A Lifetime Of Love

For more than 50 years, Mary Wallis has helped the sick children of Great Ormond Street Hospital and their families, offering comfort and care at Christmas and beyond

- Katharine Wootton

Walking around the wards of Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Mary Wallis can’t get far without someone shouting her name and giving her a wave. After all, Mary has made friends with many people in the half a century she’s been pacing the corridors of this hospital, first as a nurse and then as a volunteer.

Mary’s connection to Great Ormond Street, now one of the world’s leading children’s hospitals, began in the mid- Sixties when she discovered a real love of caring for children during her nurse’s training and so took up a post as a staff nurse at Great Ormond Street.

“Back then, the wards were much smaller and the equipment not as sophisticated,” says Mary. “There was also very little antenatal scanning in those days. Parents of newborns didn’t know there was anything wrong until their baby arrived so we had to think on our feet, unlike today when many conditions are picked up during the early stages of pregnancy.”

From changing technology to advancing medical knowledge, Mary saw countless changes in her time as a nurse. But one thing that never altered was the power of kindness. “I learned from the start that you need to care for the families as much as the sick child and that remains today.”