McIntosh was born on 21 April 1871 inBromyard, Herefordshire, one of at least nine children born to Donald McIntosh (1840–1909) and his wife, Elizabeth (née Lee; 1840–1915).[1]
Before McIntosh commenced nurse training atThe London Hospital in March 1897, she worked as agoverness and nursed at Borough Hospital,Birkenhead for two years.[4] She was popular with both patients and staff was awarded 1st Prize in her final end of training examination. For the final six months of her training McIntosh worked working as an assistant sister in the matron's office, where she worked for the rest of her career atThe London Hospital.[4][5][6] In 1905, she became Assistant Matron and later Chief Assistant Matron toEva Luckes.[5]
In June 1910, she was appointed as matron ofSt Bartholomew's Hospital.[7][8][9][10] In 1913, during the ongoing debate about nurse registration, and the need for it, McIntosh was said to have banned a meeting to be held in the hospital to discuss the legalization ofNurse Registration for trained nurses.[11]Ethel Gordon Fenwick -- a former matron of St Bartholomew's Hospital -- was a leading supporter for centralised state registration for nurses.[12]
However, the House Committee, Treasurer and Almoner prevented the meeting as they did not wish to influence the decision of their staff.[13][14][15] In 1916, McIntosh was co-opted onto the council of the newly formedCollege of Nursing Ltd.[15] She was one of the first nurses recorded on the College of Nursing's register and actively campaigned for legal registration for nurses.[16][17] McIntosh worked for six years on the College of Nursing Council on both its provisional and elected councils.[2] Probably to maintain neutrality amongst the various nursing bodies, McIntosh refused permission in 1927 for a meeting to be held at St Bartholomew's Hospital which promotedEthel Gordon Fenwick'sBritish College of Nurses.[15][18] DuringWorld War I, McIntosh was also Principal Matron of the First London General hospital,Camberwell.[19][1][20]
She also served on a number of committees, including:[2]
McIntosh retired in February 1927 because of exhaustion, initially living inGuildford.[23][1] During theSecond World War she lived inLondon where she interviewed auxiliary nursing candidates and packed parcels for prisoners of war.[1][23] In 1945 McIntosh moved toBexhill,East Sussex to be nearer her sisters.[23] She had been disabled witharthritis for a while.[24]
McIntosh died in Bexhill ofpneumonia andosteoporosis on 20 September 1951, aged 80.[1][24][25] Her office papers and correspondence from 1910–1927 are held by Barts Health Archives and Museum.[26]
^"Nurses' Protest, Thursday's Meeting to deal with Bart's Protest".The Daily Herald: 7. 18 January 1913.
^Hector, Winifred (1973).Mrs Bedford Fenwick. London, UK: Royal College of Nursing and National Council of Nurses of the United Kingdom.
^Minutes of the Board of Governors, 23 January 1913, St Bartholomew's Hospital; Minutes of the Board of Governors, 1912–1921; SBHB/HA/1/29, 78–79; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London.
^Treasurers and Almoners Minutes, 5 December 1912, St Bartholomew's Hospital; Notebooks Treasurers and Almoners Minute Books; SBHB/HA/3/34, 206–207.
^abcYeo, Geoffrey (1995).Nursing at Barts: A history of nursing service and nurse education at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Stroud:Alan Sutton Publishing. p. 56.
^Letter from A. McIntosh and A.B. Baillie, ‘The College of Nursing and State Registration’, 20 November 1916; RCN4/1918/1/9; The Royal College of Nursing Archives, Edinburgh.
^McIntosh, Annie, Register of Nurses, 1916–1919; The College of Nursing, 1919, 217, Registration Number 15; The Nursing Registers, 1898–1968 [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 11 February 2018]
^Letter from Annie McIntosh to the President of the British College of Nurses, 17 January 1927, Matron's Office Papers and Correspondence; SBHB/MO38/38, 1–2; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
^Staffed and run by doctors and nurses from St Bartholomew's Hospital, see: Lost Hospitals of London [Available at: https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk, accessed on 13 August 2020].
^abRogers, Sarah (2022). 'A Maker of Matrons’? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919' (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022)
^Anonymous (4 October 1916). "'The Supply of Nurses: A Committee of Inquiry'".The Yorkshire Post: 10.
^abcdAnonymous, ‘Miss Annie McIntosh, C.B.E., R.R.C.’ League of Nurses Newsletter, December 1951; St Bartholomew's Hospital League of Nurses, League News 1946–1952; SBHLN/LN/1/11, 38–39; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London.
^abLeague of Nurses Newsletter, June 1952; St Bartholomew's Hospital League of Nurses, League News 1946–1952; SBHLN/LN/1/11, 7; Barts Health NHS Trust Archives and Museums, London
^Probate, London, 1 December 1951 [Died 20 September 1951]; England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1966, 1973–1995 [Available at: www.ancestry.co.uk, accessed on 7 July 2018]
Hector, Winifred (1973). Mrs Bedford Fenwick. London: Royal College of Nursing and National Council of Nurses of the United Kingdom.
Lost Hospitals of London [Available at: https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk, accessed on 13 August 2020].
Rogers, Sarah (2020). "McIntosh, Annie Sophia Jane, (1871–1951)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2020)
Rogers, Sarah (2022).A Maker of Matrons’? A study of Eva Lückes's influence on a generation of nurse leaders:1880–1919 (Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Huddersfield, April 2022)
Yeo, Geoffrey (1995).Nursing at Barts: A history of nursing service and nurse education at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing.
