Mairi Lambert Gooden-Chisholm of Chisholm, MM, OStJ (26 February 1896 – 22 August 1981), known as Mairi Chisholm, was a Scottish nurse and ambulance driver in the First World War. She, together with her friend Elsie Knocker, won numerous medals for bravery and for saving the lives of thousands of soldiers on the Western Front in Belgium. Dubbed “The Madonnas of Pervyse” by the press the two became the most photographed women of the war, achieving recognition not only as women but for working on the front lines against official British regulations.
Mairi Chisholm | |
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![]() One of "The Madonnas of Pervyse"
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Born | Nairn, Scotland |
26 February 1896
Died | 22 August 1981 Nairn, Scotland |
(aged 85)
Years active | 1914–1918 |
Known for | being awarded: Order of Léopold II (1915) Order of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium (1915) Military Medal (1917) 1914 Star (1917) Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1918) |
Medical career | |
Profession | Nurse |
Mairi Lambert Gooden-Chisholm of Chisholm, MM, OStJ (26 February 1896 – 22 August 1981), known as Mairi Chisholm, was a Scottish nurse and ambulance driver in the First World War. She, together with her friend Elsie Knocker, won numerous medals for bravery and for saving the lives of thousands of soldiers on the Western Front in Belgium. Dubbed "The Madonnas of Pervyse" by the press the two became the most photographed women of the war, achieving recognition not only as women but for working on the front lines against official British regulations.