Dame Beryl Carnegy Oliver, Lady Oliver, (née Joseph; 20 August 1882 – 13 July 1972) was a British charity administrator as well as the British Red Cross Society's Director of Education.

Early life

Oliver was born in Australia to British parents, Francis Edward Joseph and Isabella Eliza Butter ( Carnegy) Joseph. She had a younger brother, Ughtred Elliot Joseph (later Ughtred Elliot Carnegy, of Lour). Isabella came from a titled Scottish family; her father, Patrick Carnegy of Lour, was a descendant of

David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk was born the son of John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk and Magdalen Haliburton before 1627. He died on 12 December 1679. He married Lady Jean Maule, daughter of Patrick Maule, 1st Earl of Panmure, on 19 Oct ...

. The family later adopted the Carnegy surname after Isabella succeeded to her father's estates in 1915. Oliver was educated privately in England and France. On 10 June 1914, she married Rear-Admiral (later Admiral of the Fleet) Sir Henry Oliver of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Career

In 1910, she joined the

St John Ambulance Brigade St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

and rapidly rose through the ranks. On the outbreak of 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 was put in charge of the Naval and Military

Volunteer Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD) Department, which administered the combined nursing staff of St John Ambulance and the

British Red Cross Society The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with mor ...

. She held the post throughout the war, but resigned in 1922 in opposition to plans to disband the VADs. She later joined the British Red Cross Society as head of its VAD department. She was credited with keeping the British Red Cross alive after the First World War, as she was later eulogised by a friend in ''

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'' (f ...

''. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

she was a member of the Society's War Organisation Executive Committee and several other committees. After the war she became the Society's Director of Education, retiring in 1956. She then became the BRCS's

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

and published its definitive history, ''The British Red Cross in Action'', in 1966. She published a second book, ''The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury'', in 1969.

Honours

In recognition of her work in the First World War, Oliver was awarded the

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

(RRC) in 1916, and appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Jan ...

and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours. In recognition of her work in the Second World War, she was appointed

Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(GBE) in the

1948 New Year Honours The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the Briti ...

. After the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

invested her as a Dame Grand Cross, the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, as President of the British Red Cross Society, presented her with a diamond brooch at a party at Buckingham Palace.

Death

Her husband died in 1965, aged 100. She died in London in 1972, aged 89. Per her wishes, her ashes were interred on the Hill of Lour,

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Beryl 1882 births 1972 deaths British humanitarians Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Royal Red Cross English archivists British women in World War I British women in World War II Australian people of Scottish descent Australian emigrants to England Wives of knights