Brooke House honours resident on International Nurses Day

A warm tribute was paid at Brooke House care home, near Norwich, to a nurse whose career began during the Second World War.

Staff at the home, in Brooke, could not let International Nurses Day pass without presenting 97-year-old resident Betty Brighton with chocolates and flowers to show their appreciation of her service.

Home manager Julie Bullimore said: “Betty has given so much of her life to public service, we wanted to honour that fact on International Nurses Day.”

Support worker Geraldine West is pictured handing over the flowers to Betty who moved to Brooke House from her home in Poringland in 2015.

Betty, who was born in Holloway, London, started her training at Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital at the age of 18.

During her time there, she was involved in nursing prisoners of war and also miners, due to it being a mining community.

Betty was known for her hard work and empathetic nursing; she eventually became a ward sister. 

In 1946 she left Leicester and the Royal Infirmary, moving back to London.  It was at a dance that Betty met her future husband, Albert Brighton, and they wed in 1947. 

Sheila, Betty's daughter – who now lives in Stoke Holy Cross - joined the Watford Brigade St John Ambulance cadets at the age of 15.

It was while Sheila was there that the opportunity arose for Betty to re-engage with her nursing career and became the nursing officer for St John’s Ambulance, training cadets and adults.

Betty served with St John’s Ambulance for 20 years, retiring in 1979, before moving to Norfolk.

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