Dame Katherine Watt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 August 1886 Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 1 November 1963 (aged 77) St George's Hospital, London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army (c. 1914–19) Royal Air Force (1919–38) |
| Years of service | c. 1914–1938 |
| Rank | Matron-in-Chief |
| Commands | Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (1930–38) |
| Battles / wars | First World War |
| Awards | Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire Royal Red Cross Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John Florence Nightingale Medal |
| Other work | Chief Nursing Officer (1941–48) |
Dame Katherine Christie Watt, DBE, RRC, CStJ (31 August 1886 – 1 November 1963) was a British military nurse, nursing administrator and civil servant.
Watt completed her general nurse training at the Western Infirmary Glasgow. She completed her midwifery training at the Middlesex Hospital, London. [1]
Watt served in the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service during the First World War, and the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service in the inter-war period. She was Matron-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Nursing Service from 1930 to 1938, and worked at the Ministry of Health during and immediately after the Second World War.[2][3] As Chief Nursing Officer from 1941 to 1948, she was actively involved in the plans for the new National Health Service (NHS).[2][4] Watt was the first Chief Nursing Officer appointed to the Ministry of Health in England. She started work at the Ministry as Principal Matron for the Emergency Medical Services in 1939. She then became Chief Nurisng Advisor in 1948. She retired in 1950.[5]
In this role she visited a number of countries by invitation to attend nursing conferences as well as exchange ideas with colleagues. This included Syria, The Lebanon, Iran. Iraq, India, Pakistan, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Egypt, Australia and New Zealand. [6]