We are delighted to be part of the Royal College of Nursing’s latest exhibition, Moved to Care. This exhibition explores how migration has long been at the heart of nursing — from 19th-century colonial history and missionary journeys to the Windrush Generation and the modern NHS.

Share Your Story

As part of the exhibition, you can visit our Story Disc installation. We are collecting personal migration stories to add to the thousands we have gathered over the past decade. Many of these discs reflect the rich diversity of the UK’s nursing workforce and celebrate the vital contributions that people from around the world have made to our healthcare system.

Whether your migration story is personal, through your family, or a reflection on your heritage, we want to hear it. Visit the exhibition to fill out a disc and add your voice to the thousands of stories the Migration Museum has collected over the past decade.

You don’t have to be a nurse or have a connection to the NHS to participate. Our Story Disc collection is open to all.

About the Exhibition

Exhibition Dates • 5 March–2 September 2026 
Opening Hours • Mon–Fri 10am–7pm, Sat 10am–5pm (Closed Sat in August)
Getting There • Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, W1G 0RN
Free Entry – no booking

Moved to Care is a new exhibition showing that migration has long been at the heart of nursing.

Before 1900, nurses journeyed across the globe, sometimes as military nurses, sometimes as missionaries, both to and from British colonies. International nurses have also made a huge contribution to British health care, especially since the founding of the NHS in 1948. This exhibition explores the stories of some of those who have been moved to care – from the 19th century to the present day.

Stories include the Colonial Nursing Association and the legacies of the British Empire, Jewish refugees who trained as nurses to escape Nazi-occupied Europe, and the role of global majority nurses in the development of UK sickle cell nursing. The exhibition also features ‘Inside Home’ – an installation by artist Haleema Aziz showcasing stories of migration, created in collaboration with contemporary nursing staff.

Find out more about Moved to Care.

Related: Explore our digital exhibition Heart of the Nation: Migration and the Making of the NHS, featuring selected items from the RCN archive.