Elise Kemp

Elise Margaret Kemp (19 June 1881 – 20 October 1917) was a New Zealand-born nurse who served in the Territorial Forces Nursing Service. She was the only New Zealand-born nurse killed in action on the Western Front during the First World War.

Early years Kemp was born in Wellington, New Zealand, on 19 June 1881 (some sources erroneously cite 1882), one of six children born to Dr. William George Kemp, a physician and surgeon, and his wife, Charlotte (née Greenwood). Kemp's father was from England and her mother from Nelson, New Zealand.

On 3 November 1917, the British Journal of Nursing recorded Kemp's death as follows:OUR ROLL OF HONOUR. "Great sorrow has been caused at King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill, by the news of the death of Sister Elise M. Kemp, of the Territorial Force Nursing Service. Sister Kemp, who was trained at King's College Hospital, and afterwards promoted to the position of Sister, was a great favourite with her colleagues, both at home and abroad. At the time of her death she was working at a Casualty Clearing Station in France, where she was killed instantaneously by the explosion of a bomb. We offer our sincere sympathy to her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Kemp, of Hastings, in their bereavement."

Memorials Kemp is interred in the British Cemetery just outside Godewaersvelde, France. There is a memorial tablet to her in the chapel at Kings College Hospital.