Major Josephine Canny QAINS
From ARRSEpedia
Josephine Canny served in the British Army as nurse in World War Two, she is Ireland's only recipient of the Royal Red Cross Gold Medal.
Canny was born in Mountshannon in Ireland on 25 March, 1904, and was raised in County Mayo. At the age of 19, she travelled to Australia and where she studied to be nurse, enlisting in the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Corps upon graduation, eventually attaining the rank of Major.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, she served in Africa, Italy and the United Kingdom caring for wounded soldiers.
She was awarded:
- Royal Red Cross Gold Medal
- Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service Medal
- War Medal 1939-45
- Africa Star
- Italy Star
Her medal collection is currently on display in the Clare Museum in Ennis in the Republic of Ireland.
