Mildred Hughes (nurse)
Mildred Hughes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1890 |
| Died | 1972 (aged 81–82) |
| Occupation | Matron |
| Employer | Leicester Royal Infirmary |
| Organization | Royal College of Nursing |
Mildred Florence Hughes MBE (17 April 1890 – 17 September 1972) was a British nurse who served as matron of Leicester Royal Infirmary from 1929 to 1946, head sister-in-chief of the Naval Nursing Service from 1929 to 1934 and president of the Royal College of Nursing from 1944 to 1946.[1]
Hughes was born in Great Torrington, Devon, on 17 April 1890.[2] Her parents were Frederick Charles Hughes, a Baptist minister and Henrietta, who were listed on the 1891 census, living in Blisworth, Northamptonshire.[3]
Training and career
Hughes started training in 1910 at the Evelina London Children's Hospital and Guy's Hospital, qualifying in 1917.[1][4][5] She was amongst the first wave of qualified nurses who registered with the General Nursing Council for England and Wales - she became registrant 7185 on 22nd September 1922.[5] She subsequently became ward sister and night sister at Guy's Hospital.[1] She was Matron of the Infants Hospital, Westminster, from 1922 until her appointment to Leicester in 1929. during her time there she qualified with a Diploma in Children's Nursing from the University of London in 1928.[2]
She spent most of her career, nearly twenty years, as matron of Leicester Royal Infirmary from 1929 until her retirement in 1946.[1] She was President of the Leicester Royal Infirmary Nurses' League from February 1934[2] and was an active member of Soroptimist International in Leicester.[2]
Royal College of Nursing
Hughes was a committed active member of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). She joined as a newly qualified nurse in 1918 as member 10254.[4] From 1933 she was elected an RCN council member.[2] Hughes was appointed to the Nurses Salaries Committee by Rushcliffe[1] where she represented the RCN 1941-1943.[6][7] She was President of the RCN for two years (1944-1946),[1] and upon retirement became Chair of the RCN Council from 1947-1949[1]
Retirement and death
In retirement she also became an Inspector of Nurse Training Schools for the General Nursing Council for England and Wales.[1] She was also nominated by the Prince of Wales Hospital Nurses League to become a Vice President of the National Council of Nurses of the United Kingdomin 1946.[2] She was well known in Leicester for her work for the British Red Cross[1] and was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1964 New Years Honours for her services to them.[8]
She died in Leicester on 17 September 1972[9] [1] with a memorial service on 26 October held in the hospital chapel of Leicester Royal Infirmary.[1]
Legacy
In 1973 the Leicester Royal Infirmary Nurses’ League announced their intention to donate a memorial window in the hospital chapel.[1] The stained glass window was subsequently installed 'north to south', depicting Saint Ursula with a nurse in uniform protected beneath St Ursula's gown, with the inscription 'Mildred Florence Hughes Matron Leicester Royal Infirmary 1929-45'. A brass plaque was inscribed 'This window was given in memory of Mildred Florence Hughes by members of the Leicester Royal Infirmary Nurses’ League and other friends'.[10]
The chapel was subsequently removed, but this stained glass was saved and moved to the Odames Library in the Hospital[11]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Obituaries". Nursing Times. 68 (42). 19 Oct 1972.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hughes; Mildred Florence (fl 1890-1972); nurse leader". rcn.epexio.com. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
- ↑ Census (England and Wales). HMSO (Available via Ancestry. 1891.
- 1 2 Register of Nurses. London: Royal College of Nursing. 1918.
- 1 2 Register of Nurses. General Nursing Council for England and Wales. 1923.
- ↑ First Report Of Nurses Salaries Committee Salaries And Emoluments Of Female Nurses In Hospitals. London: HMSO. 1943.
- ↑ Second Report of Nurses Salaries Committee Salaries and Emoluments of Male Nurses, Public Health Nurses, District Nurses And State Registered Nurses In Nurseries. HMSO. 1943.
- ↑ "Page 17 | Supplement 43200, 31 December 1963 | Lond..." The Gazette. Archived from the original on 2023-04-30. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
- ↑ "Deaths". The Times (London). No. 58583. 19 September 1972.
- ↑ Sharpling, Paul. "Gazetteer of the Stained Glass in Leicestershire Churches" (PDF).
- ↑ Thomson, Aidan McRae (2015-04-28), St Ursula Window, retrieved 2026-04-08