Mackenzie was a superintendent of nurses, appointed by the
Admiralty during the
Crimean War. Having accepted this appointment, Mackenzie felt the future of female nursing in the Admiralty hospitals rested with her. If the experiment of allowing female staff to work in
Therapia (now Tarabya) was successful, the Admiralty planned to make employing female nurses general practice throughout their hospitals. Therapia was situated north of
Constantinople (now
Istanbul), on the western shores of the
Bosporus. Superintendents were not trained nurses but educated gentlewomen. To prepare for her role in the Crimea she spent three weeks at the
Middlesex Hospital in
London where she focused on learning hospital management. She was apprehensive about taking up this Superintendent role, partly as she had heard that Florence Nightingale, who had already gone to Scutari Hospital, was able to participate in more advanced healthcare procedures. To prepare herself, Mackenzie did attend the operating theatre to observe the amputation of a leg at
St Thomas’ Hospital. She wrote that she was ‘in a rage’ about it as the surgeon did not use
chloroform even although it was available. for the Naval Hospital in
Therapia. They arrived on 10 January 1855. Of the six nurses, two of them were Fry nurses, having trained at the Institute for Nursing Sisters which was set up by
Elizabeth Fry in
Guy's Hospital in 1840. The hospital in Therapia was set up by a surgeon, Dr Davidson. It was well equipped in terms of stores, but lacked skilled nurses. Davidson and Dr Deas, at that time serving as Medical Inspector to the
Black Sea Fleet, appealed to the Board of Admiralty who finally, in November 1854, agreed to employ female nurses. Mackenzie was given a gold and diamond brooch by the Sultan
Abdülmecid I in gratitude for her services in 1856. The family still have the jewel and a watercolour of her by
Kenneth Macleay. The watercolour and brooch were shown in 2025 on a BBC
Antiques Roadshow episode. == Personal life ==