Catherine Black, MBE, RRC, SRN (12 June 1878– 7 October 1949), also known as "Blackie", served in

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 ...

and was the private nurse to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

Family and early life

Catherine Black was born on 12 June 1878 in

Ramelton Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. , its population was 1,266. History Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Milford, on th ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

in Ardeen House on the outskirts of the town. Her father was a linen draper with a prosperous shop in the town. Black went to

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and s ...

to train as a nurse, and it was whilst there that she became friends with

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Be ...

. She died on 7 October 1949 in London.

World War I service

Black was working as a private nurse in Royal London Hospital when the outbreak of

was declared. She joined

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 t ...

, first serving in Cambridge Hospital in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

and then the No. 7 Hospital in St Omer where she treated soldiers suffering from

shell shock Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...

. Black was then sent as a replacement for a nurse who was killed at a casualty clearing station at

Poperinghe Poperinge (; french: Poperinghe, ； vls, Poperienge) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, Flemish Region, and has a history going back to medieval times. The municipality comprises the town of Poperinge pr ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, and subsequently went on to serve at the 41st Stationary Hospital at Sailly-Lorette, nursing soldiers with self-inflicted wounds. She was moved to the No. 5 General Hospital in Rouen and various other clearing stations until the end of the war.

King George V

Sister Black was the private nurse of King George V from 1928 until his death in 1936. She began her service in late 1928 following a serious bout of illness for the King. Black was made permanent in 1930; she was given her own chambers within Buckingham Palace. She was known as "Blackie" to the members of the royal family. Black objected to the actions of the King's doctor Lord Dawson of Penn in administering a lethal combination of

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

to hasten the King's death. The King's final words, "God damn you!", were addressed to Black as she gave him a sedative on the night before his death. Black wrote of her life in the Palace in her autobiography ''King's Nurse, Beggar's Nurse'', in which she also recounted her childhood in Donegal, nursing in Australia, as well as her service in WWI. In reflecting on the experiences of nurses in the war, Black recounted "you went into casualty-clearing stationyoung and light-hearted. You came out older than any span of years could make you."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Catherine 1878 births 1949 deaths People from Ramelton 20th-century Irish women Irish nurses Irish people of World War I Female nurses in World War I Members of the Order of the British Empire