in Port Arthur, Ontario. In 1901 "Beth" Smellie became night supervisor at McKellar General Hospital. Joining the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915, she served in France and England. Elizabeth Smellie was demobilized in 1920 and three years later became Chief Superintendent of the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada. She re-entered the army in 1940 and a year later supervised the organization of the Canadian Women's Army Corps. The first woman to attain the rank of Colonel in Canada's Armed Forces, Col. Smellie achieved many honours, including Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and the Royal Red Cross Medal. After World War II she returned to the V.O.N., and retired in 1947. Smellie was designated a Person of National Historic Significance in 2011 by the federal government, on the recommendation of the national Historic Sites and Monuments Board. A federal plaque is typically erected to such Persons, as well as for National Historic Events and Sites. As of 2015, one had not been installed to Smellie. The mandate of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada is to advise the Government of Canada, through the Minister of the Environment, on the commemoration of nationally significant aspects of Canada's history following a thorough evaluation process and recommendation by the Board, the Minister declares the site, event or person of national historic significance. References Sources MacLean, Mary R. Colonel Elizabeth Smellie CBE, Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, Papers and Records, III (1975), 16-18 with reproduction of portrait by Kenneth Forbes on page 16. External links Famous Canadian Women 1884 births 1968 deaths Johns Hopkins School of Nursing alumni Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Female wartime nurses Members of the Royal Red Cross People from Thunder Bay World War II nurses Female nurses in World War I Canadian military nurses Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian women nurses