The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Student nurses reunited after 50 years
There were smiles all round as a party of former nurses gathered for a reunion - 50 years to the day since they started their initial training.
The happy occasion at the Bull Hotel in Peterborough was organised by Lesley Smith and Terry Foster, who both started their nursing careers at the training school, based at the old Memorial Hospital, on September 17, 1967.
They were joined by members of their training group - and others who started throughout the same year and partners for the Golden Anniversary occasion.
Lesley said the reunions started in 1978, by which time the group had spread far and wide. They continued every five years with the 50th being an extra special milestone.
She was part of the nursing team which moved into the new District Hospital on Thorpe Road in 1968 and, prior to retiring two years ago, relocated to the new City Hospital site at Bretton Gate.
Lesley, who lives at Stilton, said her former colleagues had travelled from all over England for the reunion, with two also flying in from America.
“There were some great photographs on display and there was a lot of chat about the good old days - although at the time, 50 years ago, they didn’t always seem that good.
“It is hard to believe it is 50 years since we first walked into the hospital.”