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In 1904, a young Irish woman named Norah Hughes arrived at Mildmay to train as a nurse. She left three years later, qualified and engaged to a junior doctor, after a hidden note, a ward fire, and a matron who surprised everyone. She went on to spend two decades in China, training nurses and running a medical mission. Her story is now part of our Staff Stories archive.

In 1955, Pam arrived at Mildmay as a student nurse. She trained across three sites, Mildmay, the London Hospital, and Kingston, living in cold rooms near Shoreditch Church and a concrete hostel in Hoxton. She remembers ward walls lined with Bible texts, daily Quiet Time, and the grey cape with its purple lining that was recognised across east London. Seventy years on, her memories are sharp, warm, and anchored in a hospital that was already something singular.

Going through some old filing cabinets from the old hospital building, which have been stored in our basement until now, we found this gem