Welcome to Oxfordshire Health Archives

Oxfordshire Health Archives selects and cares for the historic archives of NHS hospitals in Oxfordshire. The archives in our care include those of Oxfordshire hospitals and NHS administrative bodies, Leagues of Friends and Nurses' Alumni organizations. We also provide advice to NHS staff on the management, care and disposal of recent records.

Our primary purpose is to support and inform the day to day work of the NHS, but our collections are of interest in the fields of the history of medicine, social, architectural and local history, and family history. They are also used for medical research.

Do you know this woman?

This lovely oil painting used to hang in the Oxford School of Nursing, but no-one knows who the nurse is or how the portrait came to be there.  She seems to be a member of a Red Cross Society, but not the British Red Cross.  The head dress is like that of the Russian Red Cross, and white may suggest a probationer or tropical dress, but Red Cross sources do not have any records of this particular uniform.  The portrait may date from World War I or the 1920s.

Can you tell us more about her or about the artist?  If so, please contact us.