Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Martha May Beardmore collection
General material designation
- Textual record
- Graphic material
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Variations in title: Also known as the Martha May Beardmore (née Wilson) collection
Level of description
Collection
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
210 p. of textual records
1 hand drawn map
1 postcard
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Martha May Beardmore (née Wilson), was an English nurse who aided the British during World War I. She began her nursing career at the Metropolitan Hospital of London, England where she earned her proficiency medal. Her first nursing position was at the Sandringham Estate Hospital of King George Fifth. At the turn of the century she migrated from England to Canada and became a public health nurse in the East-at-the Quebec Bridge district. While there she aided members of the Kahnawake Mohawk nation, which led to them bestowing her the title of Princess of the Caughnawaga Indians. She then moved west to Regina and opened a private hospital.
While holidaying in England in 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. Martha subsequently settled her affairs in Regina and joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. As part of the Military Nursing Service, she aided efforts in France and the Balkan countries. She also ended up in the Palace of the Tsar of Russia and became a nurse to Grigori Rasputin. She ended up moving to France and then Belgium where she worked under noted nurse Edith Cavell. At this point Martha May Wilson suffered from shell shock and was sent back to England.
After recovering from her shell shock she was appointed matron of the Stoke-on-Trent Hospital, where she was at the end of World War I. She was also called to Buckingham Palace by King George V who presented her with the Royal Red Cross for her nursing services during World War I.
Eventually she moved back to Canada where she fell ill and was admitted to the Winnipeg General Hospital. While in hospital she met her future husband, Harry Beardmore. The couple married and decided to move to Vancouver where she opened a hospital on Bute Street. She retired in Vancouver, though continued to aid in hospital efforts across the city.
After several injuries and a stroke, Martha May Beardmore died on October 20, 1963.
Custodial history
The majority of the collection was received from Mrs. Beardmore’s husband, however some fragments may be from other sources. Collection was part of the Woodward Memorial Collection until it was transferred to Rare Books and Special Collections in 2013.
Scope and content
The majority of the collection consists of over 200 pencil handwritten copies of Martha May Beardmore’s accounts of her work during the First World War in Serbia and Salonika. There are also notes on a presentation she attended, newspaper clippings, and fragmentary documents about the First World War. At the end of the collection is a covering letter from her husband, Harry Beardmore to the UBC librarian which gives some biographical information.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Handwritten notes are arranged by subject. Arrangement inherited from Woodward Memorial Library.
Language of material
- English
- Russian
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
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Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
RAD compliant finding aid compiled by M. Hunter, July 2015.