Florence Rhoda Wilcox was born in Clifton, Bristol, the eldest of three daughters. Her father, Philip Weldon Roberts, was a Pattern Maker and by 1901 the family had moved to Swindon where they lived at 18 Kent Road.

Florence worked as a music teacher when in 1912 she married John Wilcox and the couple moved into number 61, Kent Road. Sadly, their marriage was a short one as John was killed during the first World War. He was serving as a First Engineer in the Merchant Navy and was drowned on May 28, 1917 when his ship was struck by an enemy submarine in the English Channel.

Back home in Swindon Florence made some life changing decisions when on August 14, 1920 she enrolled as a midwife. By the mid 1920s Florence had converted her house in Kent Road into a small maternity home, the Haven Nursing Home, where she worked alongside fellow midwife Gertrude Tucker.

In 1931 numbers 61 and 62 served as both Nursing Home and doctor’s practise and it was on October 23 of that year that Mary Fluck was admitted for what proved to be a traumatic birth during which both mother and baby nearly died. It is likely that Florence and Gertrude were both on duty that day, assisting the doctor during this difficult confinement. The baby who made such a dramatic arrival was named Diana Mary Fluck. She later went on to change her name to Diana Dors and became a film star, Britain’s answer to Marilyn Monroe.

The nursing home remained in operation until the mid 1930s and most probably closed with the opening of the Kingshill Maternity Home.

In 2017 a Swindon Heritage blue plaque was installed on the property to mark the birthplace of Diana Dors.

Florence and Gertrude both moved to Paignton in Devon. Gertrude died aged 59 years at Waterside House, Waterside Road, Paignton and was buried on January 14, 1938 in Radnor Street Cemetery in grave plot D721. Florence died at the same address in February 1952 aged 70. She was buried with Gertrude.