Records of the Royal College of Midwives Sectional Committee (Nursing)

This collection comprises minutes and correspondence of the Sectional Committee (Nursing) of the Royal College of Midwives (formally known as the Midwives Institute) (1899-1901), relating to the statutory position of the nursing profession, as well as the working conditions and training of nurses, with particular references to hospital economics, examinations, schemes for the higher education of nurses and the status of nurses of the Voluntary Aid Detachment during the First World War.

The Sectional Committee (Nursing) of the Royal College of Midwives (formally the Midwives Institute) was formed on 10 November 1899 as a consultative body that addressed the statutory interests of nurses and matters concerning the nursing profession.

At first, meetings took place regularly but as soon as the committee was thoroughly organised on a representative basis, it was only summoned when there were definite issues to discuss. Between 1899 and 1906, the Sectional Committee (Nursing) met eighteen times and was primarily concerned with the registration of trained nurses, the organisation of the nursing profession and the training of nurses.

After 1906, the Sectional Committee (Nursing) was not called again, until 19 May 1916. It was decided that meetings should resume as at this time there was no other body actively seeking to protect the interests of the nursing profession, or to voice the views of independent nurses, as well as the many nurses who are also trained midwives.

The original order of material is retained, although where this is not possible the arrangement of files has been based on the functions and activities of the organisation as well as chronology, subject and the needs of users.

Permission is required for external access to records less than twenty years old. Also restrictions apply if material includes personal information of living individuals. All other records are open to research by appointment, Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm. For further information about accessing the collection and visiting the reading room, please contact: archives@rcog.co.uk

There is no record of the source or date of acquisition before this material was deposited under the terms of a collection care agreement at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in May 2011.

Catalogued by Clare Sexton, Project Archivist in accordance with ISAD(G).

Further details of the contents of this collection are available on request.

Copyright belongs to the Royal College of Midwives. To reproduce this material, please apply via the College Archivist: archives@rcog.co.uk

This collection was previously held at the Royal College of Midwives.