Learn the sad story of Lady Santa.
In 1933, an Australian nurse dressed up as Santa to bring joy to one of her patient's children. Then tragedy struck.
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Hi, this is Kelly Chase and you are listening to History Detective, a podcast where I delve into the past to uncover the mysteries of history and today for this bonus Christmas episode, I am going to share a Christmas story. This is the sad story of Lady Santa.
This episode is dedicated to all of the doctors and nurses who have worked tirelessly during the Covid-19 pandemic and who often have to spend Christmas away from their families.
Historically, the role of Santa has been assigned to men, but there have been a few cases, where women have slipped into the big black boots to bring Christmas cheer to the kiddies.
The first documented instance in Australia that I could find was in 1930 when a woman from Sydney was awarded an entire sentence in the newspaper about her efforts. It said, “MRS. THELMA LEWIS, of Randwick, believed to be Australia's only woman Santa Claus, fills a role she adores.”
A few years later, in 1935, a female aviator, Mrs Nancy Bird Walton, also known as the “Angel of the Outback” piloted a female Santa around outback NSW to bring a little Christmas cheer to the rural families.
In 1945, just as World War II was coming to an end, another female Santa popped up. Mrs Gilligan, of Paddington in Sydney decided that because so many of the children in her neighbourhood had fathers who were away at war and would not be home for Christmas, she would give them a Christmas treat. She bought toys for all of the children, then walked the streets dressed as Santa and invited them to her house. Here she gave them all ice-cream, cake and soft drinks before they gathered around her 12ft Christmas tree and they all received a present.
But I want to circle back to 1933, a year when tragedy struck one of our lovely lady Santas. I must warn you, this is not a happy ending, so if you have little ears listening, perhaps skip the rest of this episode.
This is the story of a young nurse called Sophie Betts. Sophie was dressed as Santa because she wanted to give gifts to the children of one of her sick patients. She popped into her house in her costume to pick up the gifts and when she leaned over the table, her costume caught on fire from the flame of a candle. Because she had sewn cotton wool onto her costume to represent snow, this caught fire quickly and subsequently her fake beard and mask caught on fire.
A neighbour heard her screams and ran to her aid, only to find her engulfed in flames. The Daily Telegraph reported that the neighbour, “made desperate efforts to tear off the nurses dress and was badly burned about the arms. Finally, he picked up a jug of water and hurled it over the woman. When further aid arrived, the nurse was lying on the floor amid the smouldering remains of her Santa Claus costume.
"She was a lovable woman." said a neighbour. "She was overjoyed at the opportunity of giving toys to the children.”
She died in hospital in the early hours of Christmas Day and just before she passed away, she pleaded with the doctor not to tell her mother what had happened.
A poignant part of the story is, that apparently just hours before her death, she said to a friend, “I would die happy if I knew that, by playing Santa Claus. I had brought happiness to children.”
Please stay safe this Christmas and New Year period!
And if you would like another more up-beat Christmas Episode. Have a look in the podcast feed for an episode called Lunch of Christmas past, where I grapple with the idea of cold Christmas Lunches.
This Kelly Chase, on the Case.