Eileen Mary Rees

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

FRCN (21 September 1912 – 12 February 2008) was a British nurse and nurse educationalist.

Early life

Born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 21 September 1912 to the Reverend Frederick Rees,

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

and Vicar of St Catherine, Canton and his wife, Charlotte. She had two brothers - Frederick and Arthur. Rees was a pupil at Howell’s school in Llandaff. Following completing her schooling she was offered a place to study French at

University College Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

but decided to study nursing.

Education and early career

Rees trained at

Cardiff Royal Infirmary Cardiff Royal Infirmary () (also known as the CRI or YBC) is a hospital in central Cardiff, Wales. It is managed by the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board. History The hospital has its origins in the Cardiff Dispensary, which began on Ne ...

from 1931–1934. She was awarded the Gold Medal for her year qualifying as a State Registered Nurse. Rees then undertook midwifery training and became a State Certified Midwife. Rees worked as a sister in the ear, nose and throat department of the Cardiff Royal Infirmary. During the second world war from 1941 - 1946 she served with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps in the Territorial Army in the Middle East and North Africa, including Egypt, Syria and Malta, working in the tented hospitals. Her focus was mainly operating theatre work where she was in charge of a large theatre unit of 2000 beds. While in the desert she organised theatre courses for nurses and doctors. She returned to her previous role until receiving a scholarship in September 1946 to study for a Certificate in Nursing Education and Administration at the University of Toronto. Following this she took up the position of assistant tutor at Cardiff Royal Infirmary from 1947-1950 before moving to

St George’s Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It shares its main hospital site i ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. At St George's Rees was initially assistant matron and then deputy matron, working under Muriel Powell, who she regarded as her mentor. She returned to Wales to take up the position of matron at Cardiff Royal Infirmary. Rees retired in 1973 following 15 years as matron at Cardiff Royal Infirmary and 2 years in the new position of Chief Nursing Officer at the University Hospital Wales which was instigated following the Salmon Report. Rees, along with Muriel Powell, were part of the Royal Commission, chaired by Brian

Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

, and published the influential Salmon Report in 1966. Rees was then a member of the National Nursing Staff Committee which advised the Minister of Health on management training for nurses and midwives that ensured the recommendations of the Salmon Committee report were taken forward. Rees was the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

Chair of Council from 1961-64.

Death

Rees died on 12 February 2008, aged 95.

Honours

Rees was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1968. Rees was honoured by the

British Red Cross Society The British Red Cross Society () is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with 1 ...

in 1971 and received life membership. Rees received an Honorary Fellowship of the

in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Eileen 1912 births 2008 deaths Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing Welsh nurses Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Cardiff People educated at Howell's School, Llandaff British nursing administrators 20th-century Welsh women