First World War Head Nurse Honoured with a Blue Plaque
Dame Maud McCarthy, has been honoured with an English Heritage Blue Plaque at her former home in Chelsea, London.
Dame Maud McCarthy
Australian-born Maud McCarthy (1858-1949) was an army Matron-in-Chief on the Western Front during the First World War. She was responsible for the entire nursing operation on the Western Front, from the English Channel to the Mediterranean. By the end of the war, she was in charge of over 6,000 British, Commonwealth and American nurses.
Minister for The First World War Centenary, Helen Grant said:
“It is almost impossible to imagine the task that Dame Maud McCarthy faced during the First World War. The scale of the challenge confronting her, and the calm determination and good sense she brought to it, can only be seen as heroic. So it is entirely right that her home in London should be marked with an English Heritage blue plaque, and all the more so for it to happen this year, the centenary of the outbreak of the war that saw her finest hour.”
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), Mary Seacole (1805-1881) and Edith Cavell (1865-1915) are among the other nurses to have received London Blue Plaques from English Heritage in recognition of their achievements and their association with buildings in the capital.
Further Information
- Find out more about English Heritage and the Blue Plaques scheme
- Find out how you can commemorate the First World War Centenary