Madeleine Agnes Sharp (July 1920 - 7 January 2014) was a British physician and peace campaigner. She was known for her work to provide medical and scientific aid to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and as a general practitioner in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

Early life and education

Sharp was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and grew up in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. She also spent a lot of time in Gourock with her grandparents, where she acquired a Scottish accent. Sharp's mother was the secretary of the

British-Soviet Friendship Society The British-Soviet Friendship Society was a British organisation active from 1946 to 1991. The society's papers are held at the Marx Memorial Library, while the University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingst ...

and encouraged Sharp's interest in politics; Sharp was called a "premature

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

" by a teacher at her school due to her frequent discussions of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Sharp's mother also likely encouraged her to pursue a career in medicine. Sharp trained as a nurse initially because her parents could not afford to send her to medical school. Sharp served in India under the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps where she witnessed the beginnings of

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

, the horrors of which led to her later passionate anti-war campaigning. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sharp obtained a newly released

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

grant to study medicine at Edinburgh University.

Career and campaigning

After qualifying, Sharp took a job as a locum at a

general practice General practice is the name given in various nations, such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to the services provided by general practitioners. In some nations, such as the US, similar services may be describe ...

in Coventry, which then became a permanent role. She became a partner and later senior partner at the practice and worked there for 30 years. Sharp actively protested US involvement in Vietnam and became involved in the Medical Aid Committee for Vietnam (later known as Medical and Scientific Aid to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia or MSAVLC) in 1965. Sharp became honorary secretary in 1987 and continued in the role until 2009. Sharp was particularly involved in work to provide

prostheses In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

to those who had lost limbs due to land mines, in seeking to reduce

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

, and in investigating how traditional treatments could work alongside Western medicine. Sharp was the chair of the City of Coventry Lord Mayor's Peace Committee and was responsible for attracting speakers including

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

, Mo Mowlam and

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

to give the annual Peace Lecture.

Awards and honours

Nguyễn Thị Bình presented Sharp with a vase made from an aircraft shot down during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1969, with the hope that it might hold flowers of peace in recognition of Sharp's anti-war campaigning. Sharp did not visit Vietnam until 1989 but subsequently made many trips. Her final trip was a three-week tour in 2009. In 1992, the Vietnamese government awarded Sharp its Order of Friendship. In 1995, Coventry University awarded her an

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

. Sharp was appointed a

Member 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 ...

(MBE) in the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

for services to human rights and humanitarian causes in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In 2004, Sharp received the Coventry peace prize. In 2013, the Vietnamese government awarded Sharp its Order of Merit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Madeleine 1920 births 2014 deaths 20th-century English medical doctors British general practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners English women medical doctors 20th-century British women medical doctors 20th-century English women 20th-century English people People from Coventry Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers People from Newcastle upon Tyne English nurses Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Friendship Order Alumni of the University of Edinburgh