Boer War Nurse Uniform belonging to Polly England
| Number | AMHAM: OBJECT.1265.5 |
|---|---|
| Date | End of 1800s to beginning of 1900s |
| About this object | Scottish-born Mary ‘Polly’ England trained as a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital, before she served as a sister in the Army Nursing Service during the second Boer War. She would have worn this red cape as part of her uniform whilst she was serving. She was a pioneer, one of 2,000 military nurses shipped to South Africa in 1900. The Boer Wars marked the first major conflict for Britain in which nurses were deployed in significant numbers. These nurses were pivotal in shaping the future of military nursing and the recognition of nursing as a profession in wartime. After the war, Polly returned to Charing Cross Hospital and met and married Dr Humphrey England. When they moved to Amersham, Polly worked as her husband’s practice nurse, and then kept the practice running while he was serving in the First World War. She also established a branch of the Red Cross, Chesham Bois Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Work Depot 1151, to provide nursing training and organise medical supplies. Polly England was mentioned in The Times report of Queen Victoria’s funeral when returning from the Boer War with other nurses in their scarlet uniforms “they provided the only splash of colour in an otherwise all black crowd”. |
| Physical Description | The scarlet cotton cape is 24cm deep and 62cm in width. It is in good condition with a few small repairs in red cotton thread. It has M D S written on the label (Mary D Stephenson, Polly England’s maiden name). It is fastened with a hook and eye. There is a red cotton rosette on the back of cape which would have been added in later years. The white starched collar is 38cm by 9.5cm. It is stiffly starched but shows wear along the crease where the collar would have folded. Two white cotton cuffs measuring 25cm by 8cm have button holes at each of the short edges. Both the collar and cuffs have been professionally laundered such that the red cotton stitching laundry makrs been pressed firmly into the stiff starched surface of the material. Stephenson is inked onto the cuffs with the number 8 ½. |
| Inscription | MDS (for Mary D Stephenson) written on the label in ink. Stephenson is handwritten with cursive text in black ink on the collar and printed in capital letters on the cuffs with the number 8 ½. There are red embroidered laundry marks on all of the items. |
| Find Out More | Mary ‘Polly’ England and Dr Humphrey England - Amersham Museum Formidable Women 1914 - Amersham Museum Boer War | National Army Museum |