Gledhow Hall Military Hospital Photograph Album

Edith Cliff, OBE, (1871–1962) was the

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

Gledhow Hall Gledhow Hall is an English country house in Gledhow, Leeds, West Yorkshire. A house, built in the 17th-century by John Thwaites, was remodelled for a new owner by the Yorkshire architect John Carr. It is a Grade II* listed building and has bee ...

Military Hospital in

Gledhow Gledhow is a suburb of north east Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, east of Chapel Allerton and west of Roundhay. It sits in the Roundhay ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Etymology The name ''Gledhow ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, England from its opening in 1915, throughout the First World War until it closed 1919. Edith Maud Cliff, daughter of William Dewhirst Cliff of

Meanwood Towers Meanwood is a suburb and former village in north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The area sits in the Moortown ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds North East parliamentary constituency. Origins and history The name Meanwood goes back t ...

in Leeds was born in 1871. A woman of independent means, she began to train as a

Voluntary 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) nurse in 1911. After 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 ...

, her cousin

Albert Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale Albert Ernest Kitson, 2nd Baron Airedale (7 October 1863 – 11 March 1944) was a British peer. He was ''inter alia'' a director of Midland Bank. Family Kitson was the son of James Kitson, an iron and steel manufacturer in Leeds. He was educa ...

offered his home, Gledhow Hall, for use as a VAD hospital. It opened in 1915 and Cliff was appointed its commandant, that is, officer in charge, a position she held throughout the war. She was awarded an OBE 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 ...

for her service. Cliff's scrapbook, ''The Great European War, Gledhow Hall Hospital'', documents life there between 1915 and 1919 in letters, photographs and newscuttings. Leeds Libraries consider this one of the treasures of their collection, along with a 1480 '' Book of Hours''. In 1935 Edith Cliff married Sir Thomas Willans Nussey, a barrister and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

until 1910. They were in their mid-60s when they married. Edith Cliff, Lady Nussey, died aged 90 in 1962. Her husband had predeceased her by 15 years.

References

External links

Link to digitised images of the Gledhow Hall Scrapbook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cliff, Edith 1871 births 1962 deaths People from Meanwood Members of the Order of the British Empire British women in World War I 19th-century English people 20th-century English people English nurses Wives of baronets