On 28th Sep 1926 the General Committee resolved that: ‘a hospital training badge be presented to each nurse on completion of her training and the granting of her certificate’.
The badge shows the façade of the original hospital surmounted by three shields, placed round central coat of arms which bears the motto ‘Per undas per agros’ – ‘By water and land’.
The view of the hospital depicts the Out-patients Department and also the main block with four storeys on the north side of the main entrance and only three storeys on the south. Addenbrooke’s looked like this between 1915, when the out-patients department and Tipperary Ward were completed as part of the King Edward VII Memorial, and 1929 when Musgrave Ward was built.
The coat of arms at the top are those of Cambridgeshire County Council, with the motto, and the other three from left to right are those of the University, the City of Cambridge and the See of Ely.
I have several badges in the archives, given to me by the Addenbrooke’s League of Nurses, families of nurses or the nurse themselves. The badge usually has the name of the nurse on the back and this one belonged to Diane Strowlger who qualified in 1962.
Unfortunately the Addenbrooke’s badge is no longer given to nurses when they qualify, but I do have some in the Archives, so if anyone has lost theirs and would like a replacement please contact me.
