May Boyle, nee Houliston (Sister Tutor and Matron)

Material comprises: 1) Royal College of Nursing Certificate for completion of the course of instruction for Sister Tutors, from September 1944 to July 1945 2) University of London Certificate for Diploma in Nursing, 18 December 1945 3) University of London Presentation Day at Royal Albert Hall admission ticket, 2 May 1946 4) Programme and menu for The Graduate Nurses Association of the District of Colombia Dinner in honour of the Grand Council of the International Council of Nurses, held at Hotel Statler in Washington D. C., 6 May 1947. 5) Admission ticket to The Graduate Nurses Association Banquet in honour of the Grand Council of the International Council of Nurses, held at Hotel Statler in Washington D. C., 6 May 1947 6) Admission ticket to the Congress of the International Council of Nurses, Atlantic City, 1947 7) Cunard White Star embarkation notice for the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, sailing New York to Southampton, 24 May 1947 8) Letter of invitation to a cocktail party in the cabin deck smoke room on board R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth, being held by Dame Ellen Musson, 26 May 1947 9) Invitation to a dinner to mark the Golden Jubilee of the General Nursing Council for Scotland held at The Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, 28 November 1969 10) List of members of the General Nursing Council for Scotland, 1919-1961 11) Invitation to attend a special service to dedicate a Glastonbury Chair in memory of Dr P. K. McCowan, Physician Superintendent 1937-1957, in Crichton Memorial Church, 27 November 1991 12) Order of Service for the dedication of a Glastonbury Chair in memory of Dr P. K. McCowan, Physician Superintendent 1937-1957, in Crichton Memorial Church, 27 November 1991 13) Photograph of the Glastonbury Chair, 1991 14) Manuscript notes (nine cards) by May Boyle (nee Houliston) for a tribute speech she delivered on the occasion of the dedication of a Glastonbury Chair in memory of Dr P. K. McCowan, Physician Superintendent 1937-1957, in Crichton Memorial Church, 27 November 1991

1945-1991

1 folder

May Boyle (nee Houliston) served on the staff at Crichton Royal Hospital first as Sister Tutor from 1938 to 1947 and then as Matron from 1947 to 1962. When she was appointed Matron in 1947 she assumed responsibility for the whole hospital after the practice of having a separate Matron for each of the three departments in the hospital was done away with. Also in 1947, prior to her assuming her role as Matron, she undertook a three month study tour of mental hospitals in the United States of America and her book, 'The Practice of Mental Nursing' was published. She was a member of the General Nursing Council for Scotland, serving as Chairman of Mental Nurses Committee from 1961 to 1965.

Staff Publications, DGH1/6/18; Photographic Material, DGH1/8

Enquiries for reproduction for commercial purposes should be directed to the Archivist, Dumfries and Galloway Archives and Local Studies

The papers are available at Dumfries and Galloway Archives subject to conditions of UK Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and NHS Records Management Code of Practice 2012. Subject to these restrictions, this material is being digitised by the University of Glasgow as part of a Wellcome Trust funded project. Material that is digitised will be accessed freely online through the Wellcome Library catalogue.

Several of these items, along with photographs in the photographic collection were donated by Isabel in 2011, presumably a relative of May Houliston.