Former nurse, 93, takes trip down memory lane with Leeds hospital tour

More than 60 years after she trained there, Enid Winkley shared her memories.

Staff at Haworth Court Residential Home in Hull arranged the visit after a ‘wishing tree’ was introduced at the home and she said she’d like to come back to Jimmy’s.

Thanks to Leeds NHS staff, Enid was shown around the former nurses’ home – now the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust headquarters building – where she lived while training, as well as older parts of the site including what is now the Thackray Medical Museum.

Enid shared anecdotes about life in the nurses’ home and described her years at Jimmy’s as a “very happy time”. She also spoke with fondness about meeting Princess Margaret at the hospital in 1954.

Chief nurse Suzanne Hinchliffe said: “It was truly wonderful to welcome Enid back to the hospital and recognise her contribution to care in Leeds. She certainly had a full and varied career and lot of memories of her time at St James’s.

“I was fascinated to find out about her experiences of nursing during the 1940s and 50s. It also was interesting to learn about how care has changed over the past 60 years thanks to the advances in both medicine and surgery.”

Haworth Court activity co-ordinator Sophie Hodgins said: “During the course of the visit she had a really wonderful time and it was great to see her take a trip down memory lane.”