Daphne Steele (16 October 1929 – 2004) was a Guyanese

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

, who in 1964 became the first

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Matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

in the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

Early life

Daphne Steele was born in 1929 in the Dutch colony of

Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to: * Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana * Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana; * Esseq ...

(now part of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

) as the eldest of nine children. Her younger sister Carmen Steele later became better known as the actress

Carmen Munroe Carmen Esme Munroe, (born 12 November 1932)

. While her mother stayed at home, her father worked as a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

who travelled around the colony to work. The family were sufficiently well off to be able to afford servants to clean the family house.

Medical career

She underwent training in

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

and

midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

at the public hospital in Georgetown in 1945. She emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1951, as part of the British Government seeking to recruit people to the new

(NHS). The journey took 14 days, and she arrived in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. She was surprised when a white man took her luggage for her, as in her native country, white men only worked in managerial roles. Steele was placed on a fast-track scheme in St James' Hospital in

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

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. She found the discipline akin to being in the military, which extended to the nurses' home where she lived. Steele also witnessed the

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

of white colleagues and from patients, but tried to be friendly to avoid this personally. She later recalled that her Jamaican colleagues were skilled in "cussing" out particularly nasty patients. She moved to the United States in 1955, where she worked at a hospital in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, before moving back in 1960 to the UK, where she was stationed at

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the village of Brize Norton, and the towns of Carterton and Witney. The station ...

. She later moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where she was employed as a Deputy

at a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

. When it was announced that the home was closing, an Irish Matron suggested that Steele should also apply to become a Matron. So in 1964, Steele was appointed as Matron at St. Winifred's Hospital in

Ilkley Ilkley is a spa town and civil parish in the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, in Northern England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Ilkley civil parish includes the adjacent village of Ben Rhydding and is a ward within the ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

. This was the first time that a

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had been appointed as a Matron anywhere in the NHS. The appointment made news worldwide, with Steele receiving around 350 letters from well-wishers. After the hospital closed in 1971, Steele became a health visitor at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

Later life

Following retirement, Steele volunteered for a variety of organisations, including

Soroptimist International Soroptimist International (SI) is a global volunteer service organization for women with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries worldwide. According to Soroptimist.org, their mission statement says that, "Soroptimist is a global volunteer organiza ...

, and became vice-president of the Association of Guyanese Nurses and Allied Professionals (AGNAP). She was a devoted

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

. In 2001, the Guyanese High Commissioner to the United Kingdom awarded Steele a certificate in recognition of her medical achievements. Steele died in 2004.

Legacy

In her memory, AGNAP renamed their annual health talk in 2013 to the Daphne Steele Memorial Lecture. To mark what would have been Steele's 91st birthday on 16 October 2018, a commemorative blue plaque organised by the

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marley, ...

was unveiled at St. James's Hospital, Balham, where she had trained when she first arrived in England."Windrush Generation Nurse Honoured With Blue Plaque"
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The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', 5 December 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Daphne 1929 births 2004 deaths People from Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Guyanese Methodists Guyanese emigrants to England Guyanese nurses Women nurses