Evangeline Lydia Emsley ARRC (March 1885 – February 21, 1967), sometimes written as Lydia Evangeline Emsley, was a Canadian nurse who was decorated for her service as a member of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

Early life

Evangeline Emsley was born in Lindsay, Ontario, the daughter of Rev. William Henry Emsley and Susan A. Major Emsley. Her father was a Methodist pastor and military chaplain from Barnsley, in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. She trained as a nurse at

Columbia Hospital Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1909."From the War Zone: A Distinguished Nursing Sister"
''Trained Nurse and Hospital Review'' (October 1916): 211-212.

Career

Emsley was appointed Superintendent of Nurses at Kingston General Hospital in Ontario in 1912. She joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915. In England, she worked as night supervisor at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital in Taplow. She was sent to a base hospital in

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

. In King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Q ...

1919 Birthday Honours The 1919 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

, she was awarded a Royal Red Cross, second class, for her service during the war. After she returned to Canada in 1919, she resumed a civilian nursing career, working for the health department in

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the ...

in 1929.

Personal life

In 1931, Emsley married Frederick James Donevan (1880-1948), a widowed doctor who had also served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in France and England. They lived in

with his daughter Constance Marie Donevan, who also became a nurse."Fraser-Donevan"
''The Leader-Post'' (January 27, 1945): 5. via Newspapers.com

References

External links

Evangeline Emsley's Attestation Paper
signed upon joining the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in October 1915; from Libraries and Archives Canada. {{DEFAULTSORT:Emsley, Evangeline Lydia 1885 births 1967 deaths Canadian nurses Women nurses Canadian women in World War I People from Kawartha Lakes Associate Members of the Royal Red Cross 20th-century Canadian women