Dame Sarah Elizabeth Oram, (26 December 1860 – 26 June 1946) became a senior member of the Army Nursing Service (ANS) and

Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage t ...

(QAIMNS), and served as Principal Matron, Nursing Inspector in the QAIMNS, and was attached to the British Expeditionary Force, France, 1914–1915 and subsequently as Acting Matron-in-Chief, QAIMNS, Eastern Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, 1915–1919 during the

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 ...

Background and training

Oram was born on Boxing Day, 1860 in

Cirencester Cirencester (, ; see below for more variations) is a market town in Gloucestershire, England, west of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswolds. It is the home of ...

, the only daughter of Samuel Thomas Oram, a Surveyor of Taxes, and his wife, Sarah Oram, née Gibbons. Oram's father died in Thirsk, Yorkshire in 1868, and Oram was educated at a private school in London and at the Malvern Link. Oram worked as a school teacher before commencing her nurse training at

The London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...

in February 1884. Oram trained under London Hospital matron Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes, and completed her training on 22 February 1886.

Career

Oram joined the

Army Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage ...

(ANS) as an Army Nursing Sister on 1 May 1886 and served in Egypt for 5 years from 1891. On 11 December 1896, the ''London Gazette'' announced that she 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 ...

for her role in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers who served in the Anglo-Sudan war, and the award was conferred by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

on 5 March 1897. After 13 years as an Army Nursing Sister, she was promoted to the position of Superintendent in May 1899 and served in the Second-Anglo Boer War in South Africa from January 1900 until 1902. Oram was made a matron in the newly formed QAIMNS in 1903. She was promoted to Principal Matron, QAIMNS, South Africa, 1911–1914; Principal Matron, Nursing Inspector QAIMNS, 1911–1914, and attached to the British Expeditionary Force, France, 1914–1915, before her final appointment as Acting Matron-in-Chief in 1915 of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

Honours

Oram was appointed a

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 ...

in 1919 and invested on 10 March 1920 at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

Death

Dame Sarah Oram died, unmarried, on 26 June 1946 in

South Kensington South Kensington, nicknamed Little Paris, is a district just west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically it settled on part of the scattered Middlesex village of Brompton. Its name was supplanted with ...

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 ...

, aged 85. The funeral took place at St George's Church, Campden Hill, and Oram was cremated at Kensal Green Crematorium on 1 July 1946.

References

External links

''British Journal of Nursing''

Command & Control of Army Nurses
britisharmynurses.com * (bar to RRC award, 1918) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oram, Sarah 1860 births 1946 deaths British nursing administrators British women in World War I Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Female nurses in World War I Members of the Royal Red Cross People from Cirencester People from South Kensington Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I