Preliminary.
Whilst many of us cherish our hard earned School of Nursing badges, many of  us collect them and spend hours watching televised medical/nurse dramas trying to identify the badges, have you ever wondered about the history behind the badges? Who designed them and what do the designs mean? There are books, articles in nursing journals and websites about their history and many badges reflect the changes within the profession. I recently posted an article on the MSN nursing badge website about my favourite badges and was subsequently persuaded to write this one for 'schoolsofnursing’.  So here goes in the hope you enjoy.

Note:Many other professions allied to medicine (PAM's) also issue great badges and many overseas hospitals also issue them. They're not unique to UK nurses.

There are so many beautiful nursing and hospital badges, different shapes, different sizes and some, to me, are more beautiful than others. My favourite badge is the Royal Air Force (RAF) nurse training school badge. Photographs just cannot do justice to the beauty and design of this badge. It is so very 3 dimensional. Another 3D badge is the St Andrews’ (Northampton) badge.

The RAF badge was designed by one of its trained nursing staff.

The Hull Royal Hospital badge is beautifully designed and the Charing Cross solid and impressive; The Worcester Royal is small and delicate. The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, is unpolished silver and the appearance differs noticeably from the brightly polished silver. My Western Infirmary Glasgow is solid and heavy silver. I have to confess I find one or two badges somewhat ugly, but so as not to offend I won't mention any names as this is a subjective judgement.

Some designs reflect the speciality - for example - the Oxford eye hospital badge is designed to look like an eye (described as elliptical in the literature), which shows a lamp in the centre of a blue iris. I find this badge somewhat spooky!!!

I trained at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield (North Birmingham). The hospital badge is designed to look like a dark blue Maltese cross. The Midwifery badge for Good Hope Maternity Hospital is of the same design and was designed by one of its Senior Nursing Officers (Gladys Paddock). This badge is round with the general hospital cross in the middle featuring a baby held in hands. The whole emblem is placed within an outer circle so that the points of the cross don't harm a baby whilst being held by a midwife - a case of design and function. Hopefully, in the future, when we can post photographs directly to galleries this site, you be better able to see what I'm trying to describe and make your own mind up as to whether a badge is beautiful and/or a great design.

Tradition.
It has been traditional for many years for hospital training schools to issue hospital badges to qualified nurses. Many of these badges have their origins in military, chivalric and religious orders. The Victorians had a great love of medals and decorations. It was in the 1860s that some hospitals introduced prizes in the form of medals & badges to encourage higher standards.

Some early examples include 1879 - the Workhouse Infirmary Nursing Association presented medal-type badges, followed in 1887 by the Queen's Nursing Institute who issued its district nurses and members with a badge. The design of this has undergone many changes over the years. In 1919, following the work and campaigning of Mrs Bedford Fenwick and her supporters - the Nurse's Registration act entered the statute books.

The State General Nursing Council (GNC) badge that we all know came about in 1922 and in the 1940s the SEN badge came into being for England & Wales. In Scotland there was a different system and a different design for their state badge. Note: The early GNC badges were made of silver (I believe they changed to chrome during the war). These badges ceased to be issued in 1983 following the restructuring of the statutory bodies and the advent of the United Kingdom Central Council (UKCC).

OK, history lesson over..... Have you ever wondered about the GNC badges design?
                                              
It's shape is based on a rose - the symbol of England. In the centre is Hygeia (the goddess of health) and has 2 sheaves of daffodils on either side - the symbol of Wales. The blue enamel is the colour associated with nursing. The SEN badge is the same shape and design but made of bronze (occasionally chromed) with green enamel (the colour associated with State Enrolled Nurses (SENs). On the rear of the badge the nurses, registration number and qualifying date can be found. As for Mrs Bedford-Fenwick… Well, she was SRN number 1...


Note: I hadn't realised, until I started collecting, how complex an issue the designs on badges were. There are many reasons for the designs - mythology, local relevance amongst many. When I was asked to write an article or two to explore this issue with the hope, that other members such as yourself, would contribute to a very in-depth subject. My future plans for articles is to take a broad look at designs and to give examples (where possible) of badges where they can be found. If possible I'll try and list the designers name - but this is a subject that could run into many hours and pages - which is why I'm just writing a brief article on each particular subject such as Midwifery, animals on badges, mythology, local history etcetera. Next - about the Scottish State badges.


Scottish State Badges.
Like the England & Wales (E&W) GNC and nursing act of 1919 -  the Nurses Registration (Scotland) Act 1919 also came about. These councils issued badges from 1925 until 1983, when the UKCC took over their roles. No more badges were issued. The Scottish GNC badges for Registration and Enrolment are of a completely different design - unlike their  E&W counterparts. The Scots Registration badges are circular in shape and superimposed on a Geneva cross. The centre shows the Scottish Saltire (a white St Andrews cross on a dark blue background) on all registration badges.

The Enrolled Nurse badge (right) is described in the literature as acorn shaped with 2 semi circular bands at the top - with the words General nursing council of Scotland. The enrolled nurse qualifications are found in the acorn piece. This was the successor to the Scots 'Enrolled Assistant Nurse' badge, which had the same design features but the different wording.

A major difference between the issue of badges by the two countries lay in the actual issue of badges. In E&W nurses only received one badge upon qualification, which had to be be returned to the GNC if a second qualification was gained and re-engraving requested. The badge would then be re-engraved with any further qualifications that might have been obtained - SRN/RFN/RSCN/RMN/RMNS/H - were all possibilities - plus numbers and dates)... In Scotland a further badge (same design) was issued with the qualification stated on the front, for example - 'Registered Mental Nurse Scotland',  (named/numbered/dated on the reverse side. It was thus possible to have 5 individual Scottish GNC badges, should you have undertaken all the specialised nursing courses (6 if the nurse started as an EN), whilst only receiving one badge in E&W!!! In practice few nurses gained more than two state qualifications.

Flowers and animal life...
Many badges reflect their ideals as flowers or animals. A purple butterfly is on the Simpson Memorial badge - purple being the colour of immortality. An osprey backed by mountains is shown on the Highland badge. Midwifery badges tend to favour flowers/fruit. The pomegranate, as seen on the early Royal College of Midwives badge represents fertility. Snowdrops on the Glasgow Royal maternity are for motherhood. The 1962 Central midwives board for Scotland shows a thistle (for Scotland) 3 Oyster catchers (birds - associated with St Bride the Scottish saint of fertility) and 1 dove representing  care & attention. There is a phoenix on the Coventry badge to show its history following the bombings during WW2 - the phoenix represents the re-building of the city (the bombed out Cathedral is well worth a visit).

The Southampton eye hospital shows a symbolic eagle with drops of red enamel. The red enamel is the heraldic representation for surgery and the eagle is  a reference to the wonderful eyesight of birds of prey. The tree shown on the Orthopaedic Cert and Diploma badges is a plane tree and represents the one that Hippocrates stood under - it is also linked to the badges of Orthopaedic Associations. The white rose of Yorkshire is shown on their Woodlands Orthopaedic hospital badge. A white York rose can be found on the princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic hospital  in honour of the then Duchess of York (late Queen Mother) A green leaved tree on the Wolverhampton & counties eye badge represents the fruit growing region of Worcestershire.

And finally on this theme...... A competition was held in 1968 for a design for the newly  amalgamated Rowley Bristow Orthopaedic hospital. Its winning designer was Miss M Burnett, a secretary, and shows a horse chestnut leaf - which represented the avenue of horse chestnut trees that led to the hospital.


Badges and the Gods...
As mentioned earlier the goddess Hygeia appears in the centre of the England & Wales GNC state badge. She is the goddess of health - her father being Aesculpius the God of medicine - who also appears on badges..

Juno Lucino is famous for her appearance on many midwifery related badges such as the State Certified Midwife (SCM) badge. She is the goddess of childbirth and is often portrayed holding a baby in her right hand. The phoenix is represented on Coventry's badge (see fauna and flora for more about this aspect). The red dragon of Wales is on the orthopaedic hospital badge with the rod & staff of Aesculapis. The Welsh dragon can be found on many of its hospital badges (in the same way the Saltire appears on Scottish ones) including the mid-Glamorgan School of Nursing badge.

