Theodosia, Lady Bagot, ( Leslie; 1865 – 21 February 1940) was a British nurse, benefactor and author. She founded and served in

field hospitals A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

, and 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 ...

, for which she was awarded a number of British and foreign decorations. A devout Christian, she was active in the Anglican

Church Army The Church Army is an evangelistic organisation and mission community founded in 1882 in association with the Church of England and now operating internationally in many parts of the Anglican Communion. History The Church Army was founded in E ...

Biography

She founded the Portland Hospital and accompanied it to South Africa during the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, for which 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 ...

. She had little nursing experience herself, but learnt on the job during her time in South Africa and became particularly skilled on the surgical wards. In 1901, her book ''Shadows of the War,'' a narrative of experiences and impressions of the war, was published. She served with a surgical unit in Serbia during the

, for which she was awarded the Serbian

Order of the Red Cross Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

. During the

, she organised a hospital for the French army in

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Queen Elisabeth Medal The Queen Elisabeth Medal ( nl, Koningin Elisabeth Medaille, french: Médaille de la reine Élisabeth) was a Belgian decoration created by royal decree in October 1916 to recognise exceptional services to Belgium in the relief of the suffering of ...

for her war service. A devout Christian, she was Vice-President of

Council in 1927. On 19 June 1885, she married

Josceline Bagot Josceline Fitzroy Bagot (22 October 1854 – 1 March 1913) was an English British Army officer and Conservative politician. Early life Josceline Fitzroy Bagot was born in Ashtead, Surrey, the son of Col. Charles Bagot and Sophia Louisa Percy. ...

, a British Army offer and later politician, at St Mark's Church, Mayfair. Together they had four children: one son and three daughters. Josceline died in 1913, and she went on to marry the Revd Sidney Swann in 1920. In 1900, Bagot was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

by Lord Roberts in relation to service during the Second Boer War. She was appointed a Lady of Grace of the

Venerable Order of Saint John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of ...

(DStJ) in July 1901.

Selected works

Gallery

Interior of Portland Hospital, Boer War South Africa Wellcome L0034894.jpg , Interior of Portland Hospital, South Africa Photograph of Portland Hospital Staff, South Africa Wellcome L0035088.jpg , Portland Hospital staff, including Bagot (centre, black hat)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagot, Theodosia 1865 births 1940 deaths Members of the Royal Red Cross British Anglicans People of the Second Boer War World War I nurses Female nurses in World War I Church Army people British nursing administrators