Lily McNicholas (16 October 1909 – 5 March 1998) was an Irish nurse who volunteered in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. On 7 August 1944, McNicholas survived the sinking of the ''

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

;'' a hospital carrier transporting casualties to Britain from

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France. The incident was widely reported in the press after the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' announced that McNicholas and two other nurses were to be awarded the

M.B.E. Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for their heroic actions.

Early years

McNicholas was born on Kiltimagh,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to Thomas and Bridget McNicholas. After attending the St. Louis Convent Secondary School in the town, she left Ireland in the 1930s to study nursing in England.''Ireland's Own'' (May 2013).

Career

Little is known of McNicholas' early nursing career, but on 5 October 1942 she was granted a commission as a Sister (No. 246129) in the

Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') is the nursing branch of the British Army Army Medical Services, Medical Services. History Although an "official" nursing service was not established until 1881, the corp ...

(QAIMNS) Reserve. McNicholas joined an estimated 70,000 men and women from

, who served in the British forces over the course of the Second World War.

Sinking of the ''Amsterdam''

The ''Amsterdam'' was on her third cross-Channel voyage to pick up

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

casualties and German

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

from the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, when disaster occurred. There are differing accounts of what caused the ''Amsterdam'' to sink. An official record states that the sinking was the result of "enemy action,"Recommendation for Award for McNicholas, Lily Rank: Sister Service No, 1944 (T.N.A., Wo 373/68/928) (www.discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk) Retrieved 20 October 2018. and it was widely reported in the press that the ship was hit by a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

. Other accounts, including the testimony of a sailor on board, agree that the ship struck a German

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

.Manning, Patrick. "The sinking of the S.S. Amsterdam ospital Ship1944" (www.bbc.co.uk) Retrieved 20 October 2018. The impact of the mine destroyed one half of the vessel, killing all the men in the engine room. As the ship lay broken and sinking in the water, McNicholas disregarded her place in No. 3 Water Ambulance, going back into the ship to bring grievously injured men up from the hospital deck. It reportedly took eight minutes for the ship to sink, with the loss of 106 lives including ten medical staff. McNicholas was forced to jump from the ship as it capsized. Unable to swim, she 'fell ill' and was assisted in the water by the ship's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. On the arrival of an American cutter, McNicholas was rescued from the sea and continued to provide medical aid to the injured men as they were pulled from the water.

M.B.E. award

McNicholas was recommended for an M.B.E. in recognition of "gallant conduct in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner." According to a magazine article written in 2013, McNicholas declined to attend her

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, travelling instead to visit the bereaved parents of her best friend. McNicholas had tragically witnessed fellow nurse Molly Evershed go down with the ship after getting stuck in a

porthole A porthole, sometimes called bull's-eye window or bull's-eye, is a generally circular window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Though the term is of maritime origin, it is also used to describe round windows on armored vehicles ...

trying to escape. According to some sources, McNicholas was awarded an O.B.E but correspondence from the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

; the official recommendation record; medal and medal case, show that McNicholas did in fact receive an M.B.E.

Later life

McNicholas went on to postings in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

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, demobilising in March 1946 and released from service in June that year. She moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1947, where she continued nursing in hospitals and for the

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

company. McNicholas retired in 1976 and resided in

Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a Village (Illinois), village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 58,362 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Oak Lawn is a suburb of Chicago, located southwest of the city. It ...

, until she died in 1998.

Legacy

McNicholas' M.B.E. medal, War Office correspondence and life jacket from the ''Amsterdam'' can be seen at the Kiltimagh Museum in Mayo, Ireland. 'Sister Lily McNicholas' is featured in the ''Our Irish Women'' temporary exhibition, on display at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, during October and November 2018.

References

External sources

Patrick Manning Testimony: BBC WW2 Peoples War

101 Mayo People
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNicholas, Lily 1909 births 1998 deaths British Army personnel of World War II Irish nurses Members of the Order of the British Empire Military personnel from County Mayo People from Oak Lawn, Illinois Shipwreck survivors Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers Health professionals from County Mayo People from Kiltimagh