The Caduceus that appears on some badges represents the staff (or rod) of Mercury/Hermes -messenger of the gods. It can be seen, for example, on the Neville Hall (Gwent) hospital badge, as well as Oxford's Nuffield Orthopaedic centre badge. Another beautiful example can be seen on the RAF training school badge above.

Last but not least the blue bird of happiness appears on the Bath & Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital badge. It appears on the left shield and was taken from the Central Council for the Care of Cripples whose motto was "The blue bird of happiness and independence" - a nice thought for such a politically incorrect name.

Religion, Christianity and secular virtues.
Many nurses’ badges have their origins in religion, Christianity and secular virtues. Many religious orders and work/poor houses later developed into nurse training schools or hospitals. The medallions that many religious sisters and brethren wore to denote their allegiance to an order can now be seen in many nursing badges. Examples of these include the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, the Sisters of Charity and St John the Devine. This is a subject well worth reading and is worth an article all of its own.

Patron saints also appear on numerous badges. These include St Andrew (Scotland), St Appolonius (dentists), St Blaise (sore throats), St Bride (Scottish saint of fertility), St Mungo (Glasgow), St George (England) and St Peter, the most important Apostle and keeper of the keys of Heaven.

St Mungo is represented at the top of the Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital issued in 1959, being designed jointly by the Matron, Asst Matron and Principle Tutor - and the design executed by the artist brother of a midwife. The Saltire representing St Andrew can be seen at the bottom of the badge. The 1962 issue of the Central Midwives Board for Scotland has 3 oystercatchers and these birds are associated with St Bride. St Andrew can be seen on the St Andrews Hospital Northampton badge holding a white cross (again for Scotland). This badge is almost 3D in effect and the pictures don’t do it justice. St Peter is featured on the midwifery badge of St Peter’s Surrey Hospital badge. Issued in 1973 when the maternity unit opened. The design is taken from the sculpture found in the courtyard (by Miss Lancaster) and at the suggestion of the Consultant Obstetrician (Mr Norris) Miss Lancaster incorporated the design into the badge with a few extra features. St Peter is holding keys in his left hand whilst blessing a mother & baby with the other. The pomegranate tree is depicted (ancient sign of fertility) with St Peter's Abbey in the background (this was the wealthiest abbey in England until the dissolution).

St Vincent’s Orthopaedic Hospital shows St Vincent de Paul sheltering children under his cape. This badge was issued in 1967. The hospital was founded as St Vincent’s Cripples Home in 1907 and the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent DePaul cared for the boys. The Cross of Lorraine is a double-armed cross and a 9th Century religious symbol. It was adopted by Godfrey de Bouillon Duke of lower Lorraine (the first knight to enter Jerusalem in the crusades of 1099). This can be found on the various badges of the British Thoracic Association and the 1966 badge of Benenden Chest Hospital (designed by the Matron). The Brompton Hospital’s badge issued in 1974 shows the Good Samaritan. The design was taken from the large plaque displayed in the hospital entrance.

Finally on this theme…. and hopefully amusing - the badge of the Royal ENT hospital London . This badge features St Blaise (also patron saint of wool combers) and a small boy pointing to his throat. He was a 4th century bishop who saves the life of a boy who was choking on a fishbone. The boy’s mother lit candles in thanks and it is from this that the medieval practice of placing 2 crossed candles upon the sore throats of suffer. (I wonder if this was better than strepsils?!!!..). St Blaise later died under torture - having his flesh torn away by a comb used for teasing wool. His emblems are an iron wool-comb and 2 crossed candles.

Latin Motto's..
As we all know Juno Lucino, the goddess of childbirth, appears on the State/Certified Midwives badge. In 1967 the design of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) changed and in the centre shield is the Star of Bethlehem (or the Morning Star) which is the sign of birth.. In a scroll below the shield is their motto – Vita Donium Dei – 'Life is the Gift of God'. 

