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The woman who was recognized as the NHS’s “first black female nurse” has been given a Blue Shield for her work as the system expands.
Daphne Steele will be honored with the first official Blue Plaque outside London at the former St Winifred’s maternity facility in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
The plaque reads: “Daphne Steele. 1927 to 2004. Guyanese nurse and midwife. The NHS’s pioneering black female nurse lived and worked here.”
Beatles star and humanitarian George Harrison and Clarice Cliff, the 20th century ceramics designer who created the quirky Winston Churchill water jug and colorful tableware, will be next to receive the plaque.
Mr Steele’s son Robert Steele said: “Her mother considered herself a nurse and a midwife.
“As far as she was concerned, she was just continuing to do her job. Seeing the plaque dedicated to her and knowing that she made such a difference to so many people, she You will be speechless and appalled.”
His mother, originally from Guyana, arrived in the UK in 1951 and enrolled on a nursing course at St James’s Hospital in Balham, south London, graduating two years later.
She then trained as a midwife in 1954 and worked in the United States, Oxfordshire and Manchester.
Ms Steele became a midwife at St Winifred’s Maternity Hospital in Ilkley in 1964 and is reported to have earned an annual salary of £1,230 (£20,733 in today’s money).
Chief Nursing Officer Dame Ruth May called her “an inspirational woman who has undoubtedly paved the way for many other nurses and midwives to follow in her footsteps”.
She also said: “Daphne had a wonderful career as a nurse, midwife and health visitor and, like many of her Windrush generation, made a huge contribution to the NHS.”
When St Winifred’s Hospital closed in October 1971, Ms Steele found a new job working at Wharfedale Children’s Hospital in Menston, before retraining as a health visitor at Leeds University.
She also worked as a medical visitor in Ilkley and Bingley, and recalled to a local newspaper in 2001 that she received “about 350 letters from all over England and around the world” after being appointed a mother.
The Blue Plaque scheme is delivered by Historic England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Whitley Bay Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson said Ms Steele “delivered hundreds of babies a year” and “paved the way for so many people from a wide range of backgrounds to play key roles in our important national institutions”. ” he said.
“We are delighted to be commemorating her with an official blue plaque for the first time outside of London and hope her story continues to inspire people across Yorkshire and further afield.” added.
Mr Steele, along with Mr Harrison and Mr Cliff, will be part of a new national scheme made possible thanks to changes to the law last year.
In early summer 2024, the public will be able to submit ideas for who to commemorate locally.
Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, described Ms Steele as a “silent revolutionary” who changed history almost 60 years ago by becoming the NHS’s first black nurse.
“Our national Blue Plaques scheme is a wonderful opportunity to tell the stories of inspirational people like Daphne who have helped make the world a better place,” added Mr Wilson.
“Blue plaques are well known and loved. They help people and communities feel proud and connected to their local and national heritage.”
For the past century and a half, the official Blue Plaque system has been limited to London, with local initiatives commemorating it locally.
London’s Blue Plaque scheme began in 1866 and was run by English Heritage from 1986.
The official scheme, announced by DCMS in September, will be run across England by Historic England.