Charlotte Norrie

Born in Altona, Denmark, on 12 October 1855, Norrie was the daughter of Major-General Johannes Wilhelm Anthonius Harbou and his philanthropist wife Louise Ulrikke Mariane née Hellesen. After spending her early years in Altona and Rendsburg, she moved to Copenhagen in 1863. She first spent three years working as a governess at Juulskov Manor on the island of Funen but in 1880 became a nursing apprentice at Copenhagen's Almindelig Hospital (General Hospital). The following year, she gained further experience in nursing at Dronning Louises Børnehospital (Queen Louise's Children's Hospital). In 1885, she embarked on a successful marriage with Gordon Norrie, a doctor she had met at the General Hospital. They had three children together: Johannes William (1886), Edith (1889) and Inger (1892).