Here are a few more Latin mottos with their translation:-

Nos Ministamus Deus Saret- 'We minister, God heals' - Beckett Hospital Barnsley.
 
Salus Populi (on Southport SoN's & Town badge) I understood to mean either 'Save or 'Serve' the people. Salus Populi is literally health of the people, but in the Christian religion it is often taken as protectress, associated with the Virgin Mary or Madonna.

Caritas christi urget nos - 'The charity of Christ urges us' - St Vincent’s Orthopaedic hospital and I believe this appears on the Myddleton Square hospital badge as well.

Semper ad Suprema - 'Always the Highest/Best/Most Heavenly' - (take your pick) - Leicester General Hospital.
 
Nos Nostraque Deo - 'We and Ours to God' - Plaistow Trained nurse.
 
Labor fidelis - 'Faithful to Work' - West London Hospital.

Deo dante damus - 'God gives to us that we may give to others' - Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry.

*Many thanks to colleagues from the Nursing Badge website for some of the translations

Arms, History, Industry and Benefactors.
Some badges take their designs from other sources such as City arms, local history, industry, or from benefactors. The Queen Charlotte Maternity hospital bears the coat of arms of Queen Charlotte. The Duke of Sussex persuaded his family including his mother (who was Queen Charlotte) to donate to the then “lying-in-hospital” charity whose funds had almost disappeared, between 1800-1809. When Queen Charlotte died the hospital changed its name. A similar story can be found at Birmingham’s Sorrento Hospital. It was formerly private home owned by William Adams and named Sorrento after the Adams' favourite Italian holiday resort.  The Adams family motto appears on the badge - Nil Absque Labore.
 
The Coat of Arms for Birmingham appears on some of its badges including the City Midwives Service and the Birmingham & Midland Eye hospital.

Bristol Maternity Hospital was previously a convalescent home for recovering patients from the other Bristol Hospitals. It was then used as a hospital for service men in the Second World War. The badge dates from the 1950s and has the Bristol City coat of arms on it.


Marston Green Hospital was a Canadian hospital and the Canadian Maple leaf is on its design as well as on the Solihull school of midwifery. (I have 2 aunts who remember when the hospital was used by the Canadians and also it just happens to be the hospital where I was born - alas like many others no longer there).
 

The Lord Mayor Treloar Hospital has the Coat of Arms of its benefactor Sir William Treloar.

The Wolverhampton & Midland Counties Eye Infirmary has a Staffordshire knot to show its links with that county. The padlock represents the local locksmith industry, the leopards head is taken from Walsall’s Coat of Arms and the tree represents the fruit growing region of Worcestershire. Hereford General Hospital has a fruit press representing its fruit growing and cider industry.

Designs in history - Fobs and Medals.
Not only do badges come as a solid piece with a rear pin attachment but some are designed as medals or have a fob type appearance. One of the most famous medal type is the large and heavy one from Charing Cross Hospital. The badge, consisting of a Maltese cross with four fleur-de-leys in each corner, was made into a bronze medal and it is rumoured that the bronze metal was from a cannon captured in the Crimean war. The ribbon attached is supposedly from the Colonel in Chief of the Household Brigade who was thrown from his horse and taken to the hospital. In order to show his gratitude for his nursing treatment, he asked Queen Victoria for the right of nurses at the hospital to wear the ribbon of the regiment. An impressive medal and, as a nurse, I wonder about it accidentally hitting a patient being nursed by a nurse wearing it.

An example of a fob type is the Queen Elizabeth School of Nursing in Birmingham. The badge was brown in colour reflecting the brown shoes and cloak, of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital uniform. It consists of a bar and octagonal badge. The design of the  Queen Elizabeth Hospital Nurse Training School badge depicts a shield and is taken from the crest of the General Hospital which in its turn is founded on the crest of  Dr Ash (the founder of the general hospital). The shield is in gold and blue, is derived from the arms of Bowes and the lions from the arms of  Lyon (paternal arms of the late Queen Mother) and honours the naming of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The dolphin is taken from the arms of the Tippets. Others include the British Thoracic Society, founded in 1924 (under another name) its design and name changes reflecting amalgamations of similar bodies. The lower piece shows the Lorraine cross, a religious symbol from the Duke of Lower Lorraine with the lion representing Great Britain. The first badges were issued in 1952. After 1981 they became extinct after the British Thoracic Society stopped setting nurses exams.

