Dame Anne Beadsmore Smith (1869 – 12 July 1960), also known as Ann or Annie, was a British nurse and

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. She was a military nurse during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and the

First World War 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 then served as Matron-in-Chief of the

Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage ...

from 1917 to 1924 and Matron-in-Chief of the

Territorial Army Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage t ...

from 1925 to 1931.

Honours

In the 1918 New Year Honours, Smith was awarded a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to her

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. Foundation The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Victoria of the Un ...

(RRC*) "in recognition of ervery valuable services during the war". She was also made a Chevalier of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

by France for her war service, and she was granted permission to wear the award in 1920. In the 1925 King's Birthday Honours, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her work as Matron-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, and thereby granted the title of ''

dame ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system and those of several oth ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Anne Beadsmore 1869 births 1960 deaths Members of the Royal Red Cross Knights of the Legion of Honour Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War I British women in World War I People from Highbury British Army personnel of the Second Boer War