Arrival | Heart of the Nation

Credit: Daily Herald Archive / National Science & Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

Nurses and doctors arrived with very different levels of experience. Some were already specialists in their field. Others came for postgraduate qualification, or to begin their training from scratch.

Although many new arrivals had prior knowledge and connections, the experience of arrival was still often a shock. Many intended to come for training and further qualifications and did not intend to stay. Others did not come to the UK with the intention of working in healthcare – but ended up finding roles within the NHS upon arrival.

Expectations vs. reality

When we got here we had white porters to pick up our luggage and that was one of the first shocks. In Guyana, all the white people that we came into contact with spoke like Prince Charles and they were in very high positions.

Lynette Richards-Lorde
Arrived from Guyana (formerly British Guiana) in 1959

Dr Hargundas Khanchandani

"Dad started out working in a hospital in Wales. He was the only Indian in the town, he was obviously the only Indian doctor. For all of his life, he loved Wales."

Arrived from India in 1954

Image courtesy Dr Raj Khanchandani

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Mae Appleton

“We had our own room but we couldn’t sleep because it was very cold. We left the Philippines in the 30s and 40s and we came in here and it was below zero. I was crying because I couldn’t get warm and then I had to wear socks, pyjamas and a hat and gloves in bed.”

Arrived from the Philippines in 1969

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Dr Elif Ezgi

“It’s a completely different system, a completely different culture. Putting aside being a cardiologist I was questioning myself, my abilities, my knowledge, because it’s weird in the beginning. But then I think it made me even stronger, I adapted quite quickly. In a couple of months, I was okay.”

Arrived from Turkey in 2018

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Ethel Corduff

"I had hardly ever handled a baby but I found I was expected to feed, change, and observe them without orientation. It was July and so very hot. We had to wear masks all the time. The smell of urine and faeces penetrated the mask. I was so homesick, some nights I cried so much I could hardly sleep."

Arrived from Ireland in 1964

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Mathias Banzi

"I am a refugee from Rwanda. I didn’t know anything about the UK or anyone here. I felt completely isolated. I couldn’t communicate. I used to spend hours at the market, because I couldn’t understand the labels and what I had to buy. I knew I had to adapt myself."

Arrived from Rwanda in 2002

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Life in the
nurses home

Most overseas nurses found accommodations in Nurses Homes on the grounds of the hospitals where they did their training. Often, especially in the early years of the NHS, there were strict rules around behaviour, but people found opportunities to let loose and make friends.

Courtesy Simon Fuchs

You had to be in by 10.30 pm and if you had a late pass you could be in for 11.30 pm. You never, ever called a nurse by her Christian name. I remember being very soundly told off for whistling on one occasion by the sister tutor. She said, ‘If we colonial nurses are going to behave like that she didn’t know if she’ll have any more of us.'

Lena Hunt
Arrived from St Kitts in 1948

Lay staff canteen, the London Hospital, Whitechapel, c.1950s © Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums

The food was something else. I remember the first time I had steak and kidney pie. I can still smell the wee in the pie! On Fridays we used to have fish and chips. It looked lovely, brown and nice but there was no seasoning. I used to live on cheese and biscuits. Of course I put on a lot of weight!

Lynette Richards-Lorde
Arrived from Guyana (formerly British Guiana) in 1959

The nurses home was very isolated but as there were so many Irish, it was homely. They had a social club where dances were held and a crowd of us used to go to New Cross to The Harp Dance Hall. I met my husband who is from County Tyrone at a dance in West Croydon. I stayed in the nurses home until I got married.

Helen
Arrived from Ireland in 1969

Galtymore Dance Hall in Cricklewood

I always made sure I was invited out. We went to house parties most of the time in places like Wood Green, Tottenham, Golders Green, Brixton and Croydon. We danced to R&B and reggae. We went to clubs like the Cue Club in Paddington and Hammersmith Palais and concerts in places like Wembley Arena, Ronnie Scott’s, the Odeon Hammersmith or Finsbury Park.

Image: Allyson Williams MBE

When we worked late on Saturday night and early on Sunday morning, we still went out. We would party all night and return to the Nurses Home about 6am, shower and then go on duty for 7am. We got dressed up to the hilt when we went out. I came with suitcases of clothes that my Mum made for me. My fashion statement was wearing a wig which I set with rollers in different styles.

Allyson Williams MBE
Arrived from Trinidad in 1969

International students outside the Royal College of Nursing, 1957 Credit: Nursing Times, image courtesy Royal College of Nursing Archives

Training

Almost all new arrivals had to do additional training in the UK, regardless of whether or not they already had experience. Some had to change course because their qualifications earned overseas weren’t recognised. Others faced barriers because of their nationality or race. For many, the experience was gruelling.

There were horrendous hours. You had to do three split duties and two earlies and two days off. The split duty started at 7.30 in the morning, you would work until 10.30 or 11.00. Then you had a break and you’d come back at 1.00 pm and work until 9pm. I remember my feet were sore and I went and talked to the Sister and she said I should rub my feet with methylated spirits to harden my feet up.

Dr Neslyn Watson-Druée
Arrived from Jamaica in 1969

Nurses training at Royal London Hospital. Courtesy: Hornsey Journal.

Gulzar Waljee

"I went to Matron’s office. She said: 'I had two girls from Tanzania before you and they both failed their final exam. If you fail, I will stop taking girls from Tanzania.' So I worked hard for my exams, as I knew that if I failed, I would jeopardise the future for Tanzanian girls."

As a student nurse, you were at the bottom of the hierarchy, and that was everybody whether you were black, white, pink or whatever. You knew you were black and an immigrant but this was secondary to the fact that you were in an environment to learn to do something. And that's what you were supposed to concentrate on.

Leila Phillips
Arrived from Guyana (formerly British Guiana) in 1951

Credit: The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, Farnborough Hospital

We worked an average of 100 hours a week

Dr Nayyar Naqvi OBE
Arrived from Pakistan in 1968

Training

I was going for a training post in neurosurgery in the UK and I was interviewed by three senior consultant neurosurgeons. All three went very quiet for a minute and they went, ‘You have more experience in trauma neurosurgery than the three of us put together'.

Dr Muhayman Jamil
Arrived from Iraq in 1990

I had adequate training in obstetrics and gynaecology in India but that wasn't recognised here. I had no option to go through the training to be a consultant. I decided to make a career change rather than be a middle grade position in OB GYN. So I started a career in general practice.

Dr Veena Rao
Arrived from India in 1987

I was a radiographer in Saudi Arabia for nine years. In the UK, I tried to apply to be a radiographer, but they said that I’d have to go to university for two years. I couldn't afford tuition fees at the same time as paying my rent. So I decided to stay as a porter.

Petronio Demillo
Arrived from the Philippines in 2003

Next Chapter

On the job

Continue

Expectations vs. reality

Dr Hargundas Khanchandani

Mae Appleton

Dr Elif Ezgi

Ethel Corduff

Mathias Banzi

Life in the nurses home

Training

Gulzar Waljee

Training

On the job

Life in the
nurses home