Theodora Turner, (5 August 1907 – 24 August 1999) was a British nurse and hospital matron.

Early years and education

Theodora Turner was born on 5 August 1907 in

Congleton Congleton is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. The town is by the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 26,482. Top ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, one of five children. Her father later became Conservative Party agent in Salisbury where she attended the

Godolphin School Godolphin School is an independent boarding and day school for girls in Salisbury, England, which was founded in 1726 and opened in 1784. The school educates girls between the ages of three and eighteen. History Godolphin was founded by Eliz ...

, Salisbury. Her parents initially sent her to study at Atholl Crescent, the Edinburgh School of Domestic Science but Turner wishes to become a nurse and, with her parents consent, entered

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

and the Nightingale School of Nursing in the summer of 1929. She completed her training as a nurse with the silver medal, but declined to join the League of St Barnabas, an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

society for nurses against the suggestion of the matron, Dame Alicia Lloyd-Still. She took her midwifery training at the

Radcliffe Infirmary The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. History The initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forw ...

, Oxford, then returned to St Thomas' Hospital as a ward nursing sister.

Second World War

When war broke out in 1939 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QARANC), was mobilised at Congleton, was present during the evacuation from Dunkirk, and served in, among other places, Iran and Italy.

Later career

On her return to civilian life she was named administrative sister at St Thomas' as preparation for her appointment as matron of Liverpool's Royal Infirmary. Turner left in 1953 to care for her elderly parents. When she was free from family commitments she was appointed matron and lady superintendent of nurses of St Thomas' when the hospital was being rebuilt after being hit 13 times by German bombs. Turner deputised as a Royal College of Nursing representative on the Whitley Council which negotiated nurses' salaries. After retiring, she became president of the RCN. She later relocated to Scotland, where she served on the Argyll and Clyde Health Board.

Death

Theodora Turner died at Wantage,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, aged 92, from old age.

Curriculum vitae

* ARRC, 1944 * Education Officer, Education Centre, Royal College of Nursing, Birmingham, 1953–55 * Matron, St Thomas' Hospital and Superintendent,

Nightingale Training School The Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care is an academic faculty within King's College London. The faculty is the world's first nursing school to be continuously connected to a fully serving hospital and medic ...

, 1955–65 * President, Royal College of Nursing, 1966–68 * President, International Council of Nurses, 1971–74

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Theodora 1907 births 1999 deaths English nurses British nursing administrators British women in World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Congleton People educated at Godolphin School Associate Members of the Royal Red Cross Presidents of the Royal College of Nursing Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II