This article describes how a charitable nursing association became established in Bookham in the early 20th century and also came to encompass Fetcham and Effingham. It provided nursing care in the district through both world wars up to the creation of the National Health Service. The narrative examines the principal players in this enterprise and charts the various challenges and problems they had to confront, providing an insight into the social history of the area in the first half of the 20th century.