Mairi Chisholm

Mairi Lambert GoodenChisholm of Chisholm, MM, OStJ , known as Mairi Chisholm, was a Scottish nurse and ambulance driver in the First World War. She, together with her friend Elsie Knocker, won numerous medals for bravery and for saving the lives of thousands of soldiers on the Western Front in Belgium. Dubbed The Madonnas of Pervyse by the press the two became the most photographed women of the war, achieving recognition not only as women but for working on the front lines against official British regulations.

Chisholm was born onFebruary 1896 in Nairn, Scotland to Captain Roderick GoodenChisholm and Margaret Fraser. Her family was independently wealthy and even owned a plantation in Trinidad. When Chisholm was a child, the family moved from Scotland to Dorset. As a teen, she witnessed her older brother, Uailean, who owned a Royal Enfield 425cc, competing at rallies and at the Bournemouth speed trials. Around this time, and against his wifes wishes, her father bought her a Douglas motorbike. Chisholm spent hours in the family stables stripping down the bikes and repairing them. She was justyears old when, while roaring round the Hampshire and Dorset lanes, she met thirtyyearold Elsie Knocker, a divorcee and mother of a young son. They became fast friends and soon began competing in motorcycle and sidecar trials together.

Source: Wikipedia