Ann unearths angels of the ’20s

THERE haven’t been a great number of benefits of spending the best part of year in lockdown, but every cloud, as they say, has a silver lining.

Finds

And one plus side has been the opportunity to do a bit of tidying up and sorting out, as reader Ann Yarnold, who made the wonderful finds pictured here, told us recently:

“On having a clear out, as many of us are doing in these strange times, I came across these old sepia pictures of glamorous nurses from the 1920s.

“My grandmother, Edith Hallden, née Preston (born 1900) worked at the Walsall General (Sister Dora) hospital as a Ward Maid.

Notebook

“My mother, Edith Jones, née Hallden, recalls a notebook at home which was full of notes her mother had written and believes she was probably training to be a nurse.

“The pictures are likely to be of friends Edith senior made at Sister Dora, but sadly we don’t know who they are. One says ‘Sincere Regards, Elsie, 1924’ and a second picture also has an inscription but

isn’t so clear to read. The name may also be Elsie.

“Even if readers don’t recognise any of these Nightingales of the roaring 1920s, the pictures, especially the pictures with their young patients, may be of interest from a social aspect.”

We’re hopeful that some of our readers with family connections to Walsall will recognise a mother, grandmother or aunt among these young nurses. If you do, please email gjones@blackcoun trybugle.co.uk, call 01384 880531, or write to us at the addess on page 2.

Get everything you need to know about where you live with our app or via Inyourarea. co.uk

A nurse from Walsall General Hospital, also known as the Sister Dora

Do you recognise a relative among these four nurses?

Nurses and their patients at Walsall General Hospital

Right: Another of the mystery nurses

Left: Do you recognise this Walsall nurse?

Another friend of Edith Hallden

Signed by Elsie in 1924