And then we went to war: Part Two

The remaining ten of the former pupils undertaking war work were all involved in nursing in some capacity.

Margaret Josephine Bailey is recorded in the 1911 census as a nurse and, as she left school in 1901, had probably been nursing for some time before the war began. During it, she was a ward sister at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Boscombe. Built in the 1880s, this hospital in Shelley Rd continued to serve the community. A question raised in parliament in 1965 notes that the accommodation falls short of the standard but that “in the long term, it is intended that the Royal Victoria Hospital should be replaced by a district general hospital.” http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1965/jul/19/royal-victoria-hospital-boscombe. It was certainly a long term solution – the hospital was not finally replaced until 1993! Margaret did not live to see it. Although she lived to be 85, the hospital, built at about the time she was born, lasted until its 11th decade.

And then we went to war: Part One

A number of former pupils undertook war work in WW1. This information comes from various sources, most notably from the Old Masonic Girls’ Association magazine, Massonica (now Masonica with a single s). However, one case in particular, that of Dorothy Watson, comes from an entirely different source which may suggest that there are other examples of war work that have either gone unrecorded or are recorded in non-central places yet to be discovered.

These postings look at the various kinds of war work former pupils undertook.