FIRST AID NURSING YEOMANRY (F.A.N.Y.)

Situated in the Unconsecrated/East Section of Jesmond Old Cemetery

Mary Baxter Ellis.

Mary was born in Newcastle in 1892, eldest of four children born to Mary Sharpe Taylor and Joseph Baxter Ellis. Her father, who was knighted in 1906, came from Yorkshire to Newcastle in 1865 to enter the business of Hindhaugh & Co., the millers, which had been founded by his Uncle 60 years earlier. He was Sheriff of Newcastle in 1887 – 1888 and Mayor in 1890 – 1891 and again in 1904 – 1905. Mary Sharp Taylor, Mary’s Mother, was Joseph’s second wife; he had four children with his first wife, Frances Laidler.

Recorded as living in ‘North Ashfield’, Elswick in the Censuses of 1901 and 1911, Joseph’s occupation was given as Seed Manufacture, Merchant and Miller.

Mary was educated at Newcastle’s Central High School for girls, leaving there to study archaeology at University College London. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Mary was determined to play an active role in the war effort, volunteering to join the  First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, (F.A.N.Y.) in 1915. FANY had been founded in 1907 and was the first woman’s voluntary organisation to be arranged along military lines. To join they had to pay a fee, buy their own uniform, first aid kit, pay a riding school fee and pay for the care of a horse! It’s not a surprise then, that only reasonably wealth women could join. They were trained not only in first aid but in signalling and drilling in cavalry movements. FANY members ran field hospitals, soup kitchens and troop canteens as well as driving ambulances in dangerous conditions. During W.W.1, British authorities rejected help from the organisation, so they served with the French and Belgian Armies instead, and were awarded many decorations for bravery. They had, however, to face many prejudices, for although nursing was a feminine roll, they were entering a man’s world. In fact, it is reported that Mary was stoned in the street on her way to the Quayside when she returned home to visit her father in her khaki uniform.

Mary received a C.B.E. in the New Year Honours list of 1942, in recognition of her outstanding and continuous record of service to the country. She was never out of the news for long, her commitment to various causes, frequently reported in the newspapers.

As a group, the women of FANY had to protect the reputation of the organisation and be cautious about social and cultural conflicts – these were women who lived and worked together and many strong bonds were made between them. So it’s not surprising that Mary Baxter Ellis, known as ‘Dick’, and Marjorie Kingston Walker, her colleague and companion, known as ‘Tony’, shared a bond that saw them progress not only through their military career together, but also on into retirement. They retired in 1947 after Mary had gained promotion to eventually becoming Commanding Officer of the FANY, with Marjorie as her Second in Command, and both women went to live in Bellingham and later West Woodburn together. They spent their retirement painting and breeding cocker spaniels until Mary died in hospital in Corbridge on 12 April 1968, aged 75. Marjorie died a couple of months later. Probate was granted on 20 June, with Mary leaving £22,398 in her will.

For a more detailed insight into Mary’s life and career, have a read of this great book.