Esther Smith letters

E C Lewis

HB13/22/1 – Letter 1
[Transcription]

August 5th, 1923

Dear Nichola,

Thank you for your letter I received the other day. I was pleased to hear that the room you have found in Edinburgh is comfortable and suits you. I am still working on adjusting to my new life here. I am hopeful that the community here will be welcoming to me. The lodging I have found is fine enough, the only complaint I have is my room is above the kitchen so the heat – along with the smells – make their way into my room and lingers. I don’t think I have slept a single night with my window closed because of the oppressive heat.
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The best part of the lodgings is the fact that it is only a short walk away from the Asylum grounds which makes mornings a bit easier for me. As you remember mornings have never been the easiest part of my day. How are you settling in with your new job? Are they kind? Do you have to wear a uniform to your work or are you free to wear what you like? We have an unfortunate uniform that the matron says should one kept pristine at all times. I’ve taken to hiding away in storage cupboards to have a
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moment where I don’t feel like I’m fighting my starched collar. It now feels silly thinking about all the hours spent hunched over a typewriter as these are the first words I have put to paper in nearly a full week. My lack of medical training hasn’t held me back or caused me any issues yet. For the large part I have been relegated to the mere menial and custodial tasks but at least I do not have the more physical jobs of the attendants. Most of my work is changing linens, taking away bed pans, and
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making it so the more senior mental and general nurses can do their jobs. On my first day I was given a tour of the Asylum and its grounds which were much larger than I anticipated. I also had a short meeting with the head Matron Brodie who seems to be a woman of clear boundaries and expectations which I prefer to one who is too soft. This work demands a certain level of physical and mental strength, only time will tell if I have it in the long run.
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That is all I have to write for now, I will write to you when there are more things to tell.

All my love,
Esther
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HB13/22/2 – Letter 2
[Transcription]

October 14th, 1923

Dear Nichola,

Thank you for your letter I reviewed on the 10th of this month, how exciting things seem in your life! I am relieved to hear that you were able to get out of another walk with Daniel, but I am also shocked that he just showed up at your work like that! Thank goodness your employer was there and was able to help. Have you heard from him since? Perhaps it is better if you don’t…My working days mostly look the same, although I was called into the matron’s
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office and was instantly worried that I had done something wrong – I am far from perfect. The other day I was helping with laundry and forgot to take a load out of the washer and by the time I remembered they smelled of damp! I wasn’t in trouble in fact, she wanted to talk to me about enrolling and studying on a course that would act as a qualification in nursing, I must admit I am a bit hesitant to following through with it,
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there are lots of nurses here who are good at their jobs and who also don’t have it. I think she could tell that I was hesitant so, she’s had one of the nurses studying for it take me under her wing. A girl named Winnie from Rhyl who moved up here during the war and stayed. I am still not convinced I need it, but it might make my life easier if I go along with the course and see how it goes. The only other event of note is yesterday we had
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our photograph taken for the hospital. Everyone looked so clean and put together – not really anything like how we usually look on the wards, especially us in the East House. The one thing uniting us all were those horrid, starched collars! There are moments it feels as if it were carving into my neck. I envy that you get to wear whatever you wish. Maybe there is still hope that I would make a secretary still… Thoughts for another time. Do let me know if Daniel tries to make another grand gesture, eek!
All my love,
Esther
-4-

HB13/22/3 – Letter 3
[Transcription]

December 28th, 1923

Dear Nichola,

Well, first let me congratulate you on your new promotion at your work! This is such excellent news and I am so happy for you. What does this mean for the type of work you will be doing? So thrilling! I was also pleased to hear about your Christmas and how you were able to go home to see your family and that they are all doing well. They must be so impressed with the life you are making for yourself
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things here have picked up a bit for me as I’ve learned more about the city. Last week I went with a group of nurses to the Salon Picture House as a fun evening out. The picture house was quite full but we managed to get seats with a good view. I’ve made friends with one of the girls here, Constance McLean, and we are going to go to Byres Rd to see if there are any bits that can make our outfits a bit fresher for the Hogmanay ceilidh. Perhaps this will be the night I
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find a fellow like the one you found, although I would be happy to spend the night dancing until my feet are bruised and swollen. I think we will also take lunch at a place called Curler’s Public House as a well earned meal out. I find myself needing time away from my work as most days I am left feeling exhausted and I am sleeping before my head hits my pillow. When I don’t immediately fall asleep I do my best to read the notes I have taken for my nursing course – and that never fails to make me sleepy. I’m doing my best but my
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brain seems to be able to hold onto every other bit of information. Despite all of this I can’t imagine myself anywhere else, the work is fulfilling in a way that I didn’t think possible. I thought this sort of purpose was reserved for clergy or for those of an artistic temperament. I think, if given the opportunity, I would happily live my life here in the shadow of the great stone buildings that leave me tired and ready for sleep. By the time you read this letter it will be a whole new year so, I will close this letter by wishing you a Happy Hogmanay and New Year when it comes. Here is to a new year of new opportunities and joys!

