Edith Mary Rudd (née Lewis; 14 February 1882 – 7 May 1967) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

civilian and military nurse. She served in both

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and received the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

from the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

in 1961.

Early life

Rudd was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the daughter of George Llewellyn Lewis and Mary Hunter née Littlejohn. She trained as a nurse at

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

Hospital in the North Island of New Zealand.

Career

Rudd worked as a nurse at Rostrevor Hospital in Gisborne, in the North Island of New Zealand, until 1915, when she enlisted with the

New Zealand Army Nursing Service The New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) formally came into being in early 1915, when the Army Council in London accepted an offer of nurses to help in the war effort during the First World War from the New Zealand Government. The heavy losses ...

. In December that year she sailed from

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on the ship SS ''Marama''. She served in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

until 1918, nursing soldiers injured on the Western Front. On returning to New Zealand, Rudd continued nursing and from 1921 to 1941 she was Matron of Wairau Hospital in Blenheim. She also became involved with the

New Zealand Red Cross New Zealand Red Cross or Rīpeka Whero Aotearoa is a humanitarian organisation, which has more than 9,000 members and volunteers. In New Zealand, Red Cross delivers core community services, such as Meals on Wheels, refugee re-settlement servic ...

, joining the

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

branch in 1925. Rudd served as a nurse again in World War II, as Matron of the New Zealand Hospital Ship '' Maunganui'' from 1941 to 1945''.'' Rudd and the ''Maunganui'' sailed from Wellington to

Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...

in April 1941 with a group of 20 New Zealand nurses. She became known as the "Momma of the Black Dressing Gown" as she wore a black silk dressing gown to make her night rounds during blackout conditions on board the ship. By the end of Rudd's service, in 1945, the ship had carried more than 5,600 patients. Rudd spent some time in 1945 and 1946 nursing at Trentham Military Hospital in Wellington on her return to New Zealand. In 1952, Rudd became president of the Marlborough branch of the Red Cross. In 1963, she published her memoirs, titled ''Joy in the Caring''.

Honours

In the 1944 King's Birthday Honours, Rudd received the highest military nursing award, the

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. It was created in 1883, and the first two awards were to Florence Nightingale and Jane Cecilia Deeb ...

(First Class). In 1953, she received the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. In 1961, she was presented with the Florence Nightingale Medal by the Red Cross. In 2013, Rudd's Florence Nightingale Medal was loaned to the Marlborough RSA for display in its rooms.

Personal life

In 1927, Rudd was engaged to a Mr Nees, chairman of Wairau Hospital. Rudd married William George Rudd in 1946. Edith Rudd died in Blenheim on 7 February 1967 and is buried at Omaka Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, Edith 20th-century New Zealand people Female nurses in World War I World War I nurses World War II nurses 1882 births 1967 deaths New Zealand nurses New Zealand military nurses People from Northampton English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand memoirists New Zealand Members of the Royal Red Cross Burials at Omaka Cemetery Florence Nightingale Medal recipients 20th-century memoirists