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Ethel Rosalie Ferrer McCaul (1867-1931) was a nurse, author and advocate for improvements in military medical practice and care.

At some stage before 1899 McCaul established a private nursing home in London where she became acquainted with the surgeon Sir Frederick Treves, 1st Baronet.

McCaul and her colleague Alice Tarr went with Treves to provide medical support during the Second Boer War. McCaul distinguished herself as a front-line nurse.

In 1904 with the blessing of Queen Alexandra she undertook a mission to Japan and Manchuria to study the work of the Japanese Red Cross. McCaul kept a diary of her trip which was published as Under the Care of the Japanese War Office (Cassell & Company, 1904).

After her experience in the Far East, McCaul became a critic of British medical practices. She called for a professional independent corps of army nurses.

At the outbreak of the First World War In 1914 McCaul offered the British military the use of her nursing home, which became the McCaul Hospital for Officers. Among its innovations was the use of a "colour ward" designed by Howard Kemp Prossor to soothe and comfort patients suffering from shell shock (PTSD).

McCaul also founded the Union Jack Club in London because "[w]hile officers had their clubs, servicemen below commissioned rank had nowhere reputable to stay with their families in the nation's capital. Miss McCaul was determined that they should have the opportunity to do this and see London and all its sights."