Margaret (Madge) Neill Fraser (4 June 1880 – 8 March 1915) usually known as Madge, was a Scottish

First World War 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 ...

nurse and notable amateur golfer. She represented

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

at international level every year from 1905 to 1914.

Life

Margaret Neill Fraser was born on 4 June 1880 the daughter of Margaret (d.1927) and Patrick Neill Fraser

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(d.1905), a

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

. She had an elder sister Rachael A. Neill Fraser (b. 1871) and three brothers: James Watson Neill Fraser (b. 1873), William Neill Fraser (b. 1876) and Patrick (1879 - 1916). The family lived at Rockville on Murrayfield Road in western Edinburgh and ran the company Neill & Co, who ran a printers and HMO Stationery Office, both at Bellevue and at 13 George Street. The company had been established by her father's great uncle, Patrick Neill. Fraser's home golf club was

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

Golf Club. She was runner-up in the 1912 Scottish Ladies Golf Championship, beaten by Dorothea Jenkins and semi-finalist in the 1910 British Championship. She played often at internationals in

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; , ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of Dublin 6. Ranelagh was originally a village called Cullenswood. It has a history of conflict, including the at ...

and

Barnehurst Barnehurst is a town and Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Greater London within the London Borough of Bexley. It lies north east of Bexleyheath, and 13.0 miles (20 km) east south-east of Charing Cross. It is separated from Nor ...

. Fraser was a member of the Golfing Gentlewomen and the

Ladies' Golf Union The Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) was the governing body for women's and girls' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and was based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland until merging with The R&A at the start of 2017. Issette ...

. Fraser was a member of the St Andrews Ambulance Association and a trained nurse. At the outbreak of the

she volunteered alongside others such as suffragette doctor Elsie Inglis, with Grace Symonds and Dr Elizabeth Ross (1877-1915) to create the Scottish Women's Hospitals in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

under the overall umbrella of the French Red Cross. It was locally run by Lady Leila Paget who was married to the ambassador. The majority of the group of women were also

suffragettes A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

, for example women doctors surveyed in 1908 had been 538 for the vote and only 15 against. At the time high profile women golfers, like Fraser were a rarity even being allowed to play on men's courses and wanted to demonstrate responsibility and fair play, thus 'most good women golfers of that time tolerated the Suffragists and abhorred the Suffragettes' Fraser arrived at the hospital in

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

in Serbia in December 1914 in the midst of a

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

epidemic. Fraser contracted

and died on 8 March 1915. Twenty-one other Scottish medical workers died in the same epidemic. Fraser is buried in the Niš Commonwealth Military Cemetery, eastern Serbia. She is memorialised on her parents’ grave stone in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. Fraser's brother, also Patrick Neill Fraser, was a Lieutenant in the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

and was killed on 1 July 1916, the first day of 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 ...

. Following Fraser's death, she was described as 'perhaps the most popular woman's golfer in Great Britain' the Ladies Golf Union collected funds from international donors sufficient to provide 200 additional beds in Serbian hospitals in her memory. And it was reported that a transport lorry for Elsie Inglis' latest field hospital, was funded by her golfing friends, and seen leading out a column of vehicles by the Serbian Crown Prince George. Fraser's funeral was described as a 'terribly sad affair with the funeral party having to struggle through thick snow and mud.' She was commemorated on the Scottish Women's Hospitals' Roll of Honour:

"There is no Sea Nor Time nor Space nor Division In God's dear Home There is only God and His strong Love and Peace and A GREAT REMEMBERING." " Let us remember before God these women Who gave their lives in the service of others."

Madge Neill Fraser is the only woman listed on Murrayfield Golf Club's Roll of Honour. '' The British Journal of Nursing'' expressed regret at her death, and noted she was a nurse and a chauffeur. Her name is listed on the globe-shaped memorial to VAD and nurses who died in two world wars, in the

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and ...

, Alrewas, Staffordshire dedicated by HRH Countess of Wessex, GCVO on 14 June 2018 As the stars in a dark sky they lit up our world''.' Fraser's name is also on the Women's Roll of Honour as part of the

Five Sisters window York Minster, York Minster's Five Sisters window contains the largest expanse of 13th century grisaille glass in the world. It was built c.1250–1260 and is located in the north wall of the north transept of York Minster. The window features in ...

York Minster York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, Margaret Neill 1880 births 1915 deaths Nurses from Edinburgh British women in World War I Female nurses in World War I World War I nurses Scottish suffragists Scottish female golfers Deaths from typhus Golfers from Edinburgh Nurses killed in World War I