Cedar House camaraderie 30 years on
On a recent trip back to Cedar House, Roger Hamlett and friends reminisced on time spent here as student nurses in the late 1980s and how although the hairstyles and fashion trends may have moved on, the bonds of those formative years still remain.
Prior to becoming home to Liverpool School of Medicine on campus, Cedar House served as student accommodation to nurses in training. As far back as the 1930s, nurses at the Royal Liverpool Infirmary would count Cedar House as their home while they completed their studies next door.
For Roger Hamlett, Emma Carter, Simon Wynne, Fiona Brunton, Moira Savage, Cathy Jenkins and Nicky Wherley it proved quite emotional to step foot once again into Cedar House and think back to the shared experiences that shaped them into the nurses they would go on to become.
Friends then and now
After qualifying, Roger Hamlett started on the Care of the Elderly Ward at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital before specialising in Renal Dialysis nursing and moving between Birmingham, Merseyside and Chester before finishing up his nursing career at Arrowe Park Hospital upon retirement in 2021.
“I suppose I came into nursing by accident. Around the late 80’s I was working as a store clerk at a local hospital and a friend of mine mentioned his girlfriend had just started her nurse training and the social life was great. He forgot to mention the studying and working bit! Trained nurses around that time were in demand due to shortages so it seemed like a smart move.
I arrived at Cedar House in early January 1988. I was a few years older than my peers and probably a little more confident. I settled into communal living fine and made friends just as quickly. I was maybe one of 10-15 male nurses living there at the time, alongside about 150 female counterparts. It was in Cedar House where I met my soon-to-be best man and many other lifelong friends.
It was like living with one big family, we shared joyous times, sad times, fall outs and make ups.
There were many trips into town where we’d dance the night away at the local nightclubs (The Cabin, Blue Angel, Plummers) before heading back up Pembroke Place together, trying not to think of the early shift you were on the next morning. We played hard and worked hard, but at 20 something you thought you were invincible.
I found being a male nurse studying in the late 80s difficult at times. Judgements were made very quickly about how you were going to carry out your work duties.
What has stuck with me from those days is never to judge a book by its cover!
Working and studying was onerous at times, but you were in the same boat as everyone else, all in it together.
Roger's once bedroom, now teaching room
To be honest, during my training I realised I was never going to be the greatest bedside nurse, so I started to look for nursing fields that involved a specialty and working with outpatients rather than inpatients and that’s how I ended up in Renal Dialysis nursing.
Coming back to Cedar House after 30 odd years was exciting and once through the doors it was like yesterday and we were all still living there and had only seen each other the day before.
We chatted about the old lift, the one phone for five floors and leaving post-it notes on doors to let others know somebody had called.
After the visit that evening the general consensus was a feeling of sadness and wishing we could go back and be late teens, early twenties again; it was a magical time in our lives for which we will be forever grateful.
Looking back, I have always tried my best and treated patients as I would like to be treated in a similar situation. My advice for anyone newly entering the work place; be yourself, ask questions, open your eyes and listen to the patient - you may be pleasantly surprised to learn something new.”
Pembroke Place entrance 30 years apart
Emma Carter has dedicated her NHS career to the care and support of children and young people, including 29 years of service at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
“To study as a nurse in the 80s was perhaps the last of what could be seen as the ‘old fashioned way’ of training.
My training prepared me well for my life as a nurse and felt able to hit the ground running.
The level of responsibility was a lot different once qualified, and I think was a bit much looking back, but I never felt unsupported.
My fondest memories from my time at Cedar House are the friends I made and how we can pick up pretty much were we left off whenever we get together. I felt really grown up and saw it as my own little place.
I went on to Alder Hey and became a children’s nurse. I was a staff nurse for 29 years and worked as a contraceptive/sexual health nurse with young people. I now work in clinical research.
I am very proud that I am still here working in the NHS. Supporting our younger population is something I feel very passionate about.
My biggest challenge has been juggling working and been a mum but think I did ok! In terms of advice - you know more than you think! When you qualify you can feel as though you don’t know anything and wonder what you have learned the last few years but once you’re up and running it will come back to you!”
Simon Wynne at Cedar House during training
After completing his training in Liverpool, Simon Wynne went on to York to take mental health training before heading back home to North Wales where he worked in mental health until retirement last year.
“My time at Cedar House began with 147 dented tins from Kwik Save. I lived next to the launderette on the 4th floor and was taught how to iron using an ironing board. The cleaning staff and housekeeper were so much fun, lovely ladies!
I found training hard initially. I was a mature student and hadn’t studied since my school days. But we all helped each other out with our training.
I recall being asked on my second ward if I was gay or lazy, as those were the expectation of a male nurse at the time. I remember going in for a night shift after the Hillsborough Disaster. I'd been in bed all day not knowing what had happened or why work was so quiet.
I remember being left in charge of the ward for the first time on nights during my second year.
Meeting up with our set at Cedar House was wonderful. Everyone has been so successful – and looked just as they did when we left in 1991!”
Simon Wynne (L) and Roger Hamlett (R) with Wardens
Fiona Brunton went on to specialise as an Oncology Nurse and moved from the North West to Hertfordshire, America and Berkshire, where she continues to work part time today.
“My training taught me to be a team player. I definitely think of myself as a ‘sheep not a shepherd’. I learned to question things that didn’t seem right or fair and to trust my instinct if something seemed ‘off’.
Working with the Regional Head and Neck Cancer Unit led me to Oncology. I sourced funding myself to earn a place on an Oncology Nursing Course and after six months was able to apply all I had learned into setting up a pre-op clinic where I would meet with patients and educate them on what to expect from their surgery as well as offer advice and counselling on diagnosis.
After qualifying in 1991 I stayed on at the Regional Head and Neck Cancer Unit for three years before moving to Hertfordshire, America and finally Berkshire where I now work part time at a private clinic carrying out a wide range of duties, including working as a scrub nurse. The biggest challenge for me was juggling four children whilst trying to sustain my nursing career and dealing with the often unsociable hours.
I had some of my best ever times at Cedar House but can also recall feeling very lonely despite living with so many other students.
The camaraderie was unbelievable, everyone there was going through the same experience and we relied heavily on each other.
I had mixed emotions going back. It was sad to think there were no longer student nurses living there, experiencing life as we did.
I’d advise anyone going into healthcare now to always imagine that the patient in front of you is related to you and to provide the high standard of care you would expect for that relative. Be open minded. Take time to form your own opinions and always, always maintain a sense of humour!”
Cedar House, late 1980s
Discover more
- Dive deeper into the history of Cedar House and the Waterhouse building on the Heritage section of the School website (link).
- Get insights and advice from School Alumni as they reminisce on their days at Liverpool and the careers they went on to create on our Alumni Stories webpage (link).