Published: 20 April 2023
St George’s Nursing alumna, Elona Rogers (nee Edgar), studied at the former St George’s site on Hyde Park Corner – now the Lanesborough Hotel – from 1952-1956. During this time, she trained at the Grove Fever hospital, Tooting and the Wimbledon Atkinson Morley Neurosurgical/Psychiatric hospital.
Since then, Elona has led a varied career, with several roles in District Nursing before a Degree in Community Health at Surrey University, then teaching in Colleges of Adult Education. She also delivered training for businesses and public services on a range of topics, including Sleep and Shift working, Time Management and Communications. After retiring, she spent several years training counsellors as volunteers for ‘Cruse Bereavement Care’ and becoming a local Chair for the charity.
Below, she shares her memories of the former St George’s site on Hyde Park Corner.
My interview with Dame Muriel Powell
"Studying somewhere as lively and hectic as Hyde Park Corner was a far cry from rural Yorkshire and Essex where I grew up. My first ever visit to St George’s was for my interview with Dame Muriel Powell, and it was also my first time on the Underground."
- Elona Rogers (née Edgar) -
“I carried out night duties while residing in a Nurses Home, Montpelier Street, opposite Harrod’s Store. It was rarely quiet at Hyde Park Corner with steady streams of traffic through the night. From 5am you could hear the Horse Guards clomping on their daily ride from Constitution Hill into Hyde Park riding to Kensington Barracks.
"One thing that struck me as particularly indulgent and unique was that the maids at all the various Nursing Homes served breakfast-in-bed upon request on our days off. All main meals were served by chefs in full regalia – only after Sister said ‘Grace’– and trays of dainty sandwiches and cakes were regularly received from Buckingham Palace after their Garden Parties."
Midnight Conga Dances and watching stage rehearsals
“I have lots of fond memories of my time at the old St George’s site, including doing a Christmas midnight conga dance around Hyde Park Corner to the Doctor’s Medical Centre in Knightsbridge!"
"I also remember the fun we had watching dancers rehearsing for stage performances, practicing tap dancing on the wide pavements outside Hyde Park gate from the Maternity Unit on the top floor in the ‘quiet’ hours from 2am – 4am."
Visiting the Lanesborough hotel
"In 1991, we had a nostalgic tour of the Lanesborough Hotel. The luxurious Honeymoon Suite had been our Chapel, with its many memories of some patient’s sad or happy prayers and hopes."
- Elona Rogers -
Elona's first visit to the Lanesborough Hotel was in 1991, two years after it first opened (pictured above). She says:
"I was among fifty former trainee nurses from the Hyde Park Corner campus to be invited to attend a celebratory dinner there. We had a nostalgic tour of the hotel, recalling where the wards had been and reliving old memories. The luxurious Honeymoon Suite had been our Chapel, with its many memories of some patient’s sad or happy prayers and hopes.
“We also recalled our visits to the basement mortuary in the dark hours – when we would hear the eerie, squealing noises coming from the refrigerator motors – as well as our visits to the pharmacy to collect leeches!
"Returning to the Lanesborough conjured up memories of my time as a student and the many wonderful life experiences my time at St George's has led to."
- Elona Rogers -
Elona returned to the Lanesborough earlier this year to celebrate her birthday with a family Afternoon Tea (pictured above).
"I enjoyed showing my grandchildren where ‘my world’ at the age of 18 years started. The staircase I climbed all those years ago for my interview had changed completely but still conjured up memories of my time as a student, the privilege of training and working at St George’s and the many wonderful life experiences my time there has led to."