Canadian Nursing Sisters in the First World War

Canadian Nursing Sisters in the First World War

When Britain declared war on the German Empire, Canada was automatically compelled to fight alongside Britain in the Great War of 1914-18. At the beginning of the war there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserve. By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses (1,886 overseas) with 203 on reserve. In total, more than 2,800 Canadian nurses volunteered their services. Because of their blue dresses and white veils they were nicknamed the "bluebirds," and for their courage and compassion they received the admiration of many soldiers.

The First World War saw great courage and sacrifice on the part of many nurses, such as Britain’s Edith Cavell. She was a nurse who remained in Brussels, Belgium, after the Germans occupied the city early in the war, tending to wounded soldiers of all countries. However, in addition to this work, Cavell helped captured British, French and Belgian soldiers escape to the neutral Netherlands (where most would eventually make it to England). When her activities were discovered, she was executed as a spy, but not before she helped about 200 men escape the Germans.

In many ways, the First World War was a time of great change and innovation in the field of military medical services. At first, medical units were set up in hospitals. However, the eventual establishment of Casualty Clearing Stations provided faster and more effective treatment to the injured at the front line.

The Casualty Clearing Station was an advance unit, situated close to the front line, where ambulances could deliver the wounded to be assessed, treated or evacuated to one of the many hospitals. The early stage assessment and treatment available at these units proved very effective in the efficient handling of large groups of battle injuries that occurred at the front. At the same time, however, the proximity to the fighting exposed the Nursing Sisters to the horrors and dangers particular to the front. The advance areas were often under attack from air raids and shell fire, frequently placing the lives of the sisters in danger. As well, the Casualty Clearing Stations were often plagued with the same aggravations of front line life; many nurses reported that rats and fleas were constant plagues.

The dangers of working in an advance area were not restricted to the land operations. One of the innovations of the First World War Medical Services was the introduction of the hospital ship. These ships were also subject to the dangers of enemy attack. On the night of June 27, 1918, the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by a German U-boat and 234 people lost their lives, including all 14 sisters on board.

In France, as well as Africa and the Mediterranean, the nurses had to deal not only with an exhausting workload, but often under extremely primitive working conditions and desperate climatic extremes. This was the pre-antibiotics age and, as was the case during the South African conflict, the ranks of the injured were swelled by infection and outbreaks of diseases such as meningitis. In spite of these challenges, the Canadian Nursing Sisters were able to provide comfort to the sick and injured.

A total of more than 2,800 Nursing Sisters served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika. By the end of the First World War, approximately 45 Nursing Sisters had given their lives, dying from enemy attacks including the bombing of a hospital and the sinking of a hospital ship, or from disease. The beautiful Nursing Sister's Memorial in the Hall of Honour in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa is a loving tribute to their service, sacrifice and heroism. (https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/those-who-served/women-veterans/nursing-sisters)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4804792)

Nursing Sister Lt Blanche Lavallée, preparing to go overseas, 1915.

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM54-S4-: Mil P46.1)

Nursing Sister Johns, No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, France, 1915.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194834)

Possibly Nursing Sister Agnes McPherson, First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3213550)

Nursing Sister Byrne, 13th Canadian General Hospital, First World War.

Canadians operated a number of military hospitals outside Canada including 16 general, 10 stationary, 7 special, and 8 convalescent hospitals overseas during the First World War.  Some of the stationary and convalescent hospitals were eventually converted into general hospitals." (Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War: The Medical Services, by Sir Andrew McPhail, 1925)

(Author Photo)

Canadian Nursing Sister ministering to a soldier in the Great War (1914-1918), manequin display in the New Brunswick Military History Museum, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.  Women have cared for wounded soldiers throughout Canada's wartime history.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3523170)

Nursing Sister, First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395710)

Nursing Sisters, Mowat, McNichol, and Guilbride, First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395831)

Canadian Nursing Sisters, May 1917.

