Rank: Staff Nurse
Service: Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Unit: 44th Casualty Clearing Station
Died: 21st August 1917
Age: 26 years old.
One of only two female casualties of the Great War buried in Belgium.
Born on the 10th August 1891 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Nellie was baptised on the 11th November 1891 in St Michael's Church in Wakefield. Nellie was the eldest daughter of George Kealey Spindler and Elizabeth Spindler (née Snowden). She had two younger sisters Lilly and May and a brother George Edward. Their father at that time was a Police Sergeant with Wakefield City Police. In 1901, the family lived at 74, Cleaver Place, Wakefield. He was later promoted to Inspector and in 1911 the family lived at 104 Stanley Road, Wakefield. Nellie was educated at Eastmoor Council School, Wakefield.
In 1911, Nellie obtained work at the Corporation Fever Hospital, Wakefield. She "lived-in" and, on the hospital's 1911 Census return, was described as a "domestic servant". The job-title was deceptive; it was given to many young women who were learning the art of caring in lower-status hospitals. They were paying their way by performing cooking and cleaning duties all of which were seen as part of a wider apprenticeship for a future career in nursing. Following a short spell at Barnes Nursing Home in Scarborough, Nellie trained from 1912 to 1915 at the Leeds Township Infirmary as a 'nurse-probationer' still learning her craft through an apprenticeship "on-the-job" training, but now also attending lectures on anatomy physiology and pathology and learning the more technical aspects of nursing practice.
In October 1915 Nellie decided to join the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. In order to join the service you had to fulfill three criteria. It was ruled that you had to be single or recently widowed, to have completed a three year training course in a hospital approved be the War Office and to be over the age of twenty five.
In truth Nellie only fulfilled the first two criteria. She was only 24 years old when she signed up. Her application form stated that her year of birth was 1889 rather than 1891. It is possible that it was a mistake but she may have concealed her true age in order to be able to join up and serve.
After being accepted into the QAIMNS, Nellie worked at Whittington Military Hospital in Lichfield from the 10th April 1915 until the 24th April 1917 when she was declared fit for service overseas.
Nellie embarked for France on the 23rd May 1917 and initially worked in No 2 General Hospital at Le Havre. In June 1917, she transferred to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station situated at Brandhoek. This Casualty Clearing Station was stationed just seven miles from the front line. It specialised in the treatment of men who had been wounded in the chest, abdomen and thigh and needed urgent medical help. Brandhoek was in range of the larger German guns and its' railway sidings and munitions dumps were a frequent target of German shelling.
On the 21st August 1917, Brandhoek was targeted by German artillery shells. The Casualty Clearing Station was bombarded at 11am. Nellie was hit by an exploding shell whilst four other nurses suffered concussion. Nellie died twenty minutes later in the arms of Sister Minnie Wood, the sister-in-charge. Sister Kate Luard wrote a letter home recalling her death:
"Bits came over everywhere, pitching at one's feet as we rushed to the scene. A group of stricken MOs were standing about and in one tent the sister was dying. The piece went through her from back to front near her heart. She was only conscious for a few minutes and only lived 20 minutes. She was in bed asleep. It all made one feel sick
After the bombardment Brandhoek was evacuated. The 321 patients and Nellie's body were transported to Lijssenthoek, where she was placed in the mortuary.
The next day, Nellie was buried with full military honours. The Last Post was sounded. More than 100 officers, the Surgeon-General and four Generals attended her funeral, one being General Hubert Gough, Commanding Officer of the 5th Army. The condolence card on General Gough's wreath read 'with deepest respect' and was sent to her mother on the 3rd September.
The location of Nellie's grave in Lijssenthoek War Cemetery earned her the title 'a woman among 10,000 men'.
The British Journal of Nursing wrote: Miss Spindler was very popular during her training and her loss is deeply deplored by the many friends she made who deeply sympathise with her family in their sorrow.
Nellie is commemorated on the Imperial Nursing Services Memorial in Aldershot, Hampshire and by a plaque in St. George's Garrison Chapel in Whittington Barracks. Her name is also inscribed on the Nurses Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. She is also commemorated on her parent's headstone.
