Dame Katharine Furse, ( Symonds; 23 November 1875 – 25 November 1952) was a British nursing and military administrator. She led the
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
Voluntary Aid Detachment force during the
First World War, and served as the inaugural Director of the
Women's Royal Naval Service (1917–19). Furse was also the first Director of the
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (1928–38).
Early life and family
Furse was born in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, England, on 23 November 1875, the daughter of poet and critic
John Addington Symonds and Janet Catherine North. Her aunt was the painter
Marianne North
Marianne North (24 October 1830 – 30 August 1890) was a prolific English Victorian biologist and botanical artist, notable for her plant and landscape paintings, her extensive foreign travels, her writings, her plant discoveries and the ...
. Educated by governesses and her mother, Furse spent most of her early life in Switzerland and Italy. In the last quarter of 1900, Furse married the painter
Charles Wellington Furse
Charles Wellington Furse (13 January 1868 – 16 October 1904) was an English painter.
He was born at Staines, the son of Jane Diana (Monsell) and the Rev. C. W. Furse, archdeacon of Westminster, and rector of St John's, Smith Square and de ...
at
St George's, Hanover Square, London; her husband died in October 1904 aged 36, leaving her with two young sons:
Peter Reynolds Furse, b. Farnham, Q4 1904 and
Paul Furse, b. Farnham, Q4 1904.
Military career
In 1909 Furse joined the
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
Voluntary Aid Detachment attached to the
Territorial Army. In 1911, she was lodging with
Lucy Cane and family at 66 Elm Park Gardens,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament const ...
.
On the outbreak of the
First World War she was chosen to head the first Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) unit to be sent to France. Furse realised that the existing number of nurses would prove totally inadequate to deal with the enormous amount of work which might be expected, and in September 1914 she proceeded to
France with a number of assistants, these forming the nucleus of the VAD force.
In January 1915 she returned to England, and the VAD work was then officially recognised as a department of the
Red Cross organisation and she was placed in charge of the VAD Department in London.
She received the
Royal Red Cross and was named a Lady of Grace of the
Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1916, and was appointed a
Dame Grand Cross 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 June 1917. Although she considered it a great success being head of the Voluntary Aid Detachment, Furse was unhappy about her lack of power to introduce reforms. In November 1917, she and several of her senior colleagues resigned due to a dispute over the living conditions of the VAD volunteers and the Red Cross refusal to co-ordinate with the Woman's Army group.
Furse was immediately offered the post as director of the
Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), this was equivalent to the rank of
rear admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regard ...
.
[William Stewart ] The Royal Navy was the first of the armed forces to recruit women and since 1916 the Women's Royal Naval Service took over the role of cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, code experts and electricians.
The women were so successful that other organisations such as the
Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the
Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) were also established.
Post-war
After the war, Furse joined the travel agency of Sir Henry Lunn (later known as
Lunn Polly). Working mainly in Switzerland, she became an expert skier and did a great deal to popularise the sport with British tourists.
[ Her achievements were acknowledged when she became President of the Ladies' Ski Club.]
In 1920, Furse formed the Association of Wrens and this led to her becoming head of the Sea Rangers (formerly known as the Sea Guides),[ and for ten years, from 1928 to 1938, was director of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts,][ whose constitution she drafted.][Tammy M. Proctor ]
Furse's autobiography, ''Hearts and Pomegranates'', was published in 1940.[Cathy Hartley ] Her last public appearance was at the Conference of Former Scouts in London in September 1952. Furse died at University College Hospital
University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lon ...
in London two months later in late November 1952, and two days after her 77th birthday and her wealth at death was £10,996.[
]
Legacy
There is a blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
in Furse's honour at her birthplace, Clifton Hill House, Lower Clifton Hill, Hotwells
Hotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects the dock ...
, in Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. It was unveiled on 7 September 2017, following a campaign by the Association of Wrens. The building is now a hall of residence for Bristol University
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
.
Her granddaughter was U.S. Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse.[Matthew Andrew Wasniewski (Editor) ]
References
*
External links
*
*
* ''Scouting Round the World'', John S. Wilson, first edition, Blandford Press 1959, p. 203
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furse, Katharine
1875 births
1952 deaths
Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting
International Scouting leaders
British autobiographers
English nurses
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Military personnel from Bristol
Writers from London
Members of the Royal Red Cross
Women's Royal Naval Service officers
British women in World War I
Women autobiographers
Royal Navy admirals of World War I
Female admirals
Ladies of Grace of the Order of St John