At the beginning of the Great War of 1914-18 there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserves.  By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses (1,886 overseas) with 203 on reserve.  In total, 3,141 Canadian nurses volunteered their services.  Because of their blue dresses and white veils they were nicknamed the "bluebirds".

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395829)

Canadian Nursing Sisters, May 1917.

(Balloch Family Photo)

Pauline Douglas Balloch, of Centreville, N.B., seated at her desk.  She joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps in the spring of 1917.   Pauline D. Balloch, a nurse from Centreville N.B. Pauline was a graduate nurse and an experienced professional employed in Toronto. She joined the CAMC (Canadian Army Medical Corps) in May of 1917, and served overseas at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital BEF, France.  Visiting her parents at their general store in Centreville on her way to Halifax and overseas, she tried to reassure them that she would be safe. It was a message she had to repeat often in her letters as she travelled to England and then to France.  In the end, Pauline did return home safely.  As it turned out, her parents' fears were not unfounded. The hospital ship on which she returned was sunk by a German U-boat a few months later and her good friend and fellow nurse was killed by German bombing at the hospital she had served at in France.  Over 3,500 Canadian women served as nurses in the CAMC and 45 perished.  Very few collections of nurses’ letters, let alone women's correspondence, have survived.

Officer's Declaration Paper for Pauline Douglas Balloch, fit for service with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force (CEF), 2 May 1917.

(University of Victoria Library Photo)

Nursing Sisters, possibly at the Immigration Hospital at Quebec where they were quartered.  Photo from an album depicting scenes of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Valcartier Camp, at Quebec, and at Gaspe Harbour immediately prior to sailing to Britain in 1914

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395709)

Nursing Sister Galt, Nursing Sister McNichol, R.R.C., and Nursing Sister Lyall, ca 1914-1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395702)

Nursing Sisters Bruce, Fearon and DeBellefeuilly, ca 1914-1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395719)

Canadian Nursing Sisters, Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, ca 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3603393)

Nursing sisters assisting doctors and medical team during an operation at the military hospital at Le Treport, France, 1918

(IWM PD Photo)

Uniforms worn by Canadian Nursing Sisters during the First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3604213)

Group of Nursing Sisters and Matron Strong of the No. 2 Stationary Hospital in France, ca 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3195179)

Nursing sisters on the deck of a ship with a soldier, 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3198701)

Veterans unloading from a hospital ship, (possibly HMCS Letitia) c 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3630239)

Nursing sisters on a hospital ship watching wounded soldiers disembark at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 29 June 1917.

Nursing Sisters, No. 1 Casualty Clearing Station, France, July 1916.  Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3604273)

Nursing Sister, ca 1916.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3523168)

Nursing Sister, ca 1916.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3523169)

(Photo courtesy of the Army Museum, Halifax Citadel)

Matron Laura May Hubley, seated, front row centre, and the nursing sisters of the Dalhousie University Medical Unit, was known overseas as No. 7 Stationary Hospital. The unit arrived in England in January 1916 and landed in France in June, returning to Nova Scotia in April 1919. Miss Hubley was awarded the Royal Red Cross, 1st Class, for her services, while two other nurses received the Royal Red Cross, 2nd Class, and three others were mentioned in dispatches. The hospital treated 60,000 sick and wounded during its time overseas. (Photo courtesy of the Army Museum, Halifax Citadel)

Nursing Sister Ruby Gordon Peterkin standing at the entrance of a tent, possibly somewhere in Greece, ca 1916.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3198751)

Nursing Sister outside No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, France, ca 1918.  (City of vancouver Archives Photo, AM54-S4-2-: CVA 371-248.12)

Canadian Nurses viewing the remains of a German Gotha bomber brought down near their hospital, June 1918.   (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395965)

Canadian Nurses viewing the remains of a German Gotha bomber brought down near their hospital, June 1918.   (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395966)

Nursing Sister, N.C.O.s and Men of 2nd Stationary Hospital who have received the Mons star. February, 1918.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3404882)

Nursing Sister M. White, with cape, First World War.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3222244)

In many ways, the First World War was a time of great change and innovation in the field of military medical services.  At first, medical units were set up in hospitals.  However, the eventual establishment of Casualty Clearing Stations provided faster and more effective treatment to the injured at the front line.

