Lady Sybil Grey (15 July 1882 – 4 June 1966) was a British philanthropist and

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

nurse.

Early life

Grey was born as the second daughter to

Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey, (28 November 185129 August 1917) was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada 1904–1911, the ninth since Canadian Confederation. He was a radical Liberal aristocrat and a ...

and his wife Alice Holford, the daughter of

Robert Stayner Holford Robert Stayner Holford (1808–1892), of Westonbirt, in the village of Weston Birt, co. Gloucestershire, MP for East Gloucestershire, was a wealthy landowner, gardening and landscaping enthusiast, and an art collector. With his vast wealth, he r ...

. She was raised in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

. During her time in England, she competed at rifle ranges and horse racing. In 1904, her family moved to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada where her father would serve as the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

Career

In 1906, Grey and 15 Ottawa women cofounded the Ottawa chapter of the

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

(IODE), a patriotic club to support Canadian troops fighting overseas during the War. Another part of her efforts during the First World War was serving as a

nurse at a hospital in Northumbria. She transformed her family home in Northumberland into a hospital to look after 400 patients during the war. In October 1915, Grey moved to Russia to establish an

Anglo-Russian Hospital The Anglo-Russian Hospital was a hospital in Petrograd set up during the First World War. It was called 'The (British) Empire's Gift to Our Russian Allies' and was founded in 1915 and was closed in 1918. Lady Muriel Paget and Lady Sybil Grey helpe ...

with Lady

Muriel Paget Lady Muriel Evelyn Vernon Paget CBE DStJ (19 August 1876 – 16 June 1938) was a British philanthropist and humanitarian relief worker, initially based in London, and later in Eastern and Central Europe. She was made an OBE in 1918 and promoted ...

, which would go on to treat 8,000 Russian soldiers over two years. She co-founded the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

hospital with Lady Muriel Paget from 1915-1918, despite ''

The British Journal of Nursing ''The British Journal of Nursing'' is a medical journal covering nursing. In addition to academic material on nursing and hospitals, the journal provides information on people and events as well as photographs and advertisements. There have been ...

'' (BJN) dismissing their efforts due to their lack of experience. In the first year the hospital was open, the admitted few injured and wounded men, but experienced an uptake in February 1916. During her stay at the Russian field hospital, she suffered a facially injury as a result of a hand grenade. However, she continued her nursing efforts and eventually spent nearly a year in France leading the Women’s Legion. However, by 1917, she returned to England to stay with her dying father and worked at the Dorchester House. Grey once again returned to the front line of the war efforts soon after and married Lambert Middleton. She was made an

Officer 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 ...

at the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 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, 3 June a ...

for her efforts during the war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Lady Sybil 1882 births 1966 deaths Red Cross personnel Officers of the Order of the British Empire Female wartime nurses Female nurses in World War I People from Northumberland British humanitarians British women in World War I Daughters of British earls Wives of baronets 20th-century British philanthropists

Early life

Career

Further reading

References