Margaret C. MacDonald

Major Margaret Clothilde MacDonald, (26 February 1873 – 7 September 1948) was a Canadian military nurse, serving in the Second Boer War and the First World War. MacDonald held the title of Matron-in-Chief of the Canadian Army Medical Corps Nursing Service, the first woman promoted to the rank of major in the British Empire and was awarded the Royal Red Cross and the Florence Nightingale Medal (1918).

MacDonald was born into a wealthy, Catholic family in Bailey Brook, Nova Scotia in 1873. Her father was a store owner and provided MacDonald the opportunity to receive an education from an early age, atypical for girls of that time. After graduation, MacDonald went to practice in Panama before beginning her first military nursing work aboard the military ship, USS Relief during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Early life and education

Margaret MacDonald was born on 26 February 1873, in Bailey's Brook, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, the third child of Mary Elizabeth Chisholm and Donald St. Daniel MacDonald. MacDonald was born the day before her mother's 24th birthday. Between 1868 and 1879, Mary Elizabeth gave birth to eleven children, nine of which survived into adulthood; six girls and three boys. During the war, MacDonald was the first woman promoted to the rank of major in the British Empire for her leadership during the First World War. MacDonald was responsible for planning every move of her cadre of nurses. She had to ensure their safe and secure transportation, living conditions, and health.

MacDonald returned to Canada in 1919, and was soon named the head of the Nursing Service of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. In her role, she aided in reorganizing the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. MacDonald retired in 1920, returning to her home town of Bailey's Brook, Nova Scotia. MacDonald died on 7 September 1948, at the age of 75.

Awards Royal Red Cross (1916) Florence Nightingale Medal (1918) Honorary DDL from Saint Francis Xavier University (1983)