Ethel Lily May Thorpe (1908 – December 4, 2001) was a British-Canadian nurse.
Early life and education
Thorpe was born and raised in Norwich, England.
During World War II, she served as a nursing sister for the British army.
Career
After the war, Thorpe was appointed Matron of the County Hospital at Shanghai, China.
She later traveled to Jamaica where she established a training program for psychiatric nurses.
By 1950, she was appointed Matron of Bellevue Hospital, Jamaica.
Thorpe also sat on the General Nursing Council of Jamaica. In honour of her contributions, she was the recipient of the 1956
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 ...
.
In 1962, Thorpe was sent further into Jamaica by the Colonel Office to help them gain independence.
In 1963, Thorpe immigrated to Canada to take a position as Nursing Consultant for the
Sanatorium Board of Manitoba.
She also served as co-ordinator for five hospitals.
In 1974, she was honoured by the Canadian Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association as a lifetime member.
A few years later, she was the recipient of the 1977 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
and was awarded the 1981
Florence Nightingale Medal
The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...
by the International Committee of the Red Cross Society.
Thorpe died on December 4, 2001.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorpe, Ethel L. M.
2001 deaths
British women nurses
English nurses
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Florence Nightingale Medal recipients
1908 births
People from Norwich
British emigrants to Canada