Looking forward to their Christmas dinner, patients of the Edith Watson Maternity Unit are pictured in the rest room. With them are staff members, the Mayoress, Councillor Mrs Ennis and Mrs Thornley.

From a story by Colin Lewis, pictures by Alan Marsden:
This year's Christmas Day Civic tour of Burnley's hospitals had a special significance for Burnley's Mayoress, Mrs Gudrun Parkinson, who gave greetings to patients not only as Mayoress but also as a nurse. This is the first time the town's Mayoress has been a nurse and Mrs Parkinson, who is a nursing officer at the General Hospital, was on familiar ground as she chatted to patients and staff members she works with throughout the year. The tour also held special significance for Mr Ronald Bushby. It was his 25th consecutive Christmas Day visit since he was Mayor of Burnley in 1946. Mr Bushy is chairman of Marsden and Victoria Hospitals House Committee.

On an unusually mild and sunny Christmas morning the party arrived at Bank Hall Hospital where Sister P. Harling showed the Mayor, Mayoress, Mr Dan Jones (Burnley's MP), Mr and Mrs. C. V. Thornley (Burnley's Town Clerk and his wife), Alderman J. H. Sutcliffe (vice-chairman of the Hospital Management Committee) and his wife, Councillor Mrs S. Ennis (chairman of Burnley General and Bank Hall Hospitals Committee) and Miss T. Hothersall (chief nursing officer), round the geriatric wards.

Next stop was Marsden Hospital, where the children of Deerplay ward gave the Mayor and Mayoress a Christmas morning welcome. They next visited Hameldon ward where one ex-mayor met another, Mr Bushby chatted to Alderman George Rushton, a former Mayor of Nelson. A major talking point at Marsden was a cardboard reconstruction of the Mad Hatter's tea party, made by nurses of Boulsworth Ward.

At Victoria Hospital the party was greeted by Mr C. M. Stephenson, assistant chief administrative officer, and senior nursing officer Mrs M. Dodding. While the rest of the party visited other wards, the Mayor and Mayoress toured Butterworth ward.

Sherry and coffee were appreciated when the party reached the General Hospital and Edith Watson Maternity Unit, and had a break in the committee rooms before continuing the tour. The Mayor visited the acute, psychiatric, medical and paediatric wards whilst the Mayoress toured the geriatric wards, where she received a glowing welcome from patients and staff she had worked with for some time. Other members of the official party included principal nursing officers Miss M. Schofield and Miss C. A. Bell, senior nursing officers Miss E. M. Whittam and Mrs L. M. Werrett, Mr J. Safkin (chairman of the patient care sub-committee), Mr Fred C. Parr (hospital group secretary), Mr J. Banks (public relations officer), Mr. H. S. Lees (senior administrative officer) and Mr D. Brierley (assistant chief administrative officer).