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Biography
Born on December 8th, 1887, during the first winter snow, Leonie Amanda Rose Marchbank was raised as the elder of two daughters in a middle-class household just outside Leeds. Her sister, Agnes, was two years Leonie’s junior and her closest friend. The girls were inseparable and often mistaken for twins. In 1900, Agnes began to show signs of illness in her lungs, and the diagnosis was shattering. Consumption. Tuberculosis. A probable death sentence. Leonie spent every moment she could by Agnes’s bedside, reading to her, singing for her, and brushing and braiding her hair. She administered medicines, changed linens, and mopped the sweat off her sister’s brow during sleepless, feverish nights. Her access to Agnes was at times restricted due to the contagious nature of her illness, but she fought hard to see her while practicing every precaution possible. Agnes’s sickness gave Leonie a crash course in nursing through her teen years, but it also became her sole focus, leaving her socially lacking. Agnes died in October 1905, leaving Leonie and her parents devastated by her loss. So much of their lives revolved around Agnes that for a while the world felt almost pointless without that responsibility. Leonie hardly knew who she was if not her sister’s caretaker. As she transitioned into adulthood, her parents weighed their options for their only remaining daughter: marriage or university. In the end, it was Leonie’s decision, and she chose neither, instead opting for a slightly less conventional path, but the only one that felt natural to her: nursing. Leonie entered into a nursing program with a general hospital in Leeds, enduring grueling years of training before qualifying as a nurse in 1911. The work was far from easy, but she never expected it to be, and part of her was glad for the challenge. With time, her responsibilities grew, but so did her skills and her confidence. While still shying away from much social interaction, Leonie proved herself as a capable and caring nurse, as patients enjoyed what small talk she did engage in, and fellow nurses found her assistance invaluable. It was tough to break out of her shell, but when faced with no other choice, Leonie would emerge and let her abilities truly shine. In 1914, the Great War broke out across the European continent, thrusting England into a bloody global conflict. Once it became clear that the war wouldn’t be short and ‘over by Christmas’ as predicted, Leonie volunteered for Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) Reserve. They placed her in a British military hospital in London, where she served until mid 1916. It was then that she was transferred to a posting on a hospital ship, boarding HMHS Britannic as part of the nursing staff. She learned quickly in trial-by-fire fashion how to work under pressure while tending to wounded soldiers. Nursing in wartime sometimes feels like fighting a losing battle in its own right. Despite all of her training and skills, her profession still has its limits, and she can’t help everyone no matter how hard she tries. Now, nearing the end of 1916, Leonie finds herself far from home, surrounded by strangers whose lives have all been, one way or another, irrevocably altered by the war. Yet through each exhausting day and heavy loss, her duty to those strangers continues to drive her. The world may tear itself apart, but as long as good, honest people are left suffering in its wake, Leonie Marchbank will be there to show them the world still has some goodness, one kind smile at a time.
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