In 2017 to commemorate the centenary of her death, a service of remembrance was held in the Chapel of St James's Hospital in Leeds where she is commemorated on a brass plaque. Wakefield Civic Society also installed a Blue Plaque on the site of her former home in Stanley Road.
In 2018, following a public vote, a new road linking the village of Stanley to Wakefield's new Eastern Relief Road was named Nellie Spindler Drive in her honour.
Nellie is one of only two women members of the QAIMNS to be buried in Belgium, the other being Sister Elsie Mabel Gladstone who died on 24th March 1919 aged 32, and is buried in Belgrade Cemetery, near Namur, Belgium.
(Sources: CWGC, Find My Past, Ancestry, IWM, Wikipedia, National Archives, Newspaper Archives, Visit Flanders, Leger Holidays, UK Association for the History of Nursing)
(Bio: Woose)
Service: Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Unit: 44th Casualty Clearing Station
Died: 21st August 1917
Age: 26 years old.
One of only two female casualties of the Great War buried in Belgium.
Born on the 10th August 1891 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Nellie was baptised on the 11th November 1891 in St Michael's Church in Wakefield. Nellie was the eldest daughter of George Kealey Spindler and Elizabeth Spindler (née Snowden). She had two younger sisters Lilly and May and a brother George Edward. Their father at that time was a Police Sergeant with Wakefield City Police. In 1901, the family lived at 74, Cleaver Place, Wakefield. He was later promoted to Inspector and in 1911 the family lived at 104 Stanley Road, Wakefield. Nellie was educated at Eastmoor Council School, Wakefield.
In 1911, Nellie obtained work at the Corporation Fever Hospital, Wakefield. She "lived-in" and, on the hospital's 1911 Census return, was described as a "domestic servant". The job-title was deceptive; it was given to many young women who were learning the art of caring in lower-status hospitals. They were paying their way by performing cooking and cleaning duties all of which were seen as part of a wider apprenticeship for a future career in nursing. Following a short spell at Barnes Nursing Home in Scarborough, Nellie trained from 1912 to 1915 at the Leeds Township Infirmary as a 'nurse-probationer' still learning her craft through an apprenticeship "on-the-job" training, but now also attending lectures on anatomy physiology and pathology and learning the more technical aspects of nursing practice.
In October 1915 Nellie decided to join the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. In order to join the service you had to fulfill three criteria. It was ruled that you had to be single or recently widowed, to have completed a three year training course in a hospital approved be the War Office and to be over the age of twenty five.
In truth Nellie only fulfilled the first two criteria. She was only 24 years old when she signed up. Her application form stated that her year of birth was 1889 rather than 1891. It is possible that it was a mistake but she may have concealed her true age in order to be able to join up and serve.
After being accepted into the QAIMNS, Nellie worked at Whittington Military Hospital in Lichfield from the 10th April 1915 until the 24th April 1917 when she was declared fit for service overseas.
Nellie embarked for France on the 23rd May 1917 and initially worked in No 2 General Hospital at Le Havre. In June 1917, she transferred to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station situated at Brandhoek. This Casualty Clearing Station was stationed just seven miles from the front line. It specialised in the treatment of men who had been wounded in the chest, abdomen and thigh and needed urgent medical help. Brandhoek was in range of the larger German guns and its' railway sidings and munitions dumps were a frequent target of German shelling.
On the 21st August 1917, Brandhoek was targeted by German artillery shells. The Casualty Clearing Station was bombarded at 11am. Nellie was hit by an exploding shell whilst four other nurses suffered concussion. Nellie died twenty minutes later in the arms of Sister Minnie Wood, the sister-in-charge. Sister Kate Luard wrote a letter home recalling her death:
"Bits came over everywhere, pitching at one's feet as we rushed to the scene. A group of stricken MOs were standing about and in one tent the sister was dying. The piece went through her from back to front near her heart. She was only conscious for a few minutes and only lived 20 minutes. She was in bed asleep. It all made one feel sick
After the bombardment Brandhoek was evacuated. The 321 patients and Nellie's body were transported to Lijssenthoek, where she was placed in the mortuary.
