A trailblazing nurse’s collection of hats will be auctioned for charity tomorrow.

Ruth Stovell said most of her late mother-in-law Cynthia Stovell’s collection of more than 100 hats “are in hatboxes to maintain their shape and ensure their colours did not fade”.

“They are in pristine condition, which is quite an undertaking in this Bermuda climate.”

Proceeds raised from the silent auction will benefit Transforming Lives Fighting Poverty in Mozambique, where Ms Stovell volunteered.

Joan Simmons, who established the organisation, said people in the African country would “walk for several hours, in some cases days, to see Cynthia and learn what they needed to do to help their physical healing”.

She added: “They loved her so much and really looked forward to her visits.”

Ms Stovell, who managed the Department of Public Health’s clinic for sexually transmitted disease from 1974 to 1985, educated young people on the topic while HIV and Aids loomed on the island.

She died on December 14 last year aged 84.

Her daughter-in-law said: “We felt that selling the hats and donating the proceeds to my mother-in-law’s much loved charity would be something she would want us to do.

“We encourage the public to come out and get a fancy hat, or a not-so fancy one.

“In Bermuda one can always use shade from the sun or head warmth in the winter.

“There’s a hat for every occasion in this collection, and you’ll be supporting a great charity and honouring Cynthia’s memory.”

The auction is from 2pm until 4.30pm, at Ms Simmons’s home on 7 Poinciana Road in Devonshire.

• E-mail ruthiev1971@gmail.com or call 331-3853 to RSVP for the event