The Matron Maker: Eva Lückes, Nursing Reformer and Nightingale Protégée
This month, we have a guest post for you, from Dr Sarah Rogers, nurse and nursing historian, and probably the world expert on a fascinating figure from the history of our hospitals, Eva Lückes. Sarah tells us about her new biography of Lückes, based on extensive archival research, and her experiences using our collections.
From Eva's wheelchair to her correspondence with Edith Cavell and Florence Nightingale, we hold a wealth of material which can be accessed in the archives - try searching our catalogue for the word 'Luckes'. The photograph above shows Lückes with her assistant matrons Miss Monk, Miss Sandifer, Miss Scott and Miss Littleboy standing on steps of The London Hospital, c1910 (RLHLH/P/3/21/14).
Sarah's fascinating new book is available for purchase in the archives, or on Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/018nxNHr
I have just published Eva Lückes’s biography which examines her extraordinary life and influential career as matron of The London Hospital from 1880-1919. During her eventful career she ran the nursing department through one terrorist bomb, two pandemics and the First World War. She survived relentless media and public scrutiny, a House of Lords Enquiry, and a failed love affair.
Eva was born in 1854; the year that Florence Nightingale, who was to become Eva’s inspiration, friend and mentor, reformed conditions in military hospitals during the Crimean War. Eva was the oldest of three daughters born to her father Henry, a bank clerk, and his wife Charlotte. Henry aspired to the lifestyle associated with a higher social class, and quickly gained promotion to bank manager, and simultaneously joined the Freemasons. He started investing in local mining and railway industries and he rapidly became an area branch manager, which enabled Eva and her siblings to be educated outside the home, including at Cheltenham Ladies College. Whilst growing up Eva gained invaluable skills from her father in networking and the use of patronage. Henry’s poor business acumen eventually had disastrous consequences for the family, and Eva and her sisters had to find suitable respectable paid employment. Eva was inspired by Nightingale and trained as a nurse. Eva’s first appointment as matron was short-lived and disastrous, but within a few months, and despite being considered ‘too young and pretty’ she was appointed as matron of the largest hospital in England - The London Hospital [now the Royal London Hospital], in London’s East End.
Eva commenced as matron in October 1880, where she faced a challenging task to reform nursing. At a time when the middle-class woman’s place was looking after the home, Eva developed her diplomatic and negotiating skills to work with the male hospital hierarchy. Despite the cash strapped management committee being reluctant to spend sufficient money to make significant changes she gradually replaced the disreputable, old style, proverbially gin-sodden nurses with professionally trained nurses. Eva introduced new training programmes, made improvements to the accommodation, nurses diet, and ward conditions for patients and staff, and kept the stigma of her father’s bankruptcy hidden throughout.
However, public and internal criticism of her treatment of nurses, and her management methods started to grow. From 1890-1893 Eva became increasingly reliant on Nightingale for psychological support during a House of Lords Enquiry into the conditions in all Metropolitan Hospitals. At one point Eva feared she would lose her job, but she survived. In spite of all the press attention, her skills of networking and tapping into patronage paid dividends and Eva’s nurses were increasingly appointed as matrons in civilian hospitals and military nursing. Nightingale facilitated some of these promotions and referred to Eva as ‘Matron of Matrons’.
From the mid-1890s Eva’s influence expanded, and in 1895 she introduced the first Preliminary Training School for nurses in England. She engineered that Sydney Holland, later Viscount Knutsford, was appointed to the hospital's management committee in 1896, and together they developed a symbiotic working relationship. With him as chairman they nurtured powerful royal patrons including Princess Alexandra. From 1901 Eva vicariously influenced the development of the new military nursing service, and later was asked to advise on a new naval nursing service. By the time Eva died in 1919 after 39 years in post, she had trained the three highest-ranked military matrons. To Eva, The London was her home and her family, and in February 1919 she achieved her aim, and died whilst still matron, at the hospital she loved so much.
Until now Eva has largely been remembered for her refusal to accept centralised state registration for nurses, mandatory three-year nurse training, and her career-long disagreement with Ethel Fenwick. However, she was innovative - she introduced examinations for her nurses, and a private nurses institute, and in 1894 started what is probably the first alumni newsletter for nurses. She enabled her private nurses to keep up-to-date on the wards between private cases, encouraged her nurses to acquire extra qualifications, including skills in sick room cookery, midwifery and massage training. Her text-books for nurses are still in print today. After Nightingale’s death, Eva was regarded by some to have become the leader of the profession. Her biography reveals how remarkable she was, and is a significant contribution to 19th and early 20th century nursing and women’s history.
I first became intrigued by Eva 12 years ago whilst I was a novice researcher, and since then have visited Barts Health Archives countless times. Kate and the team are so friendly and knowledgeable, and although I have built up considerable experience of what records the archive holds which pertain to Eva, the archivists still make excellent suggestions about which records may be of use. They have encouraged me throughout my research journey.
This is a wonderful archive with countless records which can help provide information. It is one of my happy places - I love visiting the archive and looking forward to handling original documents created during Eva’s career, many of which she wrote and signed herself. BHA holds a wide spread of records from Eva’s time at The London, including hospital management records, her staff records, personal letters to friends, including Nightingale, letters to and from Eva’s publishers, private nurses, and clients. These have been essential in helping me form a picture of Eva as a matron and person, and how she managed to negotiate changes, and keep her job. The wealth of information I have garnered from these archives, in conjunction with sources from other archives was essential for my PhD in which I examined Eva as a Matron Maker, and writing her biography.
Whatever your area of interest, whether an individual, nurse/ doctor/ staff member, hospital, or specific interest or illness, don’t hesitate to ask for the archivists' advice, and arrange to visit and consult the records.