William Rathbone V1 was born on the 11th of February 1819, the eldest son of William Rathbone V of Greenbank, Liverpool who was elected a Liberal councillor for Liverpool in 1835 and Mayor of Liverpool in 1837. He fought for many causes: a newspaper report on his death listed among them, "Roman Catholic emancipation, parliamentary reform, municipal reform, freedom of the West Indian slaves, the repeal of the corn laws, the penny postage scheme, national education..." An active supporter of the Municipal Reform Act of 1835, he took a strong stand against bribery and other forms of corruption in municipal elections. He and his wife Elizabeth supported Kitty Wilkinson's work during the cholera epidemic in 1832 to establish a system of washing infected clothing and bedding, which led to the introduction of public baths and wash-houses in Liverpool in 1845.
Although he himself was neither nurse nor physician, William Rathbone V1 was one of the most important figures in British nursing in the Victorian era, revolutionizing healthcare for England’s poor and establishing a new model of nursing practice. His ancestors had been Quakers and his parents continued that tradition of public service, supporting a range of causes from slave emancipation to public education. The family’s motto was, "What ought to be done, can be done."
When his first wife Lucretia became seriously ill whilst pregnant with their fifth child, William hired a private-duty nurse, Mary Robinson, to care for her, but Lucretia died on May 29, 1859, leaving him devastated. The care given by Mary Robinson prompted William V1 to campaign for a system of district nursing to enable the poor to benefit from similar care.
In 1861, he wrote to Florence Nightingale at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, asking for her advice. She dismissed the idea of trying to recruit experienced nurses, suggesting that he establish a brand-new training program instead. He followed Nightingale’s recommendations willingly and within a year he had founded the Liverpool Training School and Home for Nurses at the Royal Liverpool Infirmary. All this was done entirely at his own expense and from which basis a district nursing system was implemented in Liverpool through the 1860s and spread throughout the country. Although Florence Nightingale was not directly involved in this project beyond her initial proposal, she and William went on to become lifelong correspondents and friends.
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| Florence Nightingale Memorial-junction of Upper Parliament Street and Princes Road, Liverpool |
William VI's involvement with this scheme also made him aware of the poor state of the workhouse hospitals, and he did much to assist in the reform of the nursing in workhouses. In 1888-1889 he was honorary secretary, and then Vice-President, of the Queen Victoria Jubilee Institute for Nurses.
He was elected a Liberal MP for Liverpool in 1868, and sat for the city until 1880; was returned in 1881 as MP for Carnarvonshire from 1881-1885, and for Arfon, North Carnarvonshire from 1885-1895. Closely involved in the formation of University College, Liverpool in 1882, later to become the University of Liverpool, founding a Professorship in English with his two brothers, he served as president of the college in 1892. He also played an important part in the establishment of the University College of North Wales in 1884, and served as president from 1891.
He was also instrumental in establishing Queen Victoria's Jubilee Institute for Nurses in 1887, which later became The Queen's Nursing Institute, founded using money donated by the women of England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Its mission was to organise the training and supply of district nurses throughout the British Isles, with the help of regional bodies. District nurses trained under its auspices were given the title 'Queen's Nurse' and members of the Rathbone family have served as trustees of the charity continuously ever since. Emily actively supported her husband's work in the establishment of District Nursing in Liverpool, acting as a Lady Superintendent of district nurses, and initiating a schools' nursing service in the city in 1895.
He was made Freeman of the City of Liverpool on the 21st of Oct 1891 and died on the 6th Mar 1902 at Greenbank. A wreath was sent by Florence Nightingale with a card that read, "one of God’s best and greatest sons".
It is thought that his wealth and business successes were merely a means for the philanthropy he carried out throughout his life. Succeeding in improving workhouse conditions and medical treatment for the poor, William Rathbone VI will be remembered as a champion of the working classes.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2020/07/a-liverpool-hero-kate-shepherd.html
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