The Poplar Penny Whistlers - Sheila Newberry

At the sonorous boom of the foghorn, young Hester Stainsby gives an involuntary shudder. In the cavernous basement laundry room of the Poplar Hospital where she toils from dawn to dusk, there is fog too, damp, hot and swirling. Her fears are realized; her father, Fred has been badly injured in the East India Docks. Hester, already caring for her twin siblings, Harry and Polly, and self-centred Granny Garter, now has the role of breadwinner. With the help of a family friend Hester embarks on training as a nurse and all the family join in and are soon known as The Poplar Penny Whistlers.