The next day, Nellie was buried with full military honours. The Last Post was sounded. More than 100 officers, the Surgeon-General and four Generals attended her funeral, one being General Hubert Gough, Commanding Officer of the 5th Army. The condolence card on General Gough's wreath read 'with deepest respect' and was sent to her mother on the 3rd September.
The location of Nellie's grave in Lijssenthoek War Cemetery earned her the title 'a woman among 10,000 men'.
The British Journal of Nursing wrote: Miss Spindler was very popular during her training and her loss is deeply deplored by the many friends she made who deeply sympathise with her family in their sorrow.
Nellie is commemorated on the Imperial Nursing Services Memorial in Aldershot, Hampshire and by a plaque in St. George's Garrison Chapel in Whittington Barracks. Her name is also inscribed on the Nurses Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. She is also commemorated on her parent's headstone.
In 2017 to commemorate the centenary of her death, a service of remembrance was held in the Chapel of St James's Hospital in Leeds where she is commemorated on a brass plaque. Wakefield Civic Society also installed a Blue Plaque on the site of her former home in Stanley Road.
In 2018, following a public vote, a new road linking the village of Stanley to Wakefield's new Eastern Relief Road was named Nellie Spindler Drive in her honour.
Nellie is one of only two women members of the QAIMNS to be buried in Belgium, the other being Sister Elsie Mabel Gladstone who died on 24th March 1919 aged 32, and is buried in Belgrade Cemetery, near Namur, Belgium.
(Sources: CWGC, Find My Past, Ancestry, IWM, Wikipedia, National Archives, Newspaper Archives, Visit Flanders, Leger Holidays, UK Association for the History of Nursing)
(Bio: Woose)
Rank: Staff Nurse
Service: Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Unit: 44th Casualty Clearing Station
Died: 21st August 1917
Age: 26 years old.
One of only two female casualties of the Great War buried in Belgium.
Born on the 10th August 1891 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Nellie was baptised on the 11th November 1891 in St Michael's Church in Wakefield. Nellie was the eldest daughter of George Kealey Spindler and Elizabeth Spindler (née Snowden). She had two younger sisters Lilly and May and a brother George Edward. Their father at that time was a Police Sergeant with Wakefield City Police. In 1901, the family lived at 74, Cleaver Place, Wakefield. He was later promoted to Inspector and in 1911 the family lived at 104 Stanley Road, Wakefield. Nellie was educated at Eastmoor Council School, Wakefield.
In 1911, Nellie obtained work at the Corporation Fever Hospital, Wakefield. She "lived-in" and, on the hospital's 1911 Census return, was described as a "domestic servant". The job-title was deceptive; it was given to many young women who were learning the art of caring in lower-status hospitals. They were paying their way by performing cooking and cleaning duties all of which were seen as part of a wider apprenticeship for a future career in nursing. Following a short spell at Barnes Nursing Home in Scarborough, Nellie trained from 1912 to 1915 at the Leeds Township Infirmary as a 'nurse-probationer' still learning her craft through an apprenticeship "on-the-job" training, but now also attending lectures on anatomy physiology and pathology and learning the more technical aspects of nursing practice.
In October 1915 Nellie decided to join the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. In order to join the service you had to fulfill three criteria. It was ruled that you had to be single or recently widowed, to have completed a three year training course in a hospital approved be the War Office and to be over the age of twenty five.
In truth Nellie only fulfilled the first two criteria. She was only 24 years old when she signed up. Her application form stated that her year of birth was 1889 rather than 1891. It is possible that it was a mistake but she may have concealed her true age in order to be able to join up and serve.
After being accepted into the QAIMNS, Nellie worked at Whittington Military Hospital in Lichfield from the 10th April 1915 until the 24th April 1917 when she was declared fit for service overseas.
