Midwifery-related material belonging to Dinah Holt; 1943-1973

Material belonging to Dinah Holt (later Dinah Dowdeswell), relating mostly to her midwifery training at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, in the 1940s.

Notebook of lecture notes on Nursing from Preliminary Training School, April 1944;

Notebook of lecture notes on Anatomy from Preliminary Training School, April 1944;

Notebook of lecture notes on Physiology from Preliminary Training School, April 1944;

Notebook of lecture notes on Infant Care and Anatomy, including some loose inserts;

Notebook of midwifery class notes;

Case books and case registers, containing details of individual patients, 1940s-1970s;

Loose handwritten notes and articles from publications;

Loughborough High School magazine, June 1946;

News from the Nurses' League, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, 1970 (including a handwritten letter in the front);

Nurses' League Journal, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, 1954 and 1957;

3 copies of the Second Edition of a brochure about the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 1943, 2 containing loose inserts;

Letters written by Dinah to her parents during her training, 1944-1949.

Dinah Mary Joyce Holt (later Dowdeswell) was born 21 May 1926, Toothill Road, Loughborough, to parents Lord Clifford Holt and Constance Mary Joyce. After attaining her Oxford School Certificate at Loughborough High School, Dinah went to Radmoor Nursing Home to gain pre-nursing experience. She trained to become a State Registered Nurse at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, 1944-1948. Dinah then went to Queen Charlotte's Hospital, London, for her Part I Midwifery training, Jun-Dec 1948, followed by training at Welwyn Garden City and the King's Cross/St Pancras, London for her Part II Midwifery.

Dinah worked as a midwife at Fielding Johnson Hospital, Leicester, and Cantonal General Hospital, Geneva, in general nursing at the Women's Hospital, Peel Street, Nottingham, and as Staff Midwife at Loughborough Hospital. She married Dennis Alan Dowdeswell 27 Mar. 1952 and had three daughters and two sons. Dinah went back to midwifery in 1971, then changed to general nursing and occupational health between 1973 and 1986, including working at Barclays Bank, and Chester Hospital.

Dinah moved to Kenilworth to retire in 1986 where she volunteered for puppy walking for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. During her life, she was also a member of the Ladies Circle in Loughborough, the Women's Institute at Over Peover, and the Inner Wheel Club where she was Vice President in 1985 and on the Committee for many years. She died in November 2017.

The collection has been divided into series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically where possible.

The bulk of the collection is accessible to all readers. However, access to some items is restricted under current Data Protection legislation. Please see our Access Policy or contact us for further advice.

Copyright in all finding aids belongs to The University of Nottingham. Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections.

Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in writing on our Permission to Publish form (see the Reprographics Services part of our website or email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk)

Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

Donated by Helen Percival, daughter of Dinah Holt. The collection was first given to the Department of Midwifery at the University of Nottingham, and in 2022 was handed over to MSC by Joanne Foster, Assistant Professor of Midwifery.