Millie Hiett celebrated her 100th birthday with her late husband’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and her great niece Susan Beattie and family at Caer Gwent Residential and Nursing Home in Worthing on Thursday 1 July.Her great nice brought along her medals and framed cuttings from the Nursing Times in 1946 featuring Millie and other nurses who had returned from the far east.
Mayor of Worthing Councillor Ann Sayers arrived with a special card from the Queen and a bouquet of flowers. Around 50 visitors and residents enjoyed a special tea, sparkling wine as well as birthday cake.
Millie Wainwright was born in Dover in 1910. She left school and enjoyed work as a children’s nanny and later worked at Dover’s large wholses
ale confectioners - Rowlands and Rowlands. The company ran 5 shops in the town including the Opera Box. Millie said ‘My favourite shop was the Chocolate Box – I’m sure that’s where I got my love of chocolate from. I worked in all their shops and later in the office.’She decided to make a career of nursing and was offered a position at Elm Grove Hospital in Brighton. She remembers the Diptheria outbreak and Scarlet Fever. She said ‘I was scared stiff of the Matron – we all were, but I passed my prelims and fever exams. After 3 years at Brighton I went to the Fever hospital in Guernsey with a friend for a year and then to St Giles’ General Hospital in London. I loved the city and it was a very exciting place to be before the war.’
She joined the Queen Alexandra Royal Nursing Corps (Q.A.R.A.N.C.) and loved it.
Millie devoted over 23 years to nursing in the Army and became a Major RN serving across the world in India, Malaysia, North Atlantic and Kenya. On leaving the army she was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her service by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. She took her two sisters with her – one of whom still lives in a nursing home in Dover.
The honour medal is given to people for their special devotion or competency while engaged on nursing or hospital duties with the navy, army or air force. (Despite the title, the order has no connection with the Red Cross Movement.)
Her campaign medals include the Burma and Atlantic Stars, and the Malaysia and Kenya medals. For her work in Kenya during the grave Mau Mau disturbances she was mentioned in dispatches.
After the war Millie returned to Brighton and married George Hiett who worked for Ricardo in Shoreham. They lived happily in Shoreham for many years.