Ellen English, the Irish Nursing Sister who cared for a German spy

Doctors were, obviously, not the only ones who cared for Josef Jakobs while he was laid up at Dulwich Hospital. There were a rotating cohort of nurses who also provided care but, unlike the doctors, their names are lost to history. While the doctors put their names on medical requisitions and reports, nurses did not.

The 1939 National Register lists a number of staff for Dulwich Hospital. Whether these individuals were still there in 1941 is up for debate:

• Muriel Arabella Cole – Matron of Hospital
• Brigid Meagher – Asst. Matron of Hospital
• Florence V. West – Sister Tutor of Hospital
• Gladys L.M. Wilson – Night Supt. of Hospital
• May Binns – Hospital Admin Nurse (Sister)

There are dozens of other staff members, some of whose entries are still closed. There is, however, one nurse whose name we may know with some certainty.

Early last year, I received an email from Jennifer who told me that her mother had worked at Dulwich Hospital and may have cared for Josef. What an amazing communication to receive!

Ellen English

Ellen English was born on 10 February 1913 in County Down, Northern Ireland.

Ellen came to England around 1934 and worked as a nursing assistant at Milton Hospital, Portsmouth. By May 1937, she had moved to London and commenced nurse training at Dulwich Hospital. She completed her training by May 1940 and then had to undertake a mandatory staff nurse role at the hospital until June 1941. I have been unable to find Ellen in the 1939 National Register, and it is possible that her name is still closed.

She then transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital, Highgate, Islington to study midwifery training in August 1941. In 1945, after the war, Ellen married Eric W. Lambert and had several children.

In 1987, Ellen showed her daughter, Jennifer, a newspaper cutting announcing the death of Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison. Ellen thought that, while she was at Dulwich Hospital, she had helped to nurse Rudolf Hess, who had injured his leg after jumping from his aircraft. She said that the man had shown her pictures of his wife and children.

Jennifer recently rediscovered that newspaper cutting and looked up information about Hess and Dulwich Hospital. As it turns out, Rudolf Hess was never sent to Dulwich Hospital. But Jennifer discovered the name of another German patient who had also leapt from an aircraft and injured his leg… Josef Jakobs. The dates of Josef’s time at Dulwich Hospital dovetailed nicely with the dates that Ellen worked there.

While Rudolf’s case was in the newspapers quite a bit, Josef’s case was more under the radar. Jennifer now thinks that her mother may have confused the headline about Hess in 1987, a well-known story, with the story of Josef, a much less well-known case. Ellen certainly had a very distinct memory of caring for a German who had leapt from an aircraft and sustained a leg injury..

There is, of course, always the possibility that there was another German airman who stayed at Dulwich Hospital during that period. I’m not sure if regular German prisoners of war were scattered across various hospitals or if there were amalgamated into one facility.

Josef did have small, locket sized photographs of his wife and daughter, so it is always possible that he showed them to Ellen.

These are the sorts of stories that warm my heart. To connect with the descendants of those who encountered Josef during his time in England and share stories. Being able to put a name and a face to some of the ones who cared for Josef when he was injured. It makes it all so much more personal and brings history alive in a way that still amazes me.