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Auction: 23003 - Orders, Decorations and Medals
Lot: 212

A well-documented 1921 M.B.E. and Order of St. John group of four awarded to Nurse I. M. Stephens, Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers, who was bestowed with an early award of the Order of the League of Mercy while still only 22 years old; she was additionally later singled-out by her Hospital for special mention during the Great War

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Member's 1st Type (M.B.E.) breast Badge, on ladies bow riband, silver, hallmarks for London 1919, in its Garrard & Co. case of issue; The Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Serving Sister's shoulder Badge, 1st Type, silver and enamel, in its fitted case of issue; Order of the League of Mercy, breast Badge, on ladies bow riband, silver-gilt and enamel, in its Elkington & Co. case of issue; Order of the League of Mercy, breast Badge, on ladies bow riband, silver-gilt and enamel, in its Elkington & Co. fitted case of issue, sold together with documents of bestowal and correspondence with the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, the first somewhat polished, overall good very fine (4)

M.B.E. London Gazette 23 November 1920:

‘For work in connection with Queen Alexandra’s Hospital.’

Order of the League of Mercy London Gazette 17 August 1909.

Inez Marguerite Stephens (nee Glover) nicknamed 'Daisy', was born at St. Pancras on 4 April 1886, the daughter of Richard and Agnes Glover of 68 Dartmouth Park Road, London. Her father was Managing Director of a Gas Meter manufacturer and Stephens was educated at home by a Governess.

From a young age she was involved in charity work and nursing, joining the League of Mercy - an organisation devoted to fundraising and providing staff for voluntary hospitals. Stephens was awarded the Order of the League of Mercy just ten years after its inception - she was only 22 years old at the time.

Given her nursing experience it is unsurprising that she joined a hospital upon the outbreak of the Great War. Queen Alexandra’s Hospital for Officers was formed in 1915 when surgeon Herbert Patterson applied to Sir Alfred Mond for funding, having initially been rejected by the War Office. After funding was accepted and the hospital was outfitted the War Office agreed to back it, with The British Journal of Nursing profiling it in April 1915.

This hospital was small, with room for only 20 seriously injured patients at any given time. Despite the lack of space the turnaround was prodigious and 839 officers passed through its halls, including the poet Robert Graves, whose death there was wrongly reported in The Times in 1916.

In fact, only eight patients are known to have died there, indicating a remarkably high standard of both hygiene and care. Stephens certainly excelled, receiving a mention in the Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers Christmas Magazine for her 'Special Service to the Hospital'. After the end of the war the hospital closed on 23 July 1919.


Stephens went on to marry Colonel Frederick Archer Stephens, Royal Army Medical Corps, in January 1922 and they had a daughter - Diana - in December of that year. Her husband died on 17 March 1946, but Daisy lived for another twenty years, dying on 17 March 1964 at Wandsworth. She is buried at Bridport, Dorset; sold together with a comprehensive archive of original material comprising:

i)
M.B.E. documents of bestowal along with letters from the Central Chancery and Prime Minister's Office confirming the award, all in named and addressed envelopes.

ii)
Two photographs depicting Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers, both addressed to the recipient.

iii)
Three copies of the Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers Christmas Magazine, one mentioning 'Miss Glover' due to her 'Special Service to the Hospital'.

iv)
One letter written by the recipient's mother.

v)
A copy of The Romance of a War Hospital, torn in half but still largely legible.

vi)
A carrying bag containing a book of Common Prayer and Hymn book designed to fit the bag.

vii)
An enamelled badge named 'Queen Alexandra's Hospital for Officers', hallmarked for Birmingham.

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Sold for
£420

Starting price
£240