My mother Ida Wilson (nee Colclough) was born in Thornaby in June 1926. She trained as a State Registered Nurse at Stockton & Thornaby Hospital qualifiying in 1948. She moved to West Hartlepool in 1950 after her marriage and returned to nursing in 1967 at St. Hilda’s Hospital moving to The General Hospital from which she retired in 1984. These three photographs were taken during her time at Stockton & Thornaby Hospital. The first shows Nurses Fairy, Colclough (my mum), Hopper and Swales in 1947. The second Nurses Colclough, Pace, Fairy and Swales c1947 and the third Nurses Colclough, Gustiavson, Dr Roberts and Nurse Horley, June 1948.
Photographs and details courtesy of Christine Wilson.
Picture Stockton Archive 
My mum was a nurse cadet at 15 here. Would love to see some old photos of the cadets.
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My mother worked as a theatre nurse and later midwife at Stockton and Thornaby hospital around 1945-50. She had trained in London during WWII but returned to Teesside to help care for her sick stepmother. The original posters mother may have known her as Nurse Stewart. She met my father Dr George Hardie at the hospital where he was doing his post graduate training before becoming a GP. They married in 1951 and after a brief spell in general practice in Perth they also moved to west Hartlepool in about 1953 and practiced there until 1964. If other posters have any memories of either or both of them I would be delighted to hear from them.
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I worked with a wonderful S.E.N. nurse called Nurse Macklam. We nursed the Stockton jeweller Mr Woodroof.
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I recognised the name nurse Fairy here. My late grandma Sybil Mary Hillman SRN worked here with them xxx she would love this x
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I was an Auxiliary nurse at Stockton and Thornaby Hospital. Enjoyed my time there. Sandra Dover
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My mother was a sister at Portrack Hospital in the late 50’s and 60’s and worked with a nurse Swales. Wonder if it was the same one?
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There is something nostalgic about the days when nurses wore smart white uniforms and little hats. It is notable that the habit of doctors putting their hands in their pockets hasn’t changed. I started school in 1947 and remember being told-off for putting my hands in my pockets. What school did doctors go to in those days?
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Roy, also the colour of their blouses told you their status and what they did in the ward. Shoes were polished stockings straight, no wrinkles and like the nurses of today they were efficient hard working Ladies, unlike today they worked normal shift hours.
Doctors probably thought keeping hands in pockets stopped the spread of disease as I do not remember any sort of gloves during my spells in the Hospital.
Nursing was a profession in those times, during my recent holidays in North Tees I saw overworked people who had to take a lot of hassle from patients who thought they had the right to demand personal service, I am afraid my temper would have got the better of me had I been in the Nurses place but no, they took it smiled and carried on with the wonderful service they have always given.
I take my hat off to them all.
Frank.
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