Nursing Sister being presented with a dog by Canadian soldiers at a Casualty Clearing Station, Oct 1916.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395812)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3603392)

A nursing sister is assisting a doctor in a ward at the tent hospital. She is holding out a tray for him to take medical tools from.  Le Treport, France, 1916.

A group of Nursing Sisters and officers cycling together at No. 6 Canadian General Hospital in Le Treport, France, 2 June 1917.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3604146)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395860)

An old Mill being used as a Dressing Station, Vlamertinghe, Belgium, Nov 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3397030)

Canadian wounded leaving Dressing Station in badly shelled village. October 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395847)

Canadian Nursing Sisters with wounded Canadians who took part in capture of Hill 70 leaving a Casualty Clearing Station for England, August 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395848)

Canadian Nursing Sisters with wounded Canadians who took part in capture of Hill 70 leaving a Casualty Clearing Station for England, August 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3606779)

Nursing Sisters Pugh and Parker sitting in their tent at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital in Le Treport, France, 1917.

(Frank Benbow Fox, Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607161)

Nursing sister is preparing to assist a patient with a drink at the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital in Le Treport, France, ca 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3192175)

Nursing Sister Ruby G. Peterkin, Canadian General Hospital, No. 4 (University of Toronto), CAMC, in her tent, April 1916.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3604424)

Nursing Sisters, Queens's Canadian Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, Kent, UK, ca 1916.

(Gov of Canada Photo, Public Domain)

A group of Canadian nurses enjoying tea at a field hospital, No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station, near the front lines in July 1916.  No 3 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was located at Puchevillers, France, from May 1916 - Mar 1917.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3194266)

Nursing Sister H. Corelli and A/Matron J. Stronach, ca 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3404025)

Canadian nursing sisters working amongst ruins of Canadian General Hospital, No. 1, which was bombed by the Germans, three nurses being killed, June 1918.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3221272)

Nursing Sister Spalding, R.R.C.1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395903)

Nursing Sisters, 4th Casualty Clearing Station, Valenciennes, Nov 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395905)

Canadian Nursing Sisters in Valenciennes, France, 10 Nov 1918, talking to soldiers outside a YMCA.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395896)

Canadian Nursing Sisters in Valenciennes, France, 10 Nov 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395700)

Nursing Sisters, A.J. Attrill, RRC, E. Hudson, RRC, A. Howard and E.F. Wilson, in front of Buckingham Palace, London, during the First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395701)

Nursing Sisters, Augen, R.R.C., 2nd Class, Jukes, Pidgeon, and Reid.  Note different patterns of overcoat in the First World War.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3218522)

Nursing Sister M. MacAffee, R.R.C. ca. 1918.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3394784)

Canadian Nursing Sisters attending a dance at HQ 6th Inf Bde, Germany, Jan 1919.

RMS Llandovery Castle photo and postcard, ca 1917.  (UKGOV-PD Photo)

(UKGOV-PD Photo)

RMS Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship, ca 1918.

One of the innovations of the First World War Medical Services was the introduction of the hospital ship.  These ships were also subject to the dangers of enemy attack.  On the night of 27 June 1918, the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by U-86, a German U-boat and of the 258 people on board, 234 lost their lives, including all 14 sisters on board.

