Born: 22 September 1859, Australia
Died: 1 April 1949
Country most active: United Kingdom, International
Also known as: NA
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Dame Emma McCarthy was a highly decorated war-time nurse. She received the Queen’s and King’s Medal (1902), the Royal Red Cross (1902) and a Bar (1918c), the Florence Nightingale Medal, the Belgian Medaille de la Reine Elizabeth, the French Légion d’honneur and Medaille des Epidémies and was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE). In 1891 McCarthy left Australia to study nursing in England. After graduating, she was appointed Sister at the London Hospital and served as Sister-in-Charge at the Sophia Women’s Ward during the South African War. This was followed by seven years service with the Army Nursing Service Reserve. When World War I broke out McCarthy was posted to the British Expeditionary Force and served in France and Flanders. As Matron-in-Chief, she was in charge of all British and Allied Nurses working in the extended region – around 6000 nurses at its peak. Dame Emma McCarthy returned to England after the war and worked as Matron-in-Chief of the Territorial Army Nursing Service from 1920 until her retirement in 1925.
Chronology
1891 – c. 1894
Education – Probationer undertaking general nursing training at London Hospital in Whitechapel
1894 – 1899
Career position – Sister at the London Hospital
1899 – 1902
Career position – Sister in the Army Nursing Service Reserve
c. 1902
Award – Royal Red Cross
c. 1902
Award – Queen’s and King’s Medal
1903 – 1910
Career position – Matron with the Army Nursing Service Reserve at Aldersshot, Netley and Millbank military hospitals
1910 – c. 1914
Career position – Principal Matron at the War Office
1914 – c. 1919
Career position – Matron, then Matron-in-Chief appointed to the British Expeditionary Force in Abbeville, France and Flanders
1918
Award – Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)
1920 – 1925
Career position – Matron-in-Chief with the Territorial Army Nursing Service
1925
Life event – Retired
Read more (Australian Dictionary of Biography)
Read more (Australian Women’s Register)