Isabel Clark (1885 – 23 October 1915) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

nurse who served in 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 ...

and died when the SS ''Marquette'' was torpedoed and sunk in 1915.

Early life

Clark was born in 1885, the youngest of six children born to Christina and Hugh Clark. Her parents were Scottish settlers and the family lived at Ardgowan, near

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

, in the South Island of New Zealand. She attended Oamaru South School and

Waitaki Girls' High School "Satisfaction from hard work" , established = 1887; years ago , principal = Elizabeth Koni , address = Trent Street, Oamaru, New Zealand , coordinates = , type = State, Girls, Secondary years 9-13 , roll = () , decile ...

. She completed her nursing training at Waimate Hospital and Oamaru Hospital. After qualifying, Clark was a nurse at a private hospital in Auckland.

First World War

Waimate Hospital plaque to nurses who died on the SS Marquette

In 1915, Clark enlisted in the New Zealand Army Nursing Service for service in the First World War. She left

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on board the SS ''Maheno'' and sailed to

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. She joined a contingent of nurses working in a stationary hospital there. In October 1915 Clark was on board the SS ''Marquette'' when it was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk. Survivors reported that Clark and fellow nurse Marion Brown comforted each other on the deck of the ship before holding hands and leaping into the sea together. Neither Clark nor Brown was seen again.

Recognition

A commemorative plaque to Clark, and fellow ''Marquette'' casualties

Mary Gorman Mary Gorman (10 May 1881 – 23 October 1915) was a New Zealand nurse who served in World War I and died when the SS Marquette (1897), SS ''Marquette'' was torpedoed and sunk in 1915. Early life Gorman was born in Waimate, New Zealand, on 10 May ...

and

Catherine Fox Catherine Mai-Lan Fox (born December 15, 1977) is an American former competition swimmer who won two gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She is of Vietnamese and European descent. Her father, Thomas C. Fox (editor and former publisher of ...

, was placed in Waimate Hospital. When the hospital closed in 1996, the plaque was moved to a display at the Waimate Museum. A memorial oak tree was planted in Oamaru. There are also plaques at the Oamaru Hospital, Ardgowan School and Waitaki Girls' High School. Waitaki Girls' holds an annual essay writing competition in her name. Clark is named on the

Mikra British Cemetery The Mikra British Cemetery is a World War I-era British military cemetery in Kalamaria, a suburb of the city of Thessaloniki in Greece. It was opened in April 1917, and used until 1920. Following the Armistice the cemetery was greatly enlarged by ...

in Greece and in the

Nurses' Memorial Chapel The Nurses' Memorial Chapel at Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand, is registered as a Category I heritage building. The chapel is significant as New Zealand's first hospital chapel, and as the country's only World War I memorial solely dedicated ...

at Christchurch Hospital. She is also remembered in the

Five Sisters window York Minster’s Five Sisters window contains the largest expanse of 13th century grisaille glass in the world. It was built c.1250–1260 and is located in the north wall of the north transept of York Minster. The window features in the Guinnes ...

at York Minster in York, England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Isabel 1885 births 1915 deaths New Zealand nurses New Zealand military nurses Female nurses in World War I 20th-century New Zealand people Nurses killed in World War I Sinking of the SS Marquette People from Oamaru People educated at Waitaki Girls' High School New Zealand women nurses New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I