Mary Ellen Birtles was born at Sheffield, England in 1858. She emigrated to Canada with her family in June 1883, settling in Winnipeg. In 1889, she was one of the first three graduates of the nurse training program at the Winnipeg General Hospital. During her nursing career, Mary Ellen worked in North Dakota, Medicine Hat, Brandon and Calgary. In Brandon she served first as a senior nurse (approximately 1892-1894), then returned in 1898 to become Matron of the Brandon General Hospital. She retired from that position in 1919. In 1935, Mary Ellen received the Order of the British Empire from the Governor General of Canada for her role in the pioneer nursing of Western Canada. She never married. Mary Ellen Birtles died on June 22, 1943 in Alexander, MB. She is buried at Alexander Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing Phyllis Long reading an article written by Mary Ellen Birtles in 1925, about the history of the Brandon General Hospital.
Notes
History/bio information from the Manitoba Historical Society website. Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Kathleen Maida Winters (nee Gosling) was born on March 6, 1899 in the Maida Barracks, Aldershot in South East England. Her faather George Henry Gosling was a Color Sargeant in the Royal Sussex Regiment. Her father died in the Boer War and she was raised in Dublin, Ireland. Kathleen came to Canada in August 1921 and took Normal School in Moosomin, SK. Kathleen married Abraham Albert "Abie" Winters (1903-1978) in 1929, continuing to teach in country schools. The couple did not have children. Her husband sold their farm near Fleming, SK in 1951, and the couple moved to Fleming, although they kept a quarter section of land until 1974. Abie suffered a stroke and the couple moved to Elkhorn in 1976. Kathleen Winters died on August 9, 1990 in Elkhorn, MB. She is buried at Fleming Cemetery in Saskatchewan.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Kathleen Winters about her life. Interviewer is Ron Heritage.
Notes
History/bio information from the records and the Find a Grave website. Description by Christy Henry.
Audio Tracks
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