Mabel St Clair Stobart

Mabel Annie St Clair Stobart ( Boulton; 3 February 1862 – 7 December 1954) was an English suffragist and aid-worker. She created and commanded all-women medical units to serve in the Balkan Wars and the First World War. She became the first woman to achieve the rank of Major in any national army. She was also the author of several books and articles.

Early life Born to a wealthy family, in 1862 in England, her parents were Sir Samuel Bagster Boulton and Sophia Louisa (née Cooper).

She was the third daughter in a family of five daughters and two sons. She was an avid golfer and tennis player and wrote a book on golf, plus several articles on fishing. She rebelled against the typical trappings of her upbringing, at one point refusing to be presented at the Royal Court.

She married St Clair Kelburn Mulholland Stobart (1861–1908), an Irish-born granite merchant on 16 July 1884.

She returned to Britain in 1907 settling in Studland Bay, in Dorset, whilst her husband remained in Transvaal to settle the business affairs. In the event, St Clair was not to return, as he died at sea on 9 April 1908 on his return journey to Britain.

Women's Sick and Wounded Convoy Corps Group of the Women's Sick and Wounded Convoy Corps in Camp at Radlett in 1912. St Clair Stobart is sixth from left, centre row.

Stobart firmly felt that a major war was coming and women could contribute to this war effort by providing medical care along with other support activities. During her life, Stobart never had any official medical training. She initially joined the newly created First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) but left after a short time. She had issues with the funding of the organisation and the perceived view that it was not doing enough to promote women within the military. She soon founded the Women's Sick and Wounded Convoy Corps (WSWCC) in 1910.

The Balkan Wars broke out in October 1912 between the Ottoman Empire and former territories of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia. The British Red Cross Society (BRCS) had sent a team to the conflict, but explicitly did not send any women, as the society thought that the conditions would be "quite unsuitable for women." Stobart disagreed and sought a way for her Corps to be sent. She enlisted the help of Noel Buxton, an MP and Chairman of the Balkan War Relief Committee. Stobart approached Buxton at a club and he suggested she travel with him in a few days to make her case directly to the Bulgarian government. Stobart quickly arranged her unit in two days. They would stay in England and await word from her if they received permission.

After travelling on the Orient Express, Stobart, her husband, Noel Buxton and his brother, Charles Buxton, MP, all arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria. Stobart received a positive response from the head of the Bulgarian Red Cross, but permission of the head of the military medical division was still needed. Rather than waiting for him, Stobart set off to the front to see him. After giving an impassioned speech about British women, Stobart was granted permission for her unit to come and be "...near the front as possible". The unit spent five weeks in the country, treating the wounded and sick until the armistice was signed.

On return to London, Stobart then took her unit to the siege of Antwerp, in response to a request received via Lord and Lady Esher.

Following the exploits in Antwerp, Stobart established a hospital at the Château Tourlaville near Cherbourg, which operated during 1914–1915, but, bored of the tedious work away from the front, left the hospital she had established and sought a new challenge.

In Serbia

First Serbian-English Field Hospital As a result of the war and its effects, epidemic typhus broke out in Serbia, causing the death of around 150,000 people including about half of the doctors in the country. The unit was to be called the First Serbian-English Field Hospital (front).

Later travels After America entered the war in April 1917, Stobart travelled to North America - the United States and Canada - for a lecture tour arranged through the British Ministry of Information, followed by a lecture tour in Ireland in late 1918. Stobart served as the chair of the Spiritualist Community Countil from 1924 to 1941 and also joined the council of the World Congress of Faiths.

Written works War and women, From Experience in the Balkans and Elsewhere 1913. London, G. Bell & Sons, Ltd. The Flaming Sword in Serbia and Elsewhere 1916. London; New York: Hodder and Stoughton. Ancient Lights (or, The Bible, The church and psychic science). 1923. London: Kegan Paul. Torchbearers of Spiritualism. 1925. The either or of spiritualism. 1928. London: Rider & Co. The Apocrypha Reviewed by a Spiritualist. 1930. London: Kegan Paul. Psychic Bible Stories for young & old. 1933?. London: Wright & Brown. Miracles and Adventures. An Autobiography. 1935. London: Rider & Co.