A chance encounter with a forgotten World War I painting at Cardiff Royal Infirmary in 1974 not only transformed a struggling student nurse's career but also led to an extraordinary decades-long quest to preserve a piece of Welsh medical history. The story began when student nurse Pam Enani was having one of the worst days of her training, struggling with the harsh realities of hospital work and facing unfair criticism from her supervisor.
During that difficult day on the orthopedic ward, one of Enani's patients, Mary Jones, a woman in her 90s, made a simple suggestion that would change everything. Jones asked if Enani was going on her break and requested, "If so, please would you pop down to the Mametz Wood Ward, and have a look at the painting down there?" What Enani discovered was a floor-to-ceiling oil painting depicting an injured soldier receiving medical care, which immediately captivated her attention.
The encounter became even more remarkable when Enani returned to Jones's bedside. "When I came back I had to do a double-take – 'is that you in the painting Mary?'," Enani recalled asking her patient. Jones confirmed that she was indeed depicted in the artwork and shared vivid memories of her nursing days, telling Enani that "in her day the ward would have stunk of rotten flesh being treated with maggots, and she wouldn't have put up with being bullied by her matron, as I was allowing mine to push me around."
The painting, titled "The Care of Wounded Soldiers," was created in 1916 and officially unveiled in 1924 on what became known as the Mametz Wood Ward. The ward was named after the devastating World War I battle of Mametz Wood, where more than 4,000 Welsh troops were killed and around 10,000 were wounded. The artwork was commissioned by coal and railway magnate Sir William James Thomas, who had inherited the Great Western Railway and the Ynyshir Standard Mines before selling his assets to invest in Cardiff's healthcare system and establish Wales's first medical school.
The painting was created by Margaret Lindsey Williams, a Barry-born artist who lived from 1888 to 1960. Williams studied at Cardiff Technical College, where she won a gold medal, before attending Pelham School of Art in Kensington and the Royal Academy of Arts. In 1906, she studied under the renowned portraitist John Singer Sargent. Williams became famous for her royal portraits, painting Queen Elizabeth II on five occasions, as well as Princess Anne and a young King Charles, who reportedly showed up for his sitting wearing overalls and carrying paint brushes, inspired by Williams to pursue art himself.
Enani went on to have a distinguished nursing career, working in Canada, Saudi Arabia, and for more than 30 years in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. While she carried the memory of the painting and Mary Jones's inspiring words throughout her career, she didn't think about it daily until 2016, when she saw it featured in a television documentary marking the centenary of the Battle of Mametz Wood.
"There it was, hanging on the wall of Robertson Hall at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst," Enani said. "I had to know how it had got there." This sighting launched her into an exhaustive research project that would uncover the painting's remarkable journey. After Cardiff Royal Infirmary closed in 1999, the artwork had been cut from its frame, rolled up, and stored in a damp chapel building on the hospital grounds.
The painting's rescue came by pure chance in 2005 when former nurse Mary Reid visited the hospital site one last time before its planned demolition. Reid discovered the deteriorating artwork just in time. An injunction was subsequently granted against the building's demolition, as the original covenant specified that the site could only be used for Cardiff residents' healthcare needs.
From its precarious storage, the painting was eventually loaned to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which raised £70,000 for its restoration. However, until Enani began her thorough research using government documents, NHS records, and local newspaper clippings, Sandhurst curators had little information about their valuable acquisition. "When they received it, it was unrecognizable from the painting I knew, so no wonder it was hard to define, and even less surprising that it cost so much to restore," Enani explained.
Through her detective work, Enani identified all the figures in the painting. Besides Sir William James Thomas, who stands next to the matron at the foot of the bed, the painting includes Matron Montgomery Wilson, who had served in a Boer War field hospital; Sister Mary Jones, who became Enani's patient in 1974; Private B.J. Davies, a Welsh soldier evacuated from the Western Front; and senior surgeon Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Rees Griffiths.
Margaret Lindsey Williams led a colorful life beyond her medical-themed artwork. She was known for hosting "raucous and fun-filled parties with fellow artists and socialites" in her St. John's Wood home during the early 20th century. Her artistic career took her internationally, where she painted automotive pioneer Henry Ford and President Warren Harding, who posed for her in the Oval Office. Interestingly, one of her more avant-garde pieces, "The Devil's Daughter," is said to have inspired Black Sabbath's early albums, while she also painted Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello.
Williams died on June 4, 1960, just before her 72nd birthday, and is buried in Merthyr Dyfan Cemetery in Barry. According to Enani, "It's only very recently that her grave has been marked with a headstone." Enani reflects on the broader significance of her discovery, noting, "It's incredibly sad that her legacy – outside of her royal paintings – has been largely overlooked, but equally that the message she tried to convey about the futility of war has also gone by the wayside."