All my love,
Esther
-4-

HB13/22/4 – Letter 4
[Transcription]

April 17th, 1924

Dear Nichola,

I am not sure if you received my last letter, but just in case you have not I have started my nurse training towards my MPA exam. Matron Brodie is thrilled that I have finally agreed to it and I am excited to be learning about being a mental nurse as well as receiving the training of a general nurse. They hung up the photo that was taken last year of all of us and… I look horrific! I must have been mid blinking because one of my eyes is partially closed.
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We won’t take another photograph until next year but even then, that one will just be moved to a different location. I know it may sound silly, but I had hoped that the first photograph I was in would have at least been one where I liked how I looked. The only other newsworthy of notes more gossip about the tension between Norah and a new nurse Kathleen. I’m not sure exactly what happened but I have found myself in the
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middle of it. As of now I have aligned myself with Norah as she seems to be the more level headed of the two. I think the conflict centres around preferred shifts on the wards and that Norah was supposed to be transferred to the West House, but Kathleen was somehow instead. In less salacious news, Matron has taken special interest in my studies and has lent me several books to help me prepare for the examination. I think she is worried I will resign from
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the programme because four other girls have in the past month. There have been times where I have had to take long walks around the grounds to centre myself. Spring is in full force as well with the daffodils snow drops and crocuses in bloom. I even snuck a couple of blooms into my bag on my way home from work so now I have something nice in my room. Little things like that make my harder days easier.
All my love,
Esther
-4-

HB13/22/5 – Letter 5
[Transcription]

May 19th, 1924

Dear Nichola,

This week has been quite full on, but I was able to still have my half day off and took myself to the picture house to see what was on. I picked up a sweet bun from a small bakery on Byres Rd before walking home. I took the long way that loops me through the Botanical Gardens, have you been? I know there are gardens in Edinburgh, have you been? It’s such a nice change of pace from life in the asylum. Everything is so
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controlled and sterile at times. I find myself longing for a bit of wild and unkempt-ness. I don’t know if that makes sense. Regarding your last letter I would love it if you came to visit! There is a small pub around the corner with a couple of clean rooms to rent or if you are happy to share a bed, you are welcome to stay with me – it would be just like old times – I will leave that choice for you to make
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as you know your own comfort levels best. If you are able, give me the dates you hope to be here I can see if I can get my shifts covered and can give you a tour of Glasgow. I could even walk you around the grounds if you would like. I find myself enjoying the work more and more as time goes on. The work is still physically and mentally demanding, but I have learned how to best conduct myself in a way that allows me to
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do my best and make sure my patients are comfortable and well taken care of. Some of the attendants I feel may not care about how the men and women in our care feel about how they are treated. I try to avoid interacting with them too much and luckily, I can mostly manage that with relative ease. In all honesty, I do not understand how they can feel that way, this place gives me the opportunity to help others with a kindness and in a way I wish I had been offered earlier in my own life. I take pride in the care of my patients, they have become a part of me in a way I cannot fully articulate. When I first started on this path I wasn’t convinced I would take to it but now nearly a year later I think this work might be my calling.

All my love,
Esther

-4-

HB13/22/6 – Letter 6
[Transcription]

