Nancy Malloy (6 October 1945 – 17 December 1996) was a medical administrator and nurse for the British Columbian branch of the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

, Russia. Posthumously, she was awarded both the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

Life

Born in

Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...

, Ontario, on 6 October 1945, she studied at the KGH School of Nursing before completing her bachelor's degree in Nursing Science at Queen's University in 1969. After being a teacher in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, she moved to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

in 1979, where she worked as a nurse at

Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver General Hospital (locally known as VGH, or Vancouver General) is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre (VHHSC) group of medical facili ...

. She joined the local Red Cross branch in 1987. Over the course of nine years, she was a director and medical administrator for six outpost hospitals in remote

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. As well, she participated as a medical administrator and nurse during

ICRC The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

missions to Ethiopia (1990), Kuwait and Iran (1991), Belgrade (1993), Zaire (1995), and Chechnya (1996).

Murder

In the mission following a peace treaty between Russia and Chechnya, Nancy Malloy, together with six international Red Cross workers were located in a hospital in

Novye Atagi Novye Atagi (: , ''Ƶima Ataġa'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Shalinsky District, Chechen Republic, Shalinsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located south of Grozny. Po ...

, close to

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

, the capital of the

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

region. On 17 December 1996, when the mission had been running for two and a half months, armed men entered the sleeping quarters of the hospital and shot and killed Malloy, together with five of her coworkers.
In 2010, it was reported that a Russian special forces major had claimed to be part of the group which carried out the shooting, and that their intention was to target Chechen fighters. However, witnesses had claimed soon after the event that they had heard the attackers speaking Chechen, and that the Red Cross staff had been directly targeted.

Honours

A memorial plaque on the fatal attack is present in a school and former hospital in Novye Atagi. Nancy Malloy was awarded the

in 1997 by Governor General Romeo LeBlanc. As well, she was awarded the

by the

, while receiving the Order of the Red Cross from the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society () In addition, Queen's University's school of nursing administers the Nancy Malloy Memorial Award, handed out by her friends and classmates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malloy, Nancy 1945 births 1996 deaths First Chechen War 1996 murders in Russia Canadian nurses Canadian people murdered abroad Canadian women nurses Canadian schoolteachers Queen's University at Kingston alumni People from Brockville Red Cross personnel Deaths by firearm in Russia Florence Nightingale Medal recipients