Deeble was born in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her parents were Eleanor Ellen Egan (born Leffler) and Stephen Egan who was an officer. She was brought up in Canada and later in Bermuda. She married a young military surgeon named William Deeble. Her husband would serve in Crimea and in India. They had four children while they were in India before they returned to Britain at the end of 1865. She and their four children were living in Glasgow in 1868 when news of her husband's death would have reached them. He died from dysentery while serving in the
British Abyssinian campaign. He died in April and in July she was given a pension of £140 per annum. She decided that she wanted to be a nurse and her ambition was to lead the nurses at
Netley Hospital. after the War Office interfered with the recruitment process which attracted the censure of Florence Nightingale. She was succeeded by Deeble at Netley Hospital in 1869. Deeble was credited with "repairing the damage" caused by Stewart. In 1879 the
Anglo-Zulu War started and Deeble was able to achieve her ambition of taking part in a military campaign. She and six nurses went to South Africa and most of them were based at Addington near
Durban. She was used by the
National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War before it became the
British Red Cross to distribute aid locally. She was keen on this organisation and on the role she had of training nurses for services abroad. She was asked to return to Natal but she preferred to serve at Netley. Deeble was asked to give evidence and as an aside she noted that there was no official recognition of the work done by military nurses. The message was passed to one of Queen Victoria's courtiers and in April 1883 the Royal Red Cross award was created. The first award went to Florence Nightingale and the second was given by the Queen to Deeble in May or July. ==Death and legacy==