Nurses Badges Through the Years – Royal Adelaide Hospital showcases the evolution of nursing staff badges. Staff in hospitals today are often seen wearing modern identification cards. Often showing their name and photograph. However in the 1920s it was common to see all nurses wearing a brass or metal hospital badge. Their badges identified the hospital where they worked in addition to showcasing their rank.
Take a look at a few of the badges worn at the Royal Adelaide Hospital from the CALHN Health Museum Badge Collection.
Gold Medal Badge
A gold medal was presented to a graduating nurse who had achieved a Pass with Credit in all three subjects of the Nurses Board final examinations. The first medals were awarded in 1901 and had the “AH” (Adelaide Hospital) monogram in the centre.
Royal Adelaide Hospital Nurses Badge
“In 1936 the board responded to a request for badges which could be purchased by nurses who had completed their training at the Adelaide Hospital. The small circular badge had a dark blue enamel border on which the words ‘Adelaide Hospital’ appeared in gold lettering. This surrounded a monogram of the letters ‘A H’. At the base was a small red enamel Maltese Cross.”
Eleven Thousand Nurses by Joan Durdin, 2005.
In 1939 the monogram and wording on the badges were amended by incorporating the “Royal” prefix which had been granted that year.
RAH badge belonged to Nurse Joyce Davis who graduated in 1954 from the RAH. Went on to become Matron of Penola Hospital.
In 1940 a new badge was designed to incorporate the “Royal” prefix. This design featured the Maltese cross at the top and red enamel around the edge. The final design was the original 1936 design with the added “R”.
It was not only the Royal Adelaide Hospital that had badges. Similarly the Queen Elizabeth Hospital did too. Take a look at a previous post regarding TQEH Badges https://healthmuseumsa.org.au/2025/12/nurses-badges-through-the-years-the-queen-elizabeth-hospital/
Above all the badges were a statement and nurses had pride in wearing them, with many keeping them for their whole lives.
Written by Kellie Branson, CALHN Health Museum
