I Will Remember Your Face

Edie reminiscing about her days as a nurse: ""Since I was at school, all I ever wanted to be was a nurse. I remember reading books when I was quite young, mainly about missionary work. I read about a couple of ladies who had given most of their lives to working in areas that needed help, especially abroad, and I used to think that I’d really like to do that, I’d really like to help people. During the war, when I was still in school, I read about girls my age in war-torn places like Poland and France. I dreamed of helping people in such dire situations, but being very young, I was unable to start my training then. //// Later on, when I started a family, I was running the house as there was no childcare available in those days. Most women didn't work as they do now; they stayed at home with their children. However, I discussed with my husband the possibility of undertaking some training if I were accepted. He supported the idea, saying, 'Go ahead, if you get the chance, I'm with you on that.' I couldn't have done it without him. After three years of training, I qualified as a staff nurse in the children's ward and then became a ward sister in the female orthopaedic ward. Later on, I moved from York to the East Coast, and shortly after that, I got a job as a district nurse, where I stayed for 25 years. I didn't retire until I was sixty-nine, and I loved every minute of it."