Constance Watney

Constance Watney, MBE, COC, SRN, MBCN (1878 – 23 November 1947), was a British born missionary nurse in Uganda.

Early in life Constance dedicated herself to missionary work, and for this purpose trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital.

[4] In May 1921,[5] Watney joined Dr Algernon Stanley Smith (who had been brought up by Constance's maiden aunts, Alice and Emily Watney in South Croydon after the death of his mother when he was only one year old[6]) and Dr Len Sharp at Kabale, southwest Uganda, where they a new beginning was made for missionary work into Ruanda, in Belgian territory.

She helped to start a hospital at a place called Kabira, where she was the first matron,[7] under very difficult conditions and they were able to receive the first patient in June 1922.

She registered as a nurse in London on 18 May 1923[10] and went back to Clapham, where she had received her maternity training, and worked in various capacities there under Dr Annie McCall until the hospital was bombed in 1940.