September 2nd, 1925

Dear Nichola,

It has finally happened, I have been moved to the West House! I will of course miss the patients I worked with in East House but I am just so thrilled. Along with this move I am also flat sitting for Matron Brodie and watching over her cat and pet budgie. The cat is an absolute sweetheart and loves it when I scratch its little white beard (an all-black cat
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otherwise). But the budgie has not stopped chirping since matron left and I am at my wits end! Luckily, I only have two more days listening to this endless chirping as the conference Matron and Dr. MacNiven are attending is a brief one and not that far away in St. Andrews at the medical school there. They are giving a presentation on integrated nurse training to try to get other hospitals and asylums to follow in our path.
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I don’t know how successful they will be as there seems to be a general pushback against treating general and mental nurses similarly. Having completed the training they are advocating for I can attest that it has made me a much better nurse and I can now see the difference is the quality of care that is given by attendants and nurses who don’t have their MPA or GNC. Those without training are quicker to more physical responses.
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It is interesting staying in someone else’s home, I feel like there are so many aspects of this place that I am only just beginning to see – and it is nice and warm, while my flat is seemingly always an ice box. This time also has me considering the benefits of getting a cat of my own. I find I enjoy the company when I finish my work. There are plenty of cats to choose from, maybe if I leave a saucer of
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milk and bread out maybe one will choose me. There is a spirit in this place that feels as though it had been waiting for me, or maybe I was the one waiting. I thought the care and compassion that a family offers out of my grasp, but I have found it here – abundantly so. Perhaps I am not destined for a life of struggle (as I declared to you so many times). And perhaps my work here can help someone who may feel similarly be comforted and reassured. The adventures continue! But tell me about your trip to London to visit your aunt and cousin. What was it like? Are you happy to be back home? Spare no details as I am eager to hear all!!

All my love
Esther
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Esther Smith Letters HB13/22

Letter 1 HB13/22/1
Letter 2 HB13/22/2
Letter 3 HB13/22/3
Letter 4 HB13/22/4
Letter 5 HB13/22/5
Letter 6 HB13/22/6

About this work
This collection of letters was donated to the Gartnavel Archives by L.F. Reid, the great granddaughter of Nichola Reid, in 2009. The letters were sent to Nichola Reid from Esther Smith between the years 1923 – 1925 during the beginning of Esther’s work at Gartnavel, then known as Glasgow Lunatic Asylum and later as Glasgow Royal Lunatic Asylum and Glasgow Royal Mental Hospital.

Publication/Creation
1923 – 1925

Physical description
1 folder.

Arrangement
Letters are housed in chronological order.

Biographical Note
Esther Smith (b. 1905, d. 1967) was born to unknown parents and left on the steps of St. Cecilia’s Orphanage and Home for Girls in Glasgow, Scotland. She spent her formative years at St. Cecilia’s where she met Nichola Reid. After leaving St. Cecilia’s, Esther initially attempted to find work as a secretary. She was unsuccessful and eventually found employment at the Glasgow Lunatic Asylum. Esther, with the encouragement of Matron Elizabeth Brodie (Head Matron 1922 – 1944) received medical training and received both her MPA and GNC qualifications. Esther would work as a senior nurse until her death in 1967.

Location of duplicates
The entirety of this collection has been transcribed and digitised. The physical letters are housed within the Gartnavel Archives, and the transcripts and digital files can be accessed online through the library catalogue.

Commentary

The original prompt I was given comprised of a series of six photographs from the early 20th century depicting the nursing staff at Gartnavel, then known as Glasgow Lunatic Asylum. Along with these images I also made use of Let There Be Light Again: A History of Gartnavel Royal Hospital From its Beginnings to the Present Day by Jonathan Andrews and Iain Smith (published 1993, archival reference HB13/2/237) to create the fictional collection of Esther Smith’s Letters.

For the last decade my creative work has been anchored within archives. I hold a deep love for spaces where fragments of the past can become an origin point for a new creative endeavour. One of my most loved archival source material to work with are collections of letters. They are a tangible reminder of the timeless need for connection. The dynamic between myself and the letters calls into the consideration the mutability of the archive as well as the representation of archival documents. Depending on the individual researcher, the transformation from fact to fiction can offer an outcome that may harmonize or confront the original archival framing of the source and the narrative established through the archival process. There is something deliciously salacious and forbidden in the act of reading letters that were never meant for you, each one a connecting thread between two people who lead full lives and felt the same things we feel today. There is a sense of incomplete time travel where the past and the present collide and in that space is where I find elements that then become core elements in my writing.

In creating an incomplete collection of letters, I am paying homage to the joy of archival research and discovery and hopefully creating an experience for the reader where they can peek into the life of the character Esther Smith. The physicality of a letter carries gravitas. The letter will exist if you keep it, store it. Or, as the recipient, you can elect to discard the letter. The choice of how the letter is held is left to the recipient. These fictional letters are an invitation in the Japanese painting style of wabi-sabi (侘寂), it is in the spaces between the letters where the story unfurls.

[Photographs of nursing staff at Gartnavel, HB13/15/3]