WHEN Judy Tosh’s daughter approached her with the idea for a book, she wasn’t particularly thrilled with the subject, her life.
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“I didn’t think anybody would be particularly interest,” Mrs Tosh said.
“I didn’t want to be made a fuss of, I’d rather work in the background, I’ve always been like that.”
And, her life hasn’t been particularly wild – she hasn’t sky-dived or climbed Mt Everest, but hers is a story that’s relatable.
Born in Uralla in 1936, Mrs Tosh had a good childhood, without all the “mod-cons” of today.
“When I was four-and-a-half I started school because they were short of numbers,” she said.
“We didn’t even have a phone, it was pretty archaic.”
The prospect of putting her life story down on paper was daunting, luckily her habit of writing diaries came in handy.
From that she was able to put the pieces of her life back together, and was reminded of things even she had forgotten.
“You can’t keep it all in your head,” she said.
Nursing runs in the family, and Mrs Tosh was no exception.
Mrs Tosh trained as a nurse at Armidale Hospital once she left high school.
It was a fantastic way to get hands on experience and much more useful than university Mrs Tosh said.
“It was pretty hard when you look back, but there was a camaraderie between us all,” she said.
“We’d come off duty, sit on the lounge and talk about patients or boyfriends.
“But there were strict rules, we weren’t allowed to live at home and we couldn’t get married while we were training.”
The years she worked as a nurse are some of her fondest memories.
“It’s a practical job, you can either stand it or you can’t, some days I would think – “what am I doing here?”
“But most of the patients were really thankful you were looking after them, we only had a couple that would get stroppy.”
Rising up the ranks to Sister, Mrs Tosh eventually met her husband-to-be.
Convincing him to let her work at the hospital for one more year, she eventually moved back to their home in Armidale.
She missed the patients and her fellow nurses, but in those days, “once you were married your place was at home with your husband,” Mrs Tosh said.
“So that’s what I did.”
Now, Mrs Tosh has four grandchildren and two great-granddaughters and can’t wait for them to read about her life.
“I’m really pleased I did it,” she said.
“I didn’t think I’d get this far in life but anyhow, I’m making the most of it.”
Life Adventures of a Chippie’s Wife is available at Readers Companion.