“DURING training, I lived at home, cycled the three miles to the hospital in all weathers and earned £15 a month, half of which went to my mother for my keep.”

Retired Jacqueline Cuttle, now 78, is just one of the dozens of nurses past and present sharing their memories of the profession at Great Western Hospital to mark International Nurses Day today.

Jacqueline started her nurse’s training in 1951 at the Borough General Hospital in Ipswich at the age of 17.

She said she became hooked on the idea of becoming a nurse at the age of 14 when visiting an aunt in hospital.

“The smell of antiseptic and trolleys going down the corridors to theatre was quite thrilling and I never thought of any other career,” she said.

A normal day for Jacqueline, who worked in hospitals in Zimbabwe and Canada, started at 7.30am, until either 5pm or 8.20pm with one day off a week.

She said: “The discipline was very strict, eating on the ward meant instant dismissal, but we were terrific nurses, the best training in the world was to be had in this country.

“I have had a fortunate life and never cease to be thankful for my excellent health.”

Each year on May 12, nurses celebrate their profession and raise the profile of their work.

At the GWH, stalls with old photographs, letters and artefacts have been attracting a lot of attention from patients, visitors and staff.

Linda Harris, communications officer, said: “We appealed to nurses past and present to share their memories and had a brilliant response.

“Everything has changed so much – the uniforms, beds, and wards. It was a lot different when they didn’t have infection control and patients would spend a lot longer in hospital.”

Rosemary Butler also shared her stories this week.

She began her career in 1961 as a cadet nurse at Victoria and Princess Margaret Hospital. She always wanted to be a nurse, attending the Red Cross as a junior cadet until she was 16 before becoming a staff nurse and later junior sister on a medical ward at PMH.

She also worked on the maternity unit and then became a staff nurse at the Ridgeway Hospital, working her way up to director of nursing in 2005.

She said: “We all had strict rules in the nurses’ home, having to be in by 10pm or have a late pass until 11pm. We had to go to casualty and wait to be let into the nurses’ home by the sister in charge. We had a home warden who made sure no men were in the nurses’ rooms.

“Our starched uniforms were laundered at the hospital and mended by the sewing room staff. The nurses wore stripes on their hats to denote which year they were in. We worked hard, but also had fun.”