her by wounded soldiers (some possibly Australian) et all. This link takes you to Mollie's personal collection of badges and artifacts - clicking the 'Next' link  at the bottom of that page takes you to her military badges:-

http://www.schoolsofnursing.co.uk/Articles/MollieWatkin/MollieWatkin6.htm

There is also an academic website run by Fran Biley (another contributor and nursing historian par excellence) which might be useful to you... His post and link are here:

http://www.schoolsofnursing.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=162.msg753#msg753

I will come back here and add a couple of links Sarah - unless one of our contributors gets there first...

And please, whatever, keep us informed. Your contributions are seriously valuable.

Very Best.
Will.

[backman]

 Well done Sarah and very good luck with your project,I'm sure many of us here and on partner sites would be fascinated to see any details once completed.
I would largely echo many of the comments from Will but I too believe that the history of nursing badges both here and abroad largely reflects the corresponding history of nurse training .I  do know that there are several collectors of nursing badges across the globe who share the passion to keep their history alive and am quite amazed at just how well travelled some badges are( I have just recently purchased a Poplar hospital badge from Australia).
Welcome to the group and we look forward to further contributions !

[eric]

Sarah,
     Would love to read your thesis sometime. Back in late 90's a Paul Martin wrote his thesis on "Popular collecting and the Everyday Self: the reinvention of the museums" 1999, London, Leicester University Press  / Cassell.
I understand he also did his PhD entitled "The Trade Union Badge: Material Culture In Action". Maybe was other way round; anyway both are available via interlibrary loan but I have have an abstract that Paul sent me on these books which will email you if you want. Let me know.

Like rest of my friends on this site, I wish you well in your thesis and hope sometime to read it. While I collect Irish badges but it seems all countries in the world (from Ireland to Australia), the hospitals are no longer producing badges and hence will only take a generation of nurses to lose the 'identity' and 'symbolism' that badges engendered. I agree this aspect of nursing history does need more attention and we wish you well in your studies and endeavour to document this part of nurses' history.

Please do keep us informed of progress.

Best wishes

eric

[barrysutton]

Hello All,
I think Sarah that your thesis is a wonderful topic the one item I have in my collection that may be of intrest is my Princess Christian's Army Nursing Service Reserve badge number 844 - all those who where issued badges went to the 'Boer War' in South Africa - P.C.A.N.S.R. existed from 1896-1907, however I digress, although I can't currently remember the reciepant of this badge I do remember that she was listed as the only nurse who had trained in Tasmania - a complete list of all who served in the P.C.A.N.S.R. is currently held at the Royal Army Medical Services museum at Keogh Barracks, Ash Vale, Hampshire the current curator being Capt. P. Starling.
Also this lady did survive her experiences in South Africa.
All the best,
ODPBarry