Robin Gail Henderson

(1947-1967)

Always called by her second name, Gail was outwardly a cheerful, gregarious, extroverted person. She had a happy childhood, enjoying swimming, music (playing both the piano and guitar) and many friends. After finishing her schooling as a boarder at Ashleigh House in Belfast, but before taking up nursing, she spent a year in Switzerland as an au pair to the Metzger family. Whilst a student nurse at the famous Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, she started suffering from depression. Sadly, in August 1967, she killed herself with an overdose. For several years, with the help of her aunt Lois Moriarty (née Redman), she had been researching the family history (see, for example, her Notes on the Powells). This research, together with her large collection of material, is a major source for this site.