Martha Sarah Bidmead
Sister Bidmead
Born(1862-12-05)5 December 1862
Guernsey
Died23 July 1940(1940-07-23) (aged 77)
South Australia
NationalityAustralia
Occupationnurse
EmployerDistrict Trained Nursing Society
Known forreceiving the Royal Red Cross

Martha Sarah Bidmead (5 December 1862 – 23 July 1940) was a Guernsey-born Australian nurse. She led a nursing contingent to the Boer War and she was one of only three Australian nurses to receive the Royal Red Cross. She led the District Trained Nursing Society as superintendent and made it successful.

Life

Bidmead was born on the Island of Guernsey in 1862 in St Peter Port.[1] She emigrated to Australia with her four sisters on the ship John Elder after their parents had died. They arrived on 30 April 1885. She decided to train as a nurse at Adelaide Children's Hospital in 1886, qualifying as a charge nurse and serving until 1889. Bidmead was then employed privately until she was appointed as one of Burra Burra District Hospital's staff nurses.[1]

She was chosen to lead six nurses after she volunteered to be part of the Australian government's contribution to the Boer War. They sailed in February 1900 and after they arrived in South Africa they went to work at 2nd General Hospital near Cape Town.[2]

H.M.T. Dilwara

In December 1901 she was awarded the Royal Red Cross. Nursing Sister Bidmead was in England as she had travelled there in charge of the wounded on a ship bringing them to Britain for treatment on board the Dilwara. She one of only three people to receive the Royal Red Cross[3] and the only one from South Australia. The other two were Sister Elizabeth Nixon who also received her award in 1901 and Sister Marianne Rawson who received hers in 1902.[4] Bidmead and Nixon were both given their medals personally by the King and Bidmead's detailed account was published in the Adelaide Observer.[5]

In 1912 she became the District Trained Nursing Society's superintendent and she is credited with making the society a success. She stood down in 1926.[2]

Bidmead probably died in South Australia as she was living with her sisters in the Adelaide suburb of Payneham and she was buried there.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Council, Campbelltown City (3 October 2019). "Bidmead, Martha Sarah". Campbelltown City Council. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Clark, Rex, "Martha Sarah Bidmead (1862–1940)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 30 December 2023
  3. ↑ "Anglo Boer War – Royal Red Cross". www.angloboerwar.com. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Project, Australian Women's Archives. "Faith, Hope, Charity – Australian Women and Imperial Honours – Browse Award – The Royal Red Cross". www.womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "THE ROYAL RED CROSS". Adelaide Observer. 3 May 1902. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
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