Royal East Sussex Hospital, c1955

THIS picture, sent to us by Michael Tiltman, of Willowbed Walk, Hillside Park, shows nurses and staff at the former Royal East Sussex Hospital in Hastings.

It was taken around 1955 and people who worked there had their own nursing school, based in Cornwallis Gardens.

The event pictured is an annual prize-giving ceremony where nurses were awarded medals for hard work while they underwent their four-year training.

The hospital was a prominent one in the country, serving as a major centre for nurses’ traineeship. Nurses came from all over the UK and beyond to receive their training.