State Registered Nurse's navy blue hat

State Registered Nurse's navy blue flat hat, with ribbon and with gold-embroided badge of intertwined initials RSN, by Egerton Burnett Limited, Wellington, Somerset, England, 1925-1940

The hat is part of the uniform of a State Registered Nurse (SRN). State Registered Nurses (SRN) were set up in England and Wales with the Nurses Registration Act 1919. Formal nurse training, examination and registration were regulated by the newly formed General Nursing Council. To obtain a uniform the SRN nurse had to have a permit issued by the General Nursing Council.

From 1925 onwards, the only nurses who could register were those that had trained and passed examinations at a school approved by the Council. Nurses also had to be over 21 years of age. This formal training, examination and professional qualification improved the status of nurses. Today, the SRN qualification is a requirement for a nursing job in hospitals in the United Kingdom. The hat is shown here with SRN shoulder flashes (1982-561/149) and a badge for the General Nursing Council for England and Wales (1982-561/150).