Mary "Dick" Baxter Ellis

CBE 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 ...

(12 November 1892 – 12 April 1968) was a British commanding officer of the

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)) is a British independent all-female registered charity structured like a military reserve unit. which primarily provides surge relief to civil and military authoriti ...

, also known as FANY.

Life

Ellis was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in 1892. Her mother was Mary Sharpe Taylor and her father would be made the first Lord Mayor of Newcastle in 1907 and he would in time be Sir Joseph Baxter Ellis. She was the first of their four children. Ellis signed up to join the volunteer FANYs in 1915. Ellis was awarded a medal in 1918 by the Queen of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

for her service during

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 ...

. The FANYs in Belgium were reluctant to leave their life together and return home in 1919. Their commander

Grace McDougall Grace McDougall or Grace Alexandra Smith or Grace Ashley-Smith (3 June 1887 – 19 January 1963) was a British officer of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). She is credited with reinventing that organisation and with being the first khaki bri ...

's decision was made for her because her mother was dangerously ill so she had to return. It fell to Ellis to demobilize the FANY's and send them "back to blighty". The decision was made after seeing soldier/mechanics returning from the war and unable to get work. It was felt that men should have the jobs. The FANY would have been completely disbanded, but the organisation escaped this because they were all volunteers. However the organisation became peripheral and it was due to leadership of Ellis and others that the FANY continued. She was leading the Northumberland section in 1928 and she rose to lead the corps in 1932 taking over from "The Boss"

Lilian Franklin Lilian Annie Margueretta Franklin OBE (1882 – 8 January 1955), known as "Boss", was the British commanding officer of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) until 1932. She took the organisation of six volunteers to organise hospitals and nurs ...

OBE.

Helen Gwynne-Vaughan Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan, (née Fraser; 21 January 1879 – 26 August 1967) was a prominent English botanist and mycologist. During the First World War, she served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then as Commandant ...

was first made Chief Controller of the newly formed

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

(ATS) in 1939. This was a role that Ellis had turned down as she preferred to lead the volunteer First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANYs). Ellis agreed however to supply 1500 women to serve with the ATS as long as they could be independent. This was agreed but Gwynne-Vaughan broke the agreement and forced the attached FANY staff to be absorbed. Gwynne-Vaughan held the role to 1941. Ellis would become a deputy-director at the ATS throughout the war. Whilst

Marian Gamwell (Antonia) Marian Gamwell OBE (28 July 1891 – 13 May 1977) was a United Kingdom volunteer ambulance driver and commanding officer of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY). She served with her sister Hope Gamwell during World War I and they the ...

took over the leadership of the remaining FANYs and her sister took a special interest in the FANYs who ran the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

. Ellis retired in 1947 and was succeeded by Maud MacLellan. Ellis went to live with her loyal friend the artist Marjorie (Tony) Kingston Walker where they painted and cared for dogs at Bellingham and

West Woodburn West Woodburn is a village in north-western Northumberland, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 492 in the parish of Corsenside, of which West Woodburn is the main settlement. The village is south of the border with Scotland and ...

and died in a hospital in

Corbridge Corbridge is a village in Northumberland, England, west of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle and east of Hexham. Villages nearby include Halton, Northumberland, Halton, Acomb, Northumberland, Acomb, Aydon and Sandhoe. Etymology Corbridge was k ...

in 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Mary Baxter 1892 births 1968 deaths British women nurses British women in World War I British women in World War II Lesbian military personnel British LGBTQ military personnel British lesbians People from Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of University College London 20th-century British LGBTQ people Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire