Mrs. Frances Bell VC (sic)

[Melancholy Man]

In Another Place, an anecdotal story of a women being awarded the VC has come-up:

{...} medical woman, Mrs Frances Bell, served in the Boer War of 1899-1902. She rescued some badly wounded men who were under fire, trapped in an ambushed convoy. As a reward for her bravery, she was presented to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace and awarded a Victoria Cross, but the award was never gazetted, for women were not eligible to receive it.

If it weren't gazetted 'cos women were not eligible to receive it, why did no-one tell Her Majesty? As such, I am highly skeptical: as are these people.

That said, could there be a germ of truth? Was there a Mrs. Frances Bell who did something extraordinary? And, if there were, was she called Frances or is that her (possibly mis-spelt) husband's name?

[SWB]

Interesting, I have never heard of that story. A good example of why you can't trust the internet - and fancy publishing a historical item without any footnotes or references!

I wonder how many times this fact has been re-quoted?

Regards
Meurig

[QSAMIKE]

I am sure that this is an urban myth......

I heard this a while ago.....

Mike

[Melancholy Man]

Yes, it seems highly unlikely. At least the BBC piece appears to be the only online source, contrasted with several debunking it.

[Anthony]

Get you local members of parliament on the job.

In 2009 I wrote to http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/bbci_comment.shtml

This story is factually incorrect and leaves the BBC open to ridicule. A check of the Court Circular in The Times, the London Gazette, Wikipedia, Google, South African War references books have failed to find any reference to Mrs Frances Bell. The notion that Queen Victoria would give her a medal which was not gazetted is absurd.

Please delete the penultimate paragraph:
Another medical woman, Mrs Frances Bell, served in the Boer War of 1899-1902. She rescued some badly wounded men who were under fire, trapped in an ambushed convoy. As a reward for her bravery, she was presented to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace and awarded a Victoria Cross, but the award was never gazetted, for women were not eligible to receive it.
from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/trail/wars ... r_07.shtml