Badges of Eileen Willis

Nursing badges and belt buckles belong to Eileen Willis.

Eileen Winifred Willis was born in London around 1920. The daughter of a middle class family, she was educated in a convent school until the age of 18 when, inspired by Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, she joined the Red Cross as a mobile VAD. Her parents objected to nursing as a career for her. Willis was called up at the declaration of war in 1939 and posted to the Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, Millbank. With several others, she was detailed to clear up the London Orphan School in Watford prior to the transfer of Millbank Hospital to that location. Having been encouraged by qualified nurse colleagues to take training herself, she left at the beginning of 1943 and enrolled for general training at the Westminster Hospital (trained 1943-1946, GNC registration number 140598).

Eileen Winifred Willis was born in London around 1920. The daughter of a middle class family, she was educated in a convent school until the age of 18 when, inspired by Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, she joined the Red Cross as a mobile VAD. Her parents objected to nursing as a career for her. Willis was called up at the declaration of war in 1939 and posted to the Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, Millbank. With several others, she was detailed to clear up the London Orphan School in Watford prior to the transfer of Millbank Hospital to that location. Having been encouraged by qualified nurse colleagues to take training herself, she left at the beginning of 1943 and enrolled for general training at the Westminster Hospital (trained 1943-1946, GNC registration number 140598).

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact the RCN Archives in advance of their first visit.

Royal College of Nursing

Miss Willis originally had these recollections and diary extracts on scraps of paper. When preparing to be interviewed for the Royal College of Nursing Oral History Project in 1998, she decided to write all the information out, photocopy it, and give it to the interviewer to be placed in the RCN Archives. It was instead kept with the interview paperwork, having perhaps been mistaken for an interview log. The photocopied recollections only came to light again when the interview recording was used by Barbara Mortimer for her book, 'Sisters' (2012). Following the interview, Miss Willis had destroyed her original notes, so this photocopied version remains the only copy.

T/147 oral history interview