Nellie embarked for France on the 23rd May 1917 and initially worked in No 2 General Hospital at Le Havre. In June 1917, she transferred to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station situated at Brandhoek. This Casualty Clearing Station was stationed just seven miles from the front line. It specialised in the treatment of men who had been wounded in the chest, abdomen and thigh and needed urgent medical help. Brandhoek was in range of the larger German guns and its' railway sidings and munitions dumps were a frequent target of German shelling.
On the 21st August 1917, Brandhoek was targeted by German artillery shells. The Casualty Clearing Station was bombarded at 11am. Nellie was hit by an exploding shell whilst four other nurses suffered concussion. Nellie died twenty minutes later in the arms of Sister Minnie Wood, the sister-in-charge. Sister Kate Luard wrote a letter home recalling her death:
"Bits came over everywhere, pitching at one's feet as we rushed to the scene. A group of stricken MOs were standing about and in one tent the sister was dying. The piece went through her from back to front near her heart. She was only conscious for a few minutes and only lived 20 minutes. She was in bed asleep. It all made one feel sick
After the bombardment Brandhoek was evacuated. The 321 patients and Nellie's body were transported to Lijssenthoek, where she was placed in the mortuary.
The next day, Nellie was buried with full military honours. The Last Post was sounded. More than 100 officers, the Surgeon-General and four Generals attended her funeral, one being General Hubert Gough, Commanding Officer of the 5th Army. The condolence card on General Gough's wreath read 'with deepest respect' and was sent to her mother on the 3rd September.
The location of Nellie's grave in Lijssenthoek War Cemetery earned her the title 'a woman among 10,000 men'.
The British Journal of Nursing wrote: Miss Spindler was very popular during her training and her loss is deeply deplored by the many friends she made who deeply sympathise with her family in their sorrow.
Nellie is commemorated on the Imperial Nursing Services Memorial in Aldershot, Hampshire and by a plaque in St. George's Garrison Chapel in Whittington Barracks. Her name is also inscribed on the Nurses Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. She is also commemorated on her parent's headstone.
In 2017 to commemorate the centenary of her death, a service of remembrance was held in the Chapel of St James's Hospital in Leeds where she is commemorated on a brass plaque. Wakefield Civic Society also installed a Blue Plaque on the site of her former home in Stanley Road.
In 2018, following a public vote, a new road linking the village of Stanley to Wakefield's new Eastern Relief Road was named Nellie Spindler Drive in her honour.
Nellie is one of only two women members of the QAIMNS to be buried in Belgium, the other being Sister Elsie Mabel Gladstone who died on 24th March 1919 aged 32, and is buried in Belgrade Cemetery, near Namur, Belgium.
(Sources: CWGC, Find My Past, Ancestry, IWM, Wikipedia, National Archives, Newspaper Archives, Visit Flanders, Leger Holidays, UK Association for the History of Nursing)
(Bio: Woose)
Service: Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service
Unit: 44th Casualty Clearing Station
Died: 21st August 1917
Age: 26 years old.
One of only two female casualties of the Great War buried in Belgium.
Born on the 10th August 1891 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, Nellie was baptised on the 11th November 1891 in St Michael's Church in Wakefield. Nellie was the eldest daughter of George Kealey Spindler and Elizabeth Spindler (née Snowden). She had two younger sisters Lilly and May and a brother George Edward. Their father at that time was a Police Sergeant with Wakefield City Police. In 1901, the family lived at 74, Cleaver Place, Wakefield. He was later promoted to Inspector and in 1911 the family lived at 104 Stanley Road, Wakefield. Nellie was educated at Eastmoor Council School, Wakefield.
In 1911, Nellie obtained work at the Corporation Fever Hospital, Wakefield. She "lived-in" and, on the hospital's 1911 Census return, was described as a "domestic servant". The job-title was deceptive; it was given to many young women who were learning the art of caring in lower-status hospitals. They were paying their way by performing cooking and cleaning duties all of which were seen as part of a wider apprenticeship for a future career in nursing. Following a short spell at Barnes Nursing Home in Scarborough, Nellie trained from 1912 to 1915 at the Leeds Township Infirmary as a 'nurse-probationer' still learning her craft through an apprenticeship "on-the-job" training, but now also attending lectures on anatomy physiology and pathology and learning the more technical aspects of nursing practice.
