Lady Moyra Blanche Madeleine Browne (née Ponsonby; 2 March 1918 – 4 December 2016) was a British nurse and the only daughter of the 9th Earl of Bessborough, an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

, and his wife Roberte. On 10 December 1945, she became the second wife of

Sir Denis Browne Sir Denis John Wolko Browne (2 April 1892 – 9 January 1967) was the first British surgeon to devote his practice entirely to the care of children. A native of Australia, he served in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps in World War I before ...

(widower of Helen Simpson since 1940), a distinguished paediatric surgeon based at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) from 1922 to 1967. The Sir Denis Browne Gold Medal from the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons was named in his honour. After her husband's death in 1967, Lady Moyra was vice-president of the Royal College of Nursing from 1970 to 1985, Superintendent-in-Chief of

St. John Ambulance St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...

from 1970 to 1983 and Governor of

Research into Ageing Help the Aged was a United Kingdom based international charity founded in 1961 by Cecil Jackson-Cole and Hugh Faulkner to help disadvantaged older people who were affected by poverty, isolation and neglect. It merged with Age Concern in 2009 to f ...

from 1987 to 1989. Lady Moyra and Sir Denis had two children, a son and a daughter. Her son was barrister Desmond John Michael Browne (b. 1947), a former Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales.

Death

Lady Moyra Browne died on 4 December 2016, aged 98, at her home. Her funeral, on 13 December, was at St Paul's Chapel, Stansted Park.

Honours

Dame Commander of the 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 o ...

(1977) * Dame Grand Cross of the Order of St John

References

1918 births 2016 deaths

Moyra Browne Lady Moyra Blanche Madeleine Browne (née Ponsonby; 2 March 1918 – 4 December 2016) was a British nurse and the only daughter of the 9th Earl of Bessborough, an Anglo-Irish peer, and his wife Roberte. On 10 December 1945, she became the s ...

British nursing administrators Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Dames Grand Cross of the Order of St John Daughters of Irish earls Daughters of British earls Wives of knights {{UK-med-bio-stub