The Hand that Cared: remembering Fannie Storr
'The Hand that Cared' commemorates Fannie Storr, a former Nursing Director and latterly a governor and volunteer chaplain at our Trust.
Artist Deborah Harrison created a visual legacy to the life of Fannie Storr, the first Director of Nursing Education in Gloucestershire. The Hand that Cared is an alabaster sculpture sensitively evoking the care Storr provided to others throughout her life before passing away in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, aged 88.
Rendered in brown alabaster with intricately exposed veins, lines and wrinkles and gently outstretched fingers, this is a tactile piece that pays tribute to a unique spirit who touched many lives. It is displayed at Sandford Education Centre, part of Cheltenham General Hospital thanks to the support of Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity.
Fannie Storr’s active career in nursing spanned over three decades, seeing her rise through the ranks at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, and eventually becoming a nurse tutor there. Her desire to nurture and share knowledge with others, which would see her move to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital as Senior Nurse Tutor before becoming the county’s first Director of Nursing Education, echoes her very first job as an assistant teacher in an infant school before embarking on a medical career.