Elizabeth Smellie National Historic Person (1884-1968)

Elizabeth Smellie was designated as a national historic person in 2011.

Historical importance: Assistant Matron-in-Chief during First World War, Matron-in-Chief during the Second World War.

Commemorative plaque: 236 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, Ontario^{Footnote 1}

Colonel Elizabeth Smellie (1884-1968)

A remarkable leader who once resided here, this First World War military nurse and then Assistant Matron-in-Chief was awarded the Royal Red Cross (First Class) in 1917. As Matron-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Medical Corps during the Second World War, she was responsible for thousands of Army nurses, and assisted in the formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Navy nursing services and the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. Colonel Smellie retired in 1944, the first woman to hold this rank. She then guided the Victorian Order of Nurses through a changing healthcare system as Chief Superintendent until 1947.