In October 1915 Nellie decided to join the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. In order to join the service you had to fulfill three criteria. It was ruled that you had to be single or recently widowed, to have completed a three year training course in a hospital approved be the War Office and to be over the age of twenty five.
In truth Nellie only fulfilled the first two criteria. She was only 24 years old when she signed up. Her application form stated that her year of birth was 1889 rather than 1891. It is possible that it was a mistake but she may have concealed her true age in order to be able to join up and serve.
After being accepted into the QAIMNS, Nellie worked at Whittington Military Hospital in Lichfield from the 10th April 1915 until the 24th April 1917 when she was declared fit for service overseas.
Nellie embarked for France on the 23rd May 1917 and initially worked in No 2 General Hospital at Le Havre. In June 1917, she transferred to No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station situated at Brandhoek. This Casualty Clearing Station was stationed just seven miles from the front line. It specialised in the treatment of men who had been wounded in the chest, abdomen and thigh and needed urgent medical help. Brandhoek was in range of the larger German guns and its' railway sidings and munitions dumps were a frequent target of German shelling.
On the 21st August 1917, Brandhoek was targeted by German artillery shells. The Casualty Clearing Station was bombarded at 11am. Nellie was hit by an exploding shell whilst four other nurses suffered concussion. Nellie died twenty minutes later in the arms of Sister Minnie Wood, the sister-in-charge. Sister Kate Luard wrote a letter home recalling her death:
"Bits came over everywhere, pitching at one's feet as we rushed to the scene. A group of stricken MOs were standing about and in one tent the sister was dying. The piece went through her from back to front near her heart. She was only conscious for a few minutes and only lived 20 minutes. She was in bed asleep. It all made one feel sick
After the bombardment Brandhoek was evacuated. The 321 patients and Nellie's body were transported to Lijssenthoek, where she was placed in the mortuary.
The next day, Nellie was buried with full military honours. The Last Post was sounded. More than 100 officers, the Surgeon-General and four Generals attended her funeral, one being General Hubert Gough, Commanding Officer of the 5th Army. The condolence card on General Gough's wreath read 'with deepest respect' and was sent to her mother on the 3rd September.
The location of Nellie's grave in Lijssenthoek War Cemetery earned her the title 'a woman among 10,000 men'.
The British Journal of Nursing wrote: Miss Spindler was very popular during her training and her loss is deeply deplored by the many friends she made who deeply sympathise with her family in their sorrow.
Nellie is commemorated on the Imperial Nursing Services Memorial in Aldershot, Hampshire and by a plaque in St. George's Garrison Chapel in Whittington Barracks. Her name is also inscribed on the Nurses Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. She is also commemorated on her parent's headstone.
In 2017 to commemorate the centenary of her death, a service of remembrance was held in the Chapel of St James's Hospital in Leeds where she is commemorated on a brass plaque. Wakefield Civic Society also installed a Blue Plaque on the site of her former home in Stanley Road.
In 2018, following a public vote, a new road linking the village of Stanley to Wakefield's new Eastern Relief Road was named Nellie Spindler Drive in her honour.
Nellie is one of only two women members of the QAIMNS to be buried in Belgium, the other being Sister Elsie Mabel Gladstone who died on 24th March 1919 aged 32, and is buried in Belgrade Cemetery, near Namur, Belgium.
(Sources: CWGC, Find My Past, Ancestry, IWM, Wikipedia, National Archives, Newspaper Archives, Visit Flanders, Leger Holidays, UK Association for the History of Nursing)
(Bio: Woose)
Inscription
Staff Nurse
N. Spindler
Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. 21st August 1917. Age 26.
A NOBLE TYPE OF
GOOD HEROIC WOMANHOOD
Gravesite Details
Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Sponsored by Ancestry
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