I am delighted to have been gifted the Victory medal of Clarissa Bedwell who was a member of the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS). I decided to research her life before, during and after the Great War. I discovered that her nursing career lasted far longer than the years of the conflict: she started her training as a nurse in 1901 in Scotland, served during the War and continued to nurse until at least 1944. I also discovered that her sister Gertrude also nursed in the War.
Clarissa's Victory Medal:
Her name and the QAIMNS is inscribed around the rim
Clarissa was born on 7th September 1879 in Watford, Herts. Her parents were the Reverend Charles Edward Bedwell and Mary Louse (nee Wilson). They had married in 1875 and had 7 children. Their youngest, Hilda, was born in 1888. Sadly this is also the year that Mary died. It seems likely that she died in childbirth. At this time the family were living at the vicarage in Weaverthorpe Malton Yorkshire. Charles remarried in 1890. He and his wife Annie (nee Grey) had a daughter, Isobel Mary in 1982.
St Andrew's Church Weaverthorpe
Clarissa's father was the vicar here for many years
In 1901, at the age of 25, Clarissa left her somewhat sheltered life to move to Dundee in Scotland to train to be a nurse.
In 1873, the newly-arrived superintendent of DRI, Dr Robert Sinclair, had found a very unsatisfactory state of affairs regarding conditions and nursing practices in the hospital – a woman who nursed with Florence Nightingale, Rebecca Strong was appointed the following year to turn the situation around. Her work set the standard for the future development of excellence in nursing and when she left in the late 1800s, the hospital was known for its excellent training.
Image of a group of hospital staff outside DRI. Late 19th century.
Copyright Dundee Local Studies Library
Clarissa states on her enrolment form in the QAIMNS that after qualifying in 1903, she spent several years in "private nursing". However, her career was to take a dramatic turn on the outbreak of the Great War when she enlisted in December 1914, just a few months after its start. She remained in the QAIMNS until long after the end of the War, being discharged in 1922.
Clarissa's service history if very complicated! She appears to have moved between hospitals - both in England and France - and Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) at least half a dozen times. This included a period at the famous Royaumont Hospital.Possibly the most well-known of Elsie Inglis’ Scottish Women’s Hospitals that arrived France in December 1914. Clarissa was there from the opening until September 1915. Under the direction of the French Red Cross, the hospital at
Royaumont (or Hôpital Auxiliaire 301) received casualties from the
Western Front, mostly French soldiers as well as North African, and
operated for the duration of the war, admitting 11,000 patients. What a challenging but fulfilling time this must have been for Clarissa.
Very lucky to have found a photo of Clarissa while she was at Royaumont!
Back row: Second left: SisterClarissa Bedwell
Nurses at the first SWH Unit in France
Clarissa served at, amongst others, 35 General Hospital Calais, 11 CCS, 41 CCS, 51 CCS and later during in the war and after the Cambridge Hospital in Aldershot.
Part of Clarissa's "CV" written by herself
There are several references and reports of her ability in her service records. She is noted to be an excellent nurse, reliable, capable, dedicated, hard working and highly satisfactory in her duties. In 1922, noted to be suffering from gastritis Clarissa was discharged from the service. She had been a military nurse for the entirity of the Great War and beyond - a total of 8 years - signing up at the age of 38.
She continued in her nursing career after leaving the army. She never married In 1939 she was living alone in Islington in London and her occupation is (I feel somewhat proudly!) noted to be "fully trained nurse". Indeed, her name is still on the Nursing Register in 1944, at the age of 68! She died in March 1956 just two months afer her sister, Dorothy. They are buried together in Kirkbymoorside.
My next blog will tell the stories of her siblings - one of whom, Gertrude - was also a nurse during the War. Her sister Dorothy stayed at home but worked at a local children's home. One brother fought in the Boer War and another in the Great War. Another interesting "oridnary" family that until now has been hidden from history.
https://www.qaranc.co.uk/qaimns.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Andrew,_Weaverthorpe
https://www.dundeewomenstrail.org.uk/womens-trail/rebecca-strong/
https://archiveandlibrary.rcsed.ac.uk/special-collections/scottish-womens-hospitals-for-foreign-service/lantern-slide-case-2/1211085-royaumont-abbey-france?
https://theportiapost.wordpress.com/2019/02/11/historic-heroine-doctor-elsie-inglis/
https://archiveandlibrary.rcsed.ac.uk/special-collections/scottish-womens-hospitals-for-foreign-service/scottish-womens-hospitals-at-royaumont-france/1342699-group-photograph-of-royaumont-staff?
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