Blue plaque to be unveiled in South Shields in honour of South Tyneside doctor Anne Seymour

A blue plaque is to be unveiled in South Shields in honour of South Tyneside doctor Anne Seymour

Renowned for her charity work, Dr Anne Seymour spent many years running the A&E department at the old Ingham Infirmary in South Shields.

A blue plaque will be unveiled at the site of the old infirmary in Westoe Road on Wednesday, October 2, to pay tribute to her contribution to South Tyneside.

The heritage plaque, which will be officially unveiled by Mayor Norman Dick at 11am, has been funded by parishioners of St Gregory’s Church in Harton and other friends of Anne.

A blue plaque is to be unveiled in honour of Dr Anne Seymour

After qualifying as a doctor in 1959, Anne took her skills to Biafra, where she helped people before, during and after the Nigerian Civil War, before coming to South Shields in 1976.

After 13 years Anne left the Ingham Infirmary for a mission hospital in Cameroon, where she would spend eight years living in extremely difficult conditions.

She returned to South Shields to retire in 1996, where she became heavily involved with South Tyneside Asylum Seeker and Refugee Church Help (STARCH) and the Church of the Living Waters, where she was committed to actively helping those in distress.

Anne died in 2016 at the age of 80, not long after receiving a Royal honour for her services to asylum seekers and refugees in the borough.

A blue plaque is to be unveiled at the old Ingham Infirmary site in South Shields in honour of South Tyneside doctor Anne Seymour

The blue plaque is the latest tribute to the doctor after a new retirement development, Seymour Court in South Shields, was named after her in 2018.

“I only knew Anne in her later years, but she was very much a force of nature,” said chairman Michael Dickson, of St Gregory’s Church.

“She suffered no fools but underneath she was softhearted. She was also extremely generous and would give anyone in difficulty the shirt off her back.”

Michael continued: “Anne didn’t care about material comforts and when she died, she left nothing behind.

“There was an appeal to fund a grave marker for her, which the parishioners raised the money for and there was enough left for the plaque as well.

“The money raised was all down to the good folk of St Gregory’s.”