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THE HISTORY GIRLS
THE HISTORY GIRLS
By Garrick Prayogg
‘We have built the NHS because we were committed to our work and our nursing careers’. So said one of thousands of Caribbean nurses who responded to the call for workers to come to Britain.
years ago, there were very few Black people in the UK, particularly in smaller towns. Many nurses moved to cities like Liverpool, which already had African, Asian and Caribbean populations.
My own family came to the UK during the 1950s. As a child I got off the plane to freezing weather! I’d never worn a hat or gloves before – I’d never seen snow. But we were warmly welcomed and as the first Black family in Wallasey we have always felt part of our community.
not recognised back home, and they knew they would not qualify for senior posts.
Not everyone had the same experience. Caribbean nurses were well respected by the people they cared for, but there were also examples of abuse and accusations by employers with lower pay and grades than qualifications merited, and by the public and local service providers. Although the Windrush 75th anniversary will be widely celebrated, there will always be a mark of sadness that Windrush generations suffered years of hostility and injustice.
It was becoming wives and mothers that made most Caribbean nurses settle in England. Some had planned to go home but the State Enrolled Nurse (SEN) qualification was
Many Jamaican nurses left their homes lured by the promise of higher education, the chance to support communities back home, and to dedicate their careers here to helping underserved communities of colour. Following in the footsteps of Mary Seacole, who treated the wounded during the Crimean War, and bound together, they founded the Nurses Association of Jamaica.
preserve their history before it was lost to time. The research and writing process was intense; they worked tirelessly gathering archives and anecdotes and spent countless hours drafting their book: ‘Unity is Strength’.
Publishers Story Terrace helped document their unique history in a way that would connect with readers. Paulette recalls:
“The goal was to try to tell the story differently, to make it much more real.” It is real. It may be 75 years old – but their story will live on forever.
• Garrick Prayogg is a Mersey Care Public Governor (Rest of England and Wales). Includes excerpts and adaptations from ‘Unity is Strength’.
As years passed, and with dwindling numbers, a group of members decided to
Nurses Association of Jamaica: naj.org.uk
Pictured: Members of the NAJ honour Mary Seacole, a Jamaican nurse who served in the Crimean War. Dorothy Turner (second left) was a midwife and founding member in 1977 and former midwife Paulette Lewis, MBE (second right) is the current president.
