Jean Neill Erwin (25 January 1890 – 24 July 1969) 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, masseuse, and army nursing administrator. She was born in

Fendalton Fendalton is a suburb of Christchurch, in the South Island of New Zealand. History Fendalton was originally known as Fendall Town, named after the original settler of the land, Walpole Chesshyre Fendall (1830–1913). Fendall emigrated fr ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand on 25 January 1890. She was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 1945 King's Birthday Honours just after her retirement from the military. She was an elder at Knox Church in Christchurch. In July 1915, Erwin enlisted in 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 ...

and was posted overseas. In October that year, she was aboard the SS ''Marquette'' when it was torpedoed by a German submarine and sunk. Ten New Zealand nurses lost their lives, but Erwin and other survivors continued to serve in hospitals and hospital ships for the remainder of

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 ...

. After the war had ended, she continued as a nurse in England before returning to New Zealand in 1920.

References

1890 births 1969 deaths New Zealand nurses New Zealand military nurses New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Female nurses in World War I World War I nurses Sinking of the SS Marquette New Zealand women nurses {{NewZealand-med-bio-stub