Ethel was born Ethel Gordon Manson in the Morayshire town of Elgin in 1857. Unusually for someone of that era Ethel had an early ambition to become a nurse, when nursing was not high on the list of preferred occupations for young ladies. At the age of 21 Ethel commenced training in Nottingham as a paying probationer nurse. Her expertise was soon noted and it was not long before she left for London, where she worked in hospitals in Whitechapel, and Richmond.
