Sir, My mother trained at Fair Mile Hospital, Cholsey, in the 1930s.

Before she died in 1985, she left a very detailed, personal account of her training, the patients and her fellow staff and students at Fair Mile, as well as the whole later scope of her career, which included psychiatric nursing in the UK, private nursing of the rich and famous and nursing in a prison for the criminally insane in Canada.

I saw the story of the pictures of the hospital in 2010 and wondered if there was anyone collecting this type of memorabilia, or whether there is a historical society interested in publishing it. I live in the US (telephone 303 888 3027).

Here’s a little bit more information on my mum: She was born in 1909 in Abbey Wood, Kent. She trained at Fair Mile and spent the war years nursing psychiatric patients in Guildford. She wrote about all this. “There’s no such thing as a mental patient when you’re being bombed”, she said.

She did private nursing in Hove, Sussex, when I was growing up. She nursed a number of wealthy and famous people there.

We then emigrated to Canada in 1957, where she worked at Weyburn Mental Hospital in Saskatchewan (think prairies and no pavements — quite a shock.) Then we went down to Vancouver and she worked at Riverside/Essondale Hospital until she retired. She then went out to work at Matsqui high-security prison for the criminally insane and worked with some of Canada’s worst. I have her story in her words and also in my edited form.

Diana M DeLuca PhD 5288 South Espana Circle Centennial Colorado 80015 USA