Kate Evelyn Luard, (29 June 1872 – 16 August 1962), was a British nurse in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

and

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 ...

who was awarded the

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

and

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. She was the author of two books describing her experiences.

Early life

Luard was born in

Aveley Aveley is a town and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England, and forms one of the traditional Church of England parishes. Aveley is 16 miles (26.2 km) east of Charing Cross. In the 2021 United Kingdom ...

vicarage on 29 June 1872. Her father was Bixby Garnham Luard, the vicar of Aveley between 1871 and 1895. Her mother was Clara Isabella Sandford Bramston. She had twelve brothers and sisters, three of whom were born after her. She subsequently moved to

Birch, Essex Birch is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located approximately south-west of Colchester and north-east of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of ...

after her father was appointed to that living. She was educated at

Croydon High School Croydon High School is an Independent school (UK), independent day school for girls located near Croydon, London, England. It is one of the original schools founded by the Girls' Day School Trust. History The school was founded in 1874 in Welles ...

, where the headmistress, Dorinda Neligan, had served as a nurse at the Siege of Metz during the Franco Prussian War in 1870–71. Luard worked as a teacher and governess in order to pay for nursing training at

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by K ...

, London.

War service

Luard served as a nurse in the

and was one of the first nurses to join the British Expeditionary Force at the start of the

. She arrived in France on 8 August 1914 and was therefore listed as eligible for the

1914 Star The 1914 Star, colloquially known as the Mons Star, is a British World War I campaign medal for service in France or Belgium between 5 August and 22 November 1914. Institution The 1914 Star was authorised under Special Army Order no. 350 in Nov ...

, with a clasp because she served under enemy fire, although it is not clear whether she received it. Initially, she worked on ambulance trains bringing the wounded from the battlefields. During the war she was twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and was awarded the

and

. The first award of the Royal Red Cross was gazetted in January 1916, and the bar in May 1918. Luard was Head Sister of No. 32 Casualty Clearing Station at

Brandhoek Brandhoek is a small hamlet in Belgium situated between Ypres, Vlamertinge and Poperinge just off the N308/N38. Brandhoek was used as a Field Ambulance and Casualty Clearing Station during World War I and contains three Commonwealth War Graves Co ...

during the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

. She resigned from the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve) shortly after the Armistice because of the illness of her father.

Post war

After this the war, Luard worked in the

South London Hospital for Women The South London Hospital for Women and Children was a general hospital treating women and children on Clapham Common in London, UK. It was also known as the South London Hospital for Women and the South London Women's Hospital. Founded by Eleano ...

, and as a matron at a boys school. She retired to

Wickham Bishops Wickham Bishops is a village and civil parish in the Maldon district of Essex, England. It is located around three miles north of the town of Maldon and around two miles south-east of Witham, in whose post town it lies. The place name ''Wickham ...

in Essex, where she died on 16 August 1962.Kate Luard Unknown Warriors
/ref>

Publications

Luard is the author of two accounts of her experiences in the war: * ''Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front'', William Blackwood & Sons, 1915 (published anonymously); * ''Unknown Warriors, the Letters of Kate Luard'', History Press Limited, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luard, Kate 1872 births 1962 deaths Burials in Essex Military personnel from Essex British women in World War I Female nurses in World War I Members of the Royal Red Cross People educated at Croydon High School People from Aveley Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers