Ann MacKinnon, also Annie P. MacKinnon, (1879–1953) was a decorated Scottish nurse and midwife. During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she joined the French Flag Nursing Corps and served in France and was awarded the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

for bravery. After the war she remained in France before moving to the United States to work for the

Frontier Nursing Service The Frontier Nursing Service was founded in 1925 by Mary Breckinridge and provides healthcare services to rural, underserved populations and educates nurse-midwives. The Service maintains six rural healthcare clinics in eastern Kentucky, the Ma ...

in Kentucky.

Early life and education

MacKinnon was born on the 4 March 1879 in Roag,

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

to Georgina Urquhart and John MacKinnon. She was educated at Dunvegan Primary School on Skye before moving to the central Scotland to train as a nurse. She spent four years at the School of Nursing in Ayr County Hospital then went on to gain the Queen's District Nursing and Midwifery qualification in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. MacKinnon worked as a probationer nurse in Braehead Cottage Hospital, Dumbarton from 1901.

Career

Army career in France

In 1914, MacKinnon joined the French Flag Nursing Corps and soon after travelled to France as the

intensified. She and the other "British Nurses in France" were on the

Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...

. In 1918 MacKinnon was awarded the

for bravery during the

Third Battle of the Aisne The Third Battle of the Aisne (french: 3e Bataille de l'Aisne) was a battle of the German spring offensive during World War I that focused on capturing the Chemin des Dames Ridge before the American Expeditionary Forces arrived completely in ...

. This was recorded by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' newspaper and ''

The British Journal of Nursing ''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...

'':

"Following is the citation of the French army conferring the Croix de Guerre on Miss Annie Mackinnon, a British nurse attached to the French Flag Nursing corps. A nurse who under the difficult circumstances of the withdrawal of the ambulance under enemy fire continued to attend the sick and wounded up to the last minute with remarkable courage and thus demonstrating the three years that she has devoted herself to the French soldiers."

Following the war MacKinnon remained in France working in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

which was part of the relief effort sending food supplies to the European continent. Her main role was to educate a group of French girls about nursing, including

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and infant welfare.

Career in America

MacKinnon travelled to the United States on the SS ''Mormacswan'', arriving in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1928. She worked in Beech Fork Nursing Centre and the Hyden Hospital, Kentucky. Mary Breckinridge appointed MacKinnon superintendent of Hyden Hospital in 1929. MacKinnon held this post until 1940, when she travelled to Europe during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, returning to the United States and the role in 1948. Hayden Hospital was part of the newly created the

(FNS) which included

midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; con ...

in their team of public health services and covered a population of close to 10,000 people. The Frontier Nursing Service established six outposts in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

in eastern North America and was established by Breckinridge after she travelled to the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

of Scotland to see how

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

is provided in rural locations. Her goal was to replicate the Highlands and Islands Medical and Nursing Service model in the Appalachian area of the United States. MacKinnon became known as Ann of

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

and rode a

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

called Tenacity to work. In 1930, along with Breckinridge, MacKinnon was a founding member of The Kentucky State Association of Midwives. This was the first association of

midwives in the United States Midwives in the United States assist childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period. Some midwives also provide primary care for women including well-woman exams, health promotion, and disease prevention, family pla ...

Death

MacKinnon died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on 6 February 1953 in Hyden, Kentucky. She is buried at Wendover, Kentucky.

Honours

She was awarded the

for bravery during

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKinnon, Ann Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) People from the Isle of Skye 1953 deaths 1879 births Scottish midwives Scottish nurses Scottish military medical officers Military nurses British military medical officers British emigrants to the United States British expatriates in France