Florence Gane

Born 1873, died 1947
Superintendent Nurse at the Mitford and Launditch Union Workhouse, 1905
Researched by Dauna Coppin

Miss Florence Gane, although only in Norfolk for a short while, went on to achieve an excellent career in Nursing, showing great concern for Public Health Development and Child Welfare.

She was born on 20th May 1873 in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, to parents, Charles and Honor (née Wales) who married, both widowed, on 25th June 1972 in Hunstanton. The 1881 census shows  7-year-old Florence as the second oldest child, with five siblings, living at 5 North Street, Wisbech St Peter. Her father was a timber merchant; a trade later followed by sons, Edward and Arthur, whilst eldest son, Charles became a pharmacist. At some point in her childhood, Florence was educated at Park House School, Blackheath in Southeast London.

Florence’s father died in 1888. The 1891 census shows that Florence was helping her mother at home running a boarding house by the sea, in Clifton Terrace, Hunstanton. With the addition of two more sisters, the five daughters remained at home, whilst their brothers had left for work elsewhere. Florence was then 17 but within ten years, her life changed, and she was set on her future path.

In 1901 (aged 28) Florence was training as a nurse at the Norwich and Norfolk hospital. She remained there until 1904, when she gained her London Obstetrical Qualification and moved from there to St Mary’s Home in Fulham, London, where she trained as a midwife, gaining her Central Midwives Board Certificate in 1905.

Florence’s next job was as Superintendent Nurse at the Mitford and Launditch Union Workhouse. She was employed from February until she resigned in June 1905, after which began her work in the community (similar to a District Nurse).

Florence was very interested in public health, especially regarding the welfare of children. Thus, in 1909, she gained a Royal Sanitary Institute Certificate for Inspectors of Nuisances and worked in Yorkshire for Sheffield Corporation as a Sanitary Inspector.

There was a report in the Sheffield evening Telegraph on 28th September 1909 which give an example of the work Florence did. She went to inspect a house where there were seven or eight children under 16. Their father was working as an engineer but the mother was a drunk. The children were subject to chronic neglect, filthy, ragged and verminous with practically no bedding accommodation. The NSPCC inspector said the children’s bed had hundreds of maggots running over it. The paper reported on Florence’s witness statement in court:  “‘This’, said Miss Florence Gane, one of the Sheffield Corporations lady Sanitary Inspectors, in the Police Court today, ‘is one of the worst cases I have ever seen.’”

The following year, in 1910, Florence was briefly living in Haslemere, Surrey and had changed her job again. She worked for London County Council as a School Nurse.

The census of 1911 shows that her job  gave Florence the opportunity to visit her brother, Charles and his wife, who lived in Fulham. However, by July 1911, Florence had returned to her earlier vocation and was awarded a promotion as Inspector of Midwives. She resigned from her position as a school nurse to take up her new role for Lancashire County Council. Florence worked in many geographical areas over the subsequent years in her role as Inspector of Midwives, ranging from Derbyshire to Somerset, where she subsequently settled.

On January 1st 1919, Florence was also appointed as a Queen’s Nurse, recognising the level of experience and qualifications she held, as overseen by the The Queen’s Nursing Institute. Over the next decade, she became well known for her dedication to promoting and battling for her profession. On several occasions, her name appeared in the newspapers as she attended meetings and gave speeches. In 1920, she called a public meeting in the Church Hall in Coleford, Somerset, to discuss the future of the local Nursing Association. Despite arguing the case for continuation, the Committee decided to disband and to hand over their remaining assets (including a cycle and a medical cupboard) to the League of Help Local Committee for the benefit of Bath Royal United Hospital.

In 1921, Florence was visiting her sister, Edith, in Lincolnshire but her home address at that time was 16 Elm Grove, Taunton, Somerset. The census shows that she was aged 48 and her occupation was Inspector of Midwives and Infant Visitor.

In September 1925, the Shepton Mallet Journal reported on a case up before the magistrates which illustrates part of Florence’s work. She had been inspecting a local woman in the village of Coleford and had reported her for practising as an unqualified midwife. She reported that the woman was “Habitually attending women in childbirth without being duly certified” and “filled up the forms for her patients for the purpose of obtaining maternity benefits”. Despite having been doing this for the previous two years, the court was lenient with sentencing to a £5 fine and good behaviour for 6 months. This would probably not have stopped her from continuing and Florence, a staunch believer in proper training and qualifications would have not been best pleased.

Florence attended the Annual General Meetings of the Somerset County Nursing Association (SCNA) on a regular basis. In 1925 at Taunton, she was commended for her work: “The County Nursing Superintendent, Miss Gane…has dealt with her accustomed energy and skill with the many problems that have arisen. To her and to her staff are due the thanks of the Committee for the enthusiasm they have put into their work”

In 1929 Florence reported to the SCNA AGM in Bridgewater:

“Miss Florence Gane, (Inspector of Midwives and Infant Visitors, and Superintendent of the County Association) in her report stated that from April 1st 1928 to March 31st 1929, the nurses attended  18,212 new cases…” Nurses were involved in many different areas including operations, school inspections, home visits, infant health visits, nights on duty, ante natal visits. The 314 midwives on duty attended as midwives and maternity nurses.

However, by 1931, she was deploring the lack of nurses and supporting the case that Midwives should have more training than at present and all nurses should reach State Registered qualification: “the type of nurse required - women of sterling character with a sense of vocation, and of sufficient education to pass the Central Midwives’ Board examination, were now rarely to be obtained.”

By this time, Florence was coming to the end of her career. She was aged 59 years old when she retired in 1932. She received a Superannuation from Somerset County Council.

The final mention of Florence in the newspapers was in April 1938. The Shepton Mallet Journal of 29th April reported that Florence was a speaker at the meeting of  the Weston-Super-Mare AGM of Maternity and Child Welfare Association held on Monday 25th April 1938.

“The meeting concluded with an address on ‘Infant Welfare, Past and Present’ by Miss Florence Gane (formerly Inspector of Midwives for the Somerset County Council)”

Florence had been living in Weston-Super-Mare since 1926 (16-18) and in 1939, she was aged 66, living with a companion and home help, Lily Boyden at 1 Shaftesbury Road.

She passed away, at home, on 12th June 1947, aged 74. The Probate Notice said she left an estate of £9100 13s to her sister, Marion Gabe, and solicitor Simeon John Rendell.