Agnes Bennett

Agnes Elizabeth Lloyd Bennett OBE (24 June 1872 – 27 November 1960) was a New Zealand doctor, a Chief Medical Officer of a World War I medical unit and later was awarded an O.B.E. for her services in improving the health of women and children.

She was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on 24 June 1872, the sixth child of W. C. Bennett, and his first wife Agnes Amelia, ne Hays. Bennett attended Sydney Girls High School, as well as Cheltenham Ladies' College, Dulwich Girls' High School and Abbotsleigh. She won a scholarship in 1890 and studied science at the University of Sydney (B.Sc., 1894); she was secretary of and a night-school teacher for the Women's Association (later University Women's Settlement).

Initially unable to find a job as a medical practitioner, Bennett worked for a time as a teacher and governess, then left Australia in 1895 to study at the College of Medicine for Women, University of Edinburgh (M.B., Ch.M., 1899). She returned to Sydney in 1901 and set up in private practice in Darlinghurst Road but although she gave free medical advice she was forced to give up her practice because of the then common prejudices against female doctors. She briefly worked at Callan Park, the hospital for the Insane before leaving in 1905 to take over the practice of a woman doctor in Wellington, New Zealand. This time the practice thrived. She was chief medical officer at St Helen's maternity hospital, and honorary physician to the children's ward of Wellington Hospital from 1910. In 1911 she completed her M.D. at Edinburgh.

In 1915 Agnes Bennett became the first female commissioned officer in the British Army, when as a captain she worked as a medical officer in war hospitals in Cairo. When the work came to an end she sailed for England, uncertain what to do next. Almost immediately she met up with Elsie Inglis in London who asked her to work with the Scottish Women's Hospitals. On 2 August 1916, the America Unit, in the command of Dr Bennett, reached Southampton preparatory to embarking on the hospital ship Dunluce Castle for Salonika. The ship arrived in Salonika on 13 August and on the 17th of that month Dr Bennett travelled by car to visit the proposed camp site.

Originally intended as a base hospital at Salonika, the unit's status was changed. As the only hospital for the use of the defeated Third Serbian Army, it would now be situated near the front, acting more or less as a casualty clearing station. Finally on 7 September 1916 the first vehicles of her thirty-nine car convoy (Mrs Harley's Unit included), left Salonika on the road to Ostrovo Lake. By 11 September, Dr Bennett was able to record of the Ostrovo Unit "The hospital is gradually getting into being-progress slow, partly on account of labour." By 28 September she as wring: "We have admitted 204 patients up to today; ten of the staff are ill which means 14 off work..."

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