Mary Gorman (10 May 1881 – 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

World War I 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

Gorman was born in Waimate, New Zealand, on 10 May 1881 to John and Catherine Gorman. Her father was a railway worker. Gorman completed her nursing training at Waimate Hospital. Waimate Hospital plaque to nurses who died on the SS Marquette

Waimate Hospital plaque to nurses who died on the SS Marquette

Career

After qualifying, Gorman nursed at Wellington Public Hospital. In 1915, she enlisted in the New Zealand Army Nursing Service and 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 ...

in May that year on board the SS ''Marama''. The ship sailed to Sydney, and then to Egypt. The contingent of nurses worked in a stationary hospital there. In October 1915 Gorman was on board the SS ''Marquette'' when it was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk. She was injured during the launching of the lifeboats, and realising that she was unlikely to survive, gave her lifebelt to another nurse.

Recognition

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

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 ...

and Isabel Clark, was placed in Waimate Hospital. The hospital also named its women's ward ''Marquette'' in memory of the three nurses. When the hospital closed in 1996, the plaque was moved to a display at the Waimate Museum. Gorman 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:Gorman, Mary 1915 deaths 1881 births New Zealand nurses Military nurses Female nurses in World War I 19th-century New Zealand people 20th-century New Zealand people Nurses killed in World War I Sinking of the SS Marquette People from Waimate New Zealand women nurses