Nursing Alumnae of Queen Mary's Hospital for Children

Mary Dechant nee Carr writes:

Hi I was a patient at QM for many years and remeber very well Billy Cotton coming to see us children regulaly (senoir) as he is now. Acually I dont know if he is still alive., I think his son Billy Cotton junior is now head of the BBC.

I also sang a Christmas carole on a show broadcast from there in 1952 on Christmas day and I still have the newspaper cutting from that. We would have lots of celebrities of that time come to visit us.

It's taken me forever to find this site-I guess my computer skills are a bit wanting.

I've been looking for Christine Emery since about 1972, via telephone directories, etc. I've also looked for Prisca Campbell, without success. Does anyone know how to get in touch with them?

I'll be in England From December until about April 2009, and would be happy to meet anyone who still remembers me!

You know what, you can only share so much with your children about "what Mum did as child" without them getting bored with the subject, and as I don't have any siblings the only other people other than my mum that can share my memories ( and of course my Dad, who passed away 10 years ago) The obvious people are the ones that I shared six years of probably the most sensitive and growing years of my life. They were definitely the most powerful and had the most influence in my way of thinking about how wonderful human life, and human beings are.

Mary Dechant nee Carr writes:

Does the "visitors" book that was just inside the church door still exist?
I remember vividly the day my mum and dad signed it. We had just had a
picnic on the grass outside during a Sunday afternoon 2hr. visit.

Other things that come to mind are visits during the winter when I was on
a carriage (traction) for two years, and my mum tells me she used to pray
that I would be in the ward, or the day room ,when she arrived like most
of the other girls were, but I was still outside and couldn't bear to be

Mary Dechant Re Carr writes:

I was "on" ward E1 as a three year old, and on ward D1 in the 1950s. most
of my childhood memories are of the staff who I loved as my family, and to
this day still talk about them, and refer to Queen Marys as "my" hosp.

Miss Stratton and Miss Davis were my school teachers, Lovely, Sister May Massey
was my other mother, and some of the nurses were just my heroes and doubled
up as aunts, big sisters etc. If they were going out to a special "do"
they would come back to the ward in the evening and show us what they were
wearing.