There are others such as Dundee Royal, Paisley Royal Alexandra Infirmary, Stirling Royal and East Fife. East Fife is unusual that it has 2 pin attachment s at the rear - one on the top bar and one on the lower shield. Other medal types include the Plaistow Trained Nurse and the Saint Mary’s Hospital Portsmouth.

Designs in history.
Badges come in many different shapes and sizes, each with it's own story to tell. Designed by staff, patrons and winners of competitions. Each badge represents a theme such as local history, industry, its benefactors, religion, myths and wildlife. Many designs share similar shapes. Midwifery badges always have rounded edges to prevent accidental harm to babies. Many are circular whilst others prefer a Maltese cross design.

The hospital badge was the means by which nurses were able to distinguish their training school and is quite an important feature of the nurses uniform, worn with some pride. Following the demise of the GNC state badges in 1983, many hospital badges also became obsolete as Schools of Nursing joined academia and became colleges or joined universities. Students became super-numery. Training became much more classroom based as opposed to ward based. Some colleges and universities awarded badges on completion of training. Examples of these include the Gwent College of Nursing and Midwifery, University Hospital of Wales, Robert Gordon University (Aberdeen) and Manchester College of Nursing & Midwifery.

There was no real replacement for the state badge.

CONCLUDING.....
What of the future?
So, what of the future? We live in a multi-cultural , multi-religious and more enlightened, politically correct society. Would any of the past designs be allowed off the drawing board? Would the Bath and Wessex Hospital be allowed to portray the bluebird - a representation from the former Central Council for the Care of Cripples whose motto was “ The Bluebird of Happiness and Independence”. Would our badges be allowed to have saints or other religious symbols/icons?

Many of the individual hospitals have disappeared, amalgamated and absorbed, or closed - becoming derelict, a housing estate, or perhaps a branch of Tesco's. Often, one of the only physical things left is the badge, plus our memories and those who do what they can to preserve nursing history. The school of nursing badge and old state badges are preserving some of this history, long after all else has disappeared. As the history of both nursing and medicine has changed, the changes have often reflected in changing designs of associated badges. Nursing badges are not unique to the United Kingdom (UK). They exist over much of the developed world, along with badges from Professions Allied to Medicine( PAMS) such as Radiography and Physiotherapy. A solid trace on professional history.

Nursing badge design is a huge and equally, a fascinating topic. In this article I have only been able to scratch the surface. There are websites dedicated to the nursing badge historian/collector  as well as derelict places/hospitals, where much information can be found (some links are in the Rt hand column - Top).
 
So, if you have your own school of nursing badge, wear it with pride - and don't forget to photograph it for prosperity. If you are a collector, remember that the issued badges that you may hold represent years of hard work by the original recipients and were once, in all probability, among their most highly treasured possessions.

SECTION 2
Hospital Photograph Collections.

Nursing and Hospital badges.
Backmanmal. 

Irish Nursing Badges.
Eric Wilkinson.


SECTION 3
Nursing Organizations

Statutory Bodies.
Nursing & Midwifery Council.

Professional/Trade Unions.
Royal College of Nursing.


SECTION 4
Badge Makers.
Thomas Fattorini.
Marple & Bradley
Brooke (Edinburg)
K&S (Edinburgh)
J.Gaunt (London)
D.J.Stewart
(Stirling Scotland)
Bladon (London)
Toye&Co (London)





SECTION 5
Collector links.

Websites
Nursing Badges.

Auction sites.
ebay.co.uk.

dnw.co.uk
Eg.Tip: Select 'search', 'View Forthcoming Auctions' select 'Search or Browse Lots to be Sold' and enter 'hospitals' in the description field.

  RCM Crest Link.