Jessie Bicknell (27 March 1871–13 October 1956) 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, and a health administrator. She served in

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 was made an Associate of 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 ...

for her service.

Early life

Bicknell was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

North Otago North Otago is an area in New Zealand that covers the area of the Otago region between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre f ...

on 27 March 1871 to Elizabeth Armstrong and Frederick Bicknell, a postmaster. She was one of ten children. She was educated in Oamaru and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and trained as a nurse at

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Hospital. In 1903 she was first in the country in the national nursing examinations. After completing her training, Bicknell worked at Wairau Hospital in Blenheim, and at

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings, New ...

Hospital. She then trained as a midwife at St Helens Hospital,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, completing her certificate in 1906.

Career

In May 1907, Bicknell was appointed Assistant Inspector of Hospitals. Working under

Hester Maclean Hester Maclean, (25 February 1859 – 2 September 1932) was an Australian-born nurse, hospital matron, nursing administrator, editor and writer who spent most of her career in New Zealand. She served in the First World War as the founding Matron- ...

, and alongside Amelia Bagley, Bicknell travelled the country, including to remote rural areas. She was primarily involved with inspecting and advising private hospitals, nurses and midwives. It was a key period of development for the professions; in 1904 the Midwife Registration Act had been passed, and many midwives had registered although they had not received formal training. In 1906, a similar act had been passed for the licensing and inspection of private hospitals. Bicknell's advice and input is regarded as crucial to the improvements in midwifery and hospital standards at this time. In 1909 the New Zealand Trained Nurses' Association was formed, and Bicknell became the honorary secretary; she held this position until 1923. In 1915, Bicknell was made deputy matron of 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 in January the following year sailed on the hospital ship '' Maheno'' as matron''.'' The ship was used to evacuate injured soldiers to England from the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

. In 1917 Bicknell was made an Associate of the Royal Red Cross for her wartime services. In 1917 Bicknell returned to New Zealand and her role as a hospital inspector. In 1923, Hester Maclean retired and Bicknell became director of the Division of Nursing in the Department of Health, and matron in chief of the Army Nursing Service. As part of her preparation for her appointment she was sent to England to observe new developments and became even more committed to nurse education; on her return she attended the Registered Nurses' Association conference in Dunedin and advocated for university training for nurses. She also attended the

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for :Health care occupations, health care professionals. It is headqua ...

(ICN) meetings in Copenhagen in 1923, and Montreal in 1929, and became a member of the ICN Education Committee. She helped establish postgraduate nursing courses, and also worked on a superannuation scheme for hospital nurses, and a review of legislation affecting nurses. When the Nurses and Midwives Board was established in 1925, Bicknell was a member and its registrar.

Later life

Bicknell retired in March 1931 and lived in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian era, Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy ...

, Auckland. She died in

Green Lane Hospital Green Lane Hospital may refer to: * Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand * Green Lane Hospital, Wiltshire, England {{disambiguation ...

on 13 October 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bicknell, Jessie 1871 births 1956 deaths New Zealand nurses People from Oamaru New Zealand women nurses Female nurses in World War I World War I nurses New Zealand associate members of the Royal Red Cross