At the beginning of the 1960s a young Jamaican girl, Annette Poulson, arrived in London to study Law. After a distressing period of being subjected to racial prejudice and abuse, some of it at the law school where she was enrolled, she found herself at Victoria Bus Station.

On impulse, she climbed onto a bus, not knowing where it was going and, when challenged by the driver who told her it was going to the Forest of Dean, she said, "That will do" not even knowing where the Forest of Dean was nor anything about it.

Arriving at Lydney, the driver was concerned about his young passenger and asked where she was heading. She replied that she wanted to be a nurse. He, bless him, took the bus to Lydney Hospital and delivered her at the door of the Matron, Sister Ayres, who took one look at this young girl and invited her in.

Then began two and a half years of training as an enrolled nurse which meant starting at the bottom, doing the most menial tasks and working her way up, times that Annette relates were some of the happiest of her life. She was treated with nothing but kindness and never experienced one incident of racial prejudice even though there were very few black people in the Forest. She said, "The people of the Forest did not see my colour but treated me like a person" and that meant a great deal to her...

Sister Ayres obviously seeing this young nurse's potential encouraged her to go on to general nursing training and enrolled her with a major London hospital from where, at the end of her training and at another crossroads, she stuck a pin in the advertising page of the Nursing Times and came up with being a nurse in the RAF!

Annette then became the first black nursing officer in the RAF, rising to the rank of Flight Lieutenant, working with Special Services Overseas and becoming one of the finest of theatre nurses in Burns and Plastics, rebuilding the shattered bodies of servicemen and winning the prestigious McKindoe Award for her work.

Unfortunately, during an operation she picked up a particularly nasty infection from a patient which ended her theatre work, but she then went on to be the senior administrative sister in charge at Blackberry Hill Hospital in Bristol, leading the way in using the new therapies of aromatherapy and reflexology for the comfort of patients.

Finally cancer and the accumulative effects of her illness took its toll and she was forced to retire on a reduced pension in her mid-fifties. However, refusing to be a burden to her friends, she moved herself up to a remote area of Scotland, living carefully and frugally. Yet, until recently, she still gave her experience and time freely to helping a group of nuns who provide hospice for elderly sick and disabled ex-dockworkers from Glasgow.

If anyone remembers this young black nurse who loved and respected the Forest of Dean and its people, I would like to hear from you because I feel her story should be told. I have known her for many years and her kindness and caring and time for people is a legend.

I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the people of the Forest who gave this lovely lady a chance. – Jean Brodie, Cinderford.