Wigan Album

I remember the name Nurse Plumpton being mentioned - she was famous at the time.

That’s interesting, I was wondering whether she had a local states being a midwife.

Veronica, are these your relatives? Lovely photos. xx

They are our Terry’s relatives by marriage Edna. But I did know them.

Nurse Plumpton would have been fully qualified Daniel. (If that is what you mean)

I just meant she would have been local well known to people.

She would have been well known and self-employed. It would have been less expensive to book a qualified midwife at that time rather than a doctor who would have charged more. Usually that is what the middle and upper classes would have done. Before the Midwives act in 1902 a ‘Handy woman’ or ‘bona fide’ untrained midwife would have attended births. Probably that’s why the Act was passed Daniel. up until the NHS came into being in 1948.

Veronica, I did a search for Nurse Plumpton to see if anything came up though nothing did, however a link from the Wigan & Leigh Archives turned up an entry about a Diary and a Nurse Scholes at Exeter Military Hospital during WW1, whether she was from Wigan it isn't stated, but there must be a connection with it being in the archives. The Diary in which she encouraged soldiers in her care to write their experiences is very interesting.

https://archives.wigan.gov.uk/index.php/archive/the-edward-hall-diary-collection/nurse-scholes-first-world-war-hospital-diary?ipage=1

I’ll check that Cyril, I have read quite a few books about ‘The Roses of No Man’s Land ’ in 1914 -18. Different nursing though….and as you probably know they were mainly upper class ‘gels’. They weren’t so strict with the ‘bona fide’ handy women who attended births before 1902 for the working classes.

I looked on censers and found this Name: Selina Plumpton
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Single
Birth Date: 18 Apr 1883
Residence Date: 1939
Address: 31 Walkden Avenue
Residence Place: Wigan, Lancashire, England
Occupation: Nurse (Ince U D C) Household Members Age
Selina Plumpton 56 Nurse (Ince U D C)
Margaret Plumpton 53 Nurse (Comity Boro)
This record is officially closed.

Plumpton Selina of 98 Swinley Lane ,Wigan ,died 28th June 1967 at 14 Park Ave Southport .Probate Liverpool 19th July to Percy Strafford public health inspector and William Gaskell taxi cab proprietor £692