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Air Commandant Dame Helen Wilson Cargill, DBE, RRC (1 October 1896 – 4 December 1969) was a British nurse and Royal Air force officer. From 1948 to 1952, she was Matron-in-Chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.[1]

Early life and education

11 Cluny Avenue, Edinburgh

Cargill was born on 1 October 1896, the daughter of William Cargill and his wife, Jane Elizabeth Murphy. They lived at 11 Cluny Avenue in Morningside, Edinburgh.[2] She was educated at St Bride's School, Edinburgh. From 1919 to 1923, she trained as a nurse at St George's Hospital, a teaching hospital in London.[1]

Military career

The grave of Dame Helen Cargill, Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh

In June 1923, Cargill joined the newly re-named Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.[3] She was promoted to sister on 1 July 1926,[4] and to senior sister on 1 February 1939.[5] During the interwar period, she served in the United Kingdom and in the Middle East.[3]

Cargill saw active service during the Second World War.[3] She was an acting matron as of June 1941.[6] In the 1941 King's Birthday Honours, Cargill was appointed an Associate of the Royal Red Cross.[6] From 1942 to 1944, she served in the United Kingdom and in Aden.[3] Following the Normandy Landings, she was matron of the RAF Hospital in Normandy, France.[3] From September 1944 to May 1945, the end of the war in Europe, she was matron of a hospital in Brussels, Belgium.[3] In the 1945 King's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Member of the Royal Red Cross.[7]

Cargill returned to the United Kingdom after the end of the war and spent the rest of her military career as matron of the RAF Hospital in Matlock, Derbyshire.[3] This was a psychiatric hospital that specialised in the treatment of former prisoners of war.[3] On 16 July 1948, she was appointed the Matron-in-Chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.[1][8] On 1 February 1949, when the women's forces were integrated into the British Armed Forces, she was granted the rank of air commandant.[9] She was appointed a Commander of the Order of St John (CStJ) in June 1949,[10] and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1951 New Year Honours.[11]

Cargill retired from the military due to "medical unfitness for air force service" on 12 May 1952.[1][3][12]

Death

Cargill died on 4 December 1969, aged 73. She was buried with her parents in Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh, close to their family home. The toppled gravestone lies in the south-west section.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "CARGILL, Air Commandant Dame Helen Wilson". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. April 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. ^ Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1896–97
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Private Papers of Air Commandant Dame Helen W Cargill". iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  4. ^ "No. 33184". The London Gazette. 20 July 1926. pp. 4802–4803.
  5. ^ "No. 34596". The London Gazette. 7 February 1939. p. 868.
  6. ^ a b "No. 35204". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1941. p. 3752.
  7. ^ "W.R.A.F. Director To Be A.D.C. To The King". The Times. No. 51344. 31 March 1949. p. 4.
  8. ^ "New Matron-In-Chief" (pdf). The British Journal of Nursing. July 1948. p. 81. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  9. ^ "No. 39043". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1950. p. 5161.
  10. ^ "No. 38650". The London Gazette. 24 June 1949. p. 3132.
  11. ^ "No. 39104". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1950. p. 9.
  12. ^ "No. 39539". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 May 1952. p. 2578.

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Military offices
Preceded by Matron-in-Chief Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
1948–1952 		Succeeded by
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