Jane Salvage
1. When you were at Brighton & Hove High School, and what is your fondest memory of school?
I was at the High School from 1964 to 1971. So many memories, mostly good ones. Above all, making friends who have remained friends ever since.
2. Who was your favourite teacher and why?
Miss Sweeting, who taught us Latin and Greek. She dressed exuberantly in bright colours, dyed her hair orange, and painted her nails, unlike most of the teachers. We sniggered, but she brought the classics alive with her historical re-enactments, including a lively demonstration of the correct way to put on your toga.
3. What were the benefits of being in an all-girls school?
Many of us were desperate to find a boyfriend. The gay girls were silent, but being all girls meant we had safer spaces to share our hopes and fears, and avoid teasing. Successful ‘old girls’ were invited back to tell us about their inspiring careers, including actress Alexandra Bastedo and fashion journalist Suzy Menkes. That helped to create a sense of what might be possible later.
4. What did you want to be when you ‘grew-up’?
I loved English, and our school trips to plays at Stratford and the Theatre Royal, Brighton (memorably, Ian McKellen in Edward II and Richard II). So I applied to study English and Drama at university, fancying myself as a theatre director. At Newnham College, Cambridge, I studied English, French and Italian, and did some amateur dramatics. But my life changed course after my brother Guy died suddenly in my second year, and I trained as a nurse after graduating.
5. What do you do now, and what are the most rewarding and challenging parts of your job?
My career in nursing has been amazing. I was editor of Nursing Times magazine and worked at the World Health Organization and the International Council of Nurses, and on nursing and midwifery projects in many different countries. This was driven by my anger at how badly nurses (90 per cent female) are treated everywhere, and my desire to raise our status. I met wonderful people everywhere and have friends round the world. Now I focus mainly on my writing, and recently published a book on the midwives at Jesus’ nativity – yes, really – called The Midwife’s Book of Hours.
6. What are you most proud of so far?
In my projects and publications I helped nurses and midwives to become more courageous, and to stand up for our rights and recognition as key people in health care, not doctors’ handmaidens. My first book, The Politics of Nursing (1985) was a best-seller that helped to shift the dial.
7. What was the best piece of advice you were given whilst at Brighton?
Miss Bateman, who taught English, refused to let me cruise along. She challenged me to raise my standards. You can do more, do better, she’d say, and she was right.
8. What advice would you give to your 18 year old self?
Aim high, and don’t be afraid to pursue your dreams – but stay open to the other possibilities that will inevitably pop up. You never know where life’s rollercoaster will take you. And treasure your friendships.
9. What book, film or piece of music would you recommend to your younger self and to your fellow alumnae?
The sonnet by Shakespeare beginning ‘That time of year thou mayst in me behold..’ . It ends, ‘Love that well which thou must leave ere long.’ In other words, life is short, make the most of it!
10. How would you like to be remembered?
With kindness and forgiveness!
Jane Salvage
Class of 1971
