School Teacher Heatherwood Hospital School
1942 – 1965

Ruby Brook 1904-1999

Ruby qualified as a teacher in 1922. Ruby joined Heatherwood hospital school as a temporary teacher in March 1942 after working at College House Boarding School, Worcester.

The starting salary for her temporary post was £168 a year in 1942.

In March 1949 a permanent position was offered to Ruby and an annual salary of £414.

Ruby lived locally taking residences at Ascot, Sunningdale, and retiring to Milton road Wokingham.

Over the years she had taught hundreds of children aged between 3 – 15 years in the hospital wards at Heatherwood.

In 1965 at the age of 60 she retired from Heatherwood. She was presented with record tokens and a bouquet. A local news paper, published an article on Ruby and recalled Ruby’s early days at Heatherwood. “ When I first went to the hospital, the war was still on and some of my first memories are of air raid warnings and of getting the children to lie underneath their beds. I used to sit there with them and read stories to them “.

In 1999 Ruby Brook died aged 95. During her time at Heatherwood, Ruby had amassed a large collection of photo’s and press cuttings and memorabilia from her days at Heatherwood. In late 2000 these materials were entrusted to the League of Friends of Heatherwood. It is through these items we are able to publish on this web site some of the history & memories of Heatherwood hospital.