by Irene Janes
Nurse Lillian Dailey
This particular woman may have sent shivers down the spine of pregnant ladies in our town, but not in bad way – it was the realisation they were about to go through the experience of child birth.
Nurse Dailey’s father was an army guard. Lillian qualified and did midwifery in London. She had the good sense to marry a Welsh man and move to Merthyr Tydfil where they lived in the Dowlais and Penydarren area. In her time, she delivered over one hundred babies.
Mrs Hazel Davies brought Lillian to my attention. Although Hazel was under the hospital with her two pregnancies, Lillian looked after her when she was having her two sons, who were Lillian’s great grandsons.
Thankfully, this was not Lillian’s only skill and passed onto Hazel the craft of crochet. The blanket of three hundred squares is safe in Hazel’s home along with happy memories of Nurse Dailey.
I nearly forgot to mention that this grand, proud lady lived to be one hundred years old.
Midwife Alice Ann Sussex
Here is another one people may remember. Alice covered the area of Troedyrhiw and surrounding areas. Although not a nurse, Alice was a fully trained midwife. The last baby she delivered was the sender of this information Mrs Sheila Sussex. In 1952, midwife Alice re-registered so she could help deliver Sheila, which is her granddaughter, and the last baby to be delivered by her. Thank you Sheila Sussex for sharing this with us.
I must add every one of us owes a huge debt to midwives from Merthyr Tydfil and beyond, we salute you all. We were all babies once and without them, perhaps we wouldn’t be here.