Catherine Roy

Catherine Murray Roy, CBE, RRC, MM was a Scottish military nurse during World War I. She was the daughter of John Roy, minister of the parish of Drymen, and trained at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, before joining the regular army as a staff nurse in 1909. She was one of the first 50 British nurses to go to the front in 1914. She served in both France and Belgium and was mentioned in despatches.

In 1917 she was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous gallantry, displayed in the performance of her duties on the occasion of hostile air raids on Casualty Clearing Stations in the Field. At the end of World War I she was awarded the Royal Red Cross (First Class), receiving this honour from the King at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, on 5 July 1920. From 1934 she was Principal Matron at the War Office. On 13 April 1938, Roy was appointed Matron-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, with overall charge of the Service. She held the post until 1940. Roy was awarded the CBE after World War II.