Many local people will have fond memories of Daphne who was for many years the Practice Nurse at Bottreaux Surgery for Drs Jarvis, Garrod & Abbott. She died after a long illness, courageously endured, in June 2026. During her time working at the surgery she came into contact with countless people and was a friendly and professional source of comfort and reassurance to so many.
Daphne was born in Norwich and the family subsequently moved to Bournemouth where her father was a violinist in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She initially trained as a State Registered Nurse at the Hammersmith Hospital in London and this was followed by qualifying in Midwifery at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Ever adventurous she travelled to work in Hong Kong and very much enjoyed both the nursing duties and the energetic colonial life. She returned to England briefly but was soon off abroad again to work in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. Eventually she returned home and worked as a Matron for some years at the Independent Girls School, Croft House in Dorset.
This was followed by a move to Camelford and subsequently Boscastle where she joined Bottreaux Surgery as its first Practice Nurse. This involved taking blood samples, doing dressings and immunisations, assisting with minor surgery and carrying out cervical smear examinations. She then took on the additional role of Research Nurse, helping and managing the considerable Pharmaceutical Research conducted in the practice. This enabled her to travel to a number of European locations to international meetings where she met researchers from other countries. The writer has especially fond memories of one meeting in Vienna when Daphne acted as the ‘social secretary’ for the Cornish contingent. Somehow, she managed to obtain tickets for a Mozart concert in the Musikverein Concert Hall for a highly entertaining evening in which the orchestra was dressed in period costumes. A good evening was had by all !
After her retirement she became an active member of the community and was deeply involved in the ‘Boscastle Cave of Harmony’. This was an evening of music and comedy sketches in the nature of the Music Halls of the past, compered by David Whitaker with Michael Turner producing. She would invariably sing along with the chorus as a member of the ‘Gaslight Girls’ with her close friend Myrna Lester and Marianne Privett. She was also closely involved in the production of the late Boscastle Blowhole for many years.
Daphne continued to live in Boscastle for some time, though sadly her Parkinson’s disease progressed rapidly and made living distant from her family challenging. It was thus with regret that she realised that she must leave Boscastle and move to be closer to her family. Initially she lived independently but as her infirmity progressed she entered Knowle Park Nursing Home where she was to spend her final years.
At her funeral her son and daughter both paid tributes to her remarkable life, to her as a mother and to her devotion to her nursing career. A highly touching moment of the service was an a cappella solo of Faure’s Pie Jesu.
Highly experienced and conscientious in her work she will be remembered for her calm, her happy smile and the ability to put all patients at ease and support and encourage them through their illness. She was indeed one of ‘the generation that smiled through adversity’ and will be greatly missed by many of her former patients and colleagues. Requiescat in Pace Daphne.
Dr Chris Jarvis
