Myra Bennett
Myra M. Bennett, CM, MBE (April 1, 1890 – April 26, 1990) born London, England, died Daniel's Harbour, Newfoundland, Canada. Dubbed The Florence Nightingale of Newfoundland by the Evening Telegram, is a tribute to her tremendous contribution to the people of the Great Northern Peninsula and known simply as The Nurse.
Bennett (née Grimsley) worked as a tailor in London before training as a nurse at Woolwich and a course in midwifery at Clapham School of Midwifery. She came to Newfoundland as a district nurse under the outport nursing scheme. Her plan was to travel to Saskatchewan but was approached by Lady Harris (wife of Sir Alexander Harris) and was made aware of the dire need for nurses in Newfoundland. She agreed and changed her plans to go to Daniel's Harbour in May 1921. So began her long career of caring for the sick on the west coast of Newfoundland. The house that she lived in at Daniel's Harbour is now a heritage site.
For her tremendous efforts she was awarded the following awards and honours:
- 1935 - King George V Silver Jubilee Medal,
- 1936 - Member of the Order of the British Empire,
- 1937 - King George VI Coronation Medal,
- 195? - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal,
- 1967 - honorary membership in the Association for Registered Nurses of Newfoundland,
- 1974 - Member of the Order of Canada,
- 1974 - Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Bennett's life as a nurse in outport Newfoundland was written in an article by Reader's Digest and a book entitled Don't Have Your Baby in the Dory by H. Gordon Green. CBC TV also did a documentary on her life story, as well as, an interview with Peter Gzowski. She is also the subject of Robert Chafe's play Tempting Providence (Playwrights Canada Press, 2004). Theatre Newfoundland Labrador's production of "Tempting Providence" has been touring nationally and internationally since 2002.
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