Fellowship, education and benevolence is core to The Company of Nurses

It was a glimmer of an idea that began in 2014, when eight nurses who had trained at St Bartholomew's Hospital in the 1970s, came together for a set reunion. Little did we know that 6 years later we would have achieved more than we could had ever hoped for.

We thought that it surely couldn't be right that, of the 110 livery companies in the City of London, some of which date back to the 12th century, there are spectacle makers, apothecaries and barber-surgeons, but no nurses. This seemed especially surprising given that St Bartholomew's, a world-renowned hospital founded in 1123, lies within the boundaries of the square mile. There was no doubt in our minds that the nursing profession should join the other noble professions who make up the City's livery movement. Something needed to be done!

Creating a livery company for the nursing profession was a way to bring nurses together, wherever and whenever they had trained. Fellowship, help with education and professional development—and offering charitable support for nurses when they needed it—all fitted well with nurses' vocational spirit.