In just two months time the country will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Health Service.
The first NHS patients were treated on July 5, 1948, marking the beginning of a great national institution which continues to develop as we approach the Millennium.
Here at the Guardian Heritage Column we want to hear about your early experiences of the NHS in Croydon. Perhaps you were one of the first NHS patients at Mayday or Purley Hospital. Or maybe you were one of the first nurses.
Also, we've teamed up with Croydon Health Authority to bring you a superb children's competition with some exciting prizes.
You can join in the fun by designing a futuristic nurse's uniform to be worn at this year's Croydon Carnival by the Mayday Queen of the Future.
Nurses have always had an important role to play in every part of the NHS but their duties and appearance have changed enormously over the years. Nurses often had to make their own pill box caps from a rectangle of starched cotton. If your cap was too small Matron would make you re-do it on the spot. Make up was banned and you couldn't collect your pay if your apron was dirty.
But what will uniforms be like in the future? This is your chance to show us what you think. And don't forget that nurses are just as likely to be men as women!
The best design will win a football shirt from Crystal Palace FC, a £20 gift voucher from Electronics Boutique and a £10 gift token from WH Smiths.
Draw your uniform on a sheet of white A4 paper and write your name, age and address clearly on the back. The competition is open to anyone under 16 and remember to ask your parent or guardian for permission to enter.
Send your design to: Nursing Uniform Competition, Croydon Guardian, Guardian House, Sandiford Road, Sutton, Surrey SM3 9RN. Entries must be received by May 29. The judging panel will include Rose Towse MBE, Mayday's deputy director of nursing services and Adrienne Fresko, chairman of Croydon Health Authority.
Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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