Mona Elizabeth Clara Grey (24 September 1910 – 27 May 2009) was a British nurse who was named

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

's first

Chief Nursing Officer Nursing management consists of the performance of the leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and ...

(CNO) in 1960.

Biography

Grey was born and raised in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

), the daughter of missionaries. Her mother died when she was six and so Grey and her elder sister, Trixie, attended Oakgrove boarding school near the Himalayas. The pair then went to the Church of England Missionary School in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. There, her sister died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. She prepared to be a teacher at

St. Bede's College, Shimla St. Bede's College is a women's college in Navbahar, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. The college was originally established as a teacher's training institute in 1904 by the Religious of Jesus and Mary. Today, it offers courses in Commerce, Art ...

, where she graduated with honours and remained in India to work at Lawerence College in

Murree Hills Murree (Punjabi language, Punjabi, Urdu language, Urdu: مری) is a mountain resort city, located in the Galyat region of the Pir Panjal Range, within the Muree District of Punjab, Pakistan. It forms the outskirts of the Islamabad-Rawalpindi m ...

. In the 1930s she moved to London, looking for a teaching post, and in 1933 she took a job at Royal London, then known as London Hospital. It was there that she decided to become a nurse. Whilst at London Hospital she also qualified as a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

. Grey subsequently played a significant role in restructuring its health services in Northern Ireland. In 1960, she was appointed chief nursing officer in

, the first person to be appointed to the role, a post she held until 1975, when she retired. She helped establish a research chair in nursing at the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

, and received an honorary doctorate from the university in 1999. She died in

Holywood Holy Wood or Holywood may refer to: Places * Holywood, County Down, a town and townland in Northern Ireland ** Holywood, County Down (civil parish), a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland ** Holywood railway station (Northern Ireland) * ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

on 27 May 2009 aged 98.

Royal College of Nursing

In 1946 Grey was tasked by the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

to establish a Northern Irish branch. As part of this she undertook a number of fundraising efforts to pay for an office for the college, including writing plays and pageants for fundraising performances in the 1950s, and persuading the

Governor of Northern Ireland The governor of Northern Ireland was the principal officer and representative in Northern Ireland of the British monarch. The office was established on 9 December 1922 and abolished on 18 July 1973. Overview The office of Governor of Northern I ...

Baron Wakehurst Baron Wakehurst, of Ardingly in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 29 June 1934 for the Conservative politician Gerald Loder, fifth son of Sir Robert Loder, 1st Baronet (see Loder Baronets f ...

to allow the holding of a charitable event at

Hillsborough Castle Hillsborough Castle is an official government residence in Northern Ireland. It is the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,

. Grey was the first salaried secretary of the RCN in Northern Ireland and served as leader of the college prior to her appointment as CNO. She was appointed an OBE in the

1952 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Austra ...

. She was appointed Honorary Vice-president of the RCN in 1996 and Fellow of the RCN in 2004.

Awards and honours

* RCN Northern Ireland Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) *

Officer 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 ...

(1952) Legacies * The Mona Grey Endowment Fund (

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

) * The Mona Grey Prize (Manchester University) * The Sarah Thewlis Good Citizen AwardSarah Thewlis Good Citizen Award profile
suttonguardian.co.uk; accessed 5 July 2015. * The Mona Grey Scholarship (London South Bank University)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Mona 1910 births 2009 deaths Civil servants from Northern Ireland British women civil servants Nurses from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire Health professionals from County Down Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing People from Rawalpindi NHS Chief Professional Officers British nurses St. Bede's College, Shimla alumni 21st-century British civil servants 21st-century British women civil servants Women civil servants from Northern Ireland ]