According to the Hague Convention, an enemy vessel had the right to stop and search a Hospital Ship, but not to sink it. U-86 made no attempt to search the ship, but rather torpedoed it. ?Even though the Llandovery Castle sank within ten minutes, a number of boats were lowered successfully and the ship was abandoned in a calm and efficient manner. Three boats ultimately survived the sinking of the vessel undamaged and proceeded to rescue survivors from the water. They were interrupted by Patzig, who intercepted the boats and started interrogating crew members to obtain proof of the misuse of the hospital ship as an ammunition carrier. When no proof could be obtained, Patzig gave the command to make clear for diving and ordered the crew below deck. ?Patzig, two officers (Ludwig Dithmar and John Boldt) and the boatswain’s mate Meissner stayed on deck. The U-boat did not dive, but started firing at and sinking the life boats to kill all witnesses and cover up what had happened. To conceal this event, Patzig extracted promises of secrecy from the crew, and faked the course of U-86 in the logbook so that nothing would connect U-86 with the sinking of the Llandovery Castle. ?Only one lifeboat survived the attack. It was picked up by the destroyer Lysander on the morning of 29 June, 36 hours after the attack. Twenty four people survived the attack on the lifeboats, including six members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. All 14 Nursing Sisters on board lost their lives.

After the war, the British initiated a War Crimes trial against the officers of U-86. The commander, Helmut Patzig could not be found and was never brought to trial. The two other officers, Ludwig Dithmar and John Boldt were tried and convicted. The men were sentenced to 4 years of hard labour, but escaped while underway to the prison. It is unclear if they were ever recaptured, but it is certain that they never served more than 4 months.  (http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/writing/llandoveryCastle.asp)

(Author Photo)

Nursing Sister memorial plaque, Charlottetown, Feb 2019.

A total of 3,141 Nursing Sisters served in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika.  By the end of the First World War, approximately 45 Nursing Sisters had given their lives, dying from enemy attacks including the bombing of a hospital and the sinking of a hospital ship, or from disease.  The Nursing Sisters’ Memorial in the Hall of Honour in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa commemorates their service.

Nursing Sisters Who Lost Their Lives in the First World War

1915

Matron Jessie Brown Jaggard, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 3.

Nursing Sister (N/S) Mary Frances E. Munro, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 3.

1916

N/S Grace E. Boyd Nourse, Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).

N/S Elise Gertrude Ross, CAMC.

N/S Addie Allen (Adruenna) Tupper, Royal Red Cross (RRC).

1917

N/S Sarah Ellen Garbutt, Ontario Military Hospital.

N/S Letitia Sparks, Canadian General Hospital No. 7.

1918

N/S Agnes Estelle Alpaugh, CAMC.

N/S Jean Ogilvie Alport (Roberts), Canadian General Hospital No. 4.

N/S Miriam Eastman Baker, Canadian General Hospital No. 15.

N/S Dorothy Mary Yarwood, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 3.

N/S Bertha Bartlett, Newfoundland Voluntary Aid Development.

N/S Christina Campbell, Canadian General Hospital No. 5.

N/S Ainslie St. Clair Dagg, Canadian General Hospital No. 15.

N/S Lena A. Davis, Canadian General Hospital No. 4.

N/S Carola Josephine Douglas, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Alexina Dussault, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Minnie Asenath Follette, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS)

N/S Agnes Florien Forneri, Canadian General Hospital No. 8.

N/S Margaret Jane Fortescue, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Margaret Marjory Fraser, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Christine Frederickson, CAMC.

N/S Minnie Katherine Gallaher, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Mathilda Ethel Green, Canadian General Hospital No. 7.

N/S Victoria Belle Hennan, Canadian General Hospital No. 9.

N/S Myrtle Margaret Hunt, CAMC.

N/S Jessie Agnes Jarvis, CAMC.

N/S Lenna Mae Jenner, CAMC.

N/S Ida Lilian Kealy, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Margaret Lowe, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Jessie Mabel McDiarmid, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Katherine Maud MacDonald, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Rebecca Helen MacEachen, CAMC.

N/S Evelyn Verral McKay, Canadian General Hospital No. 3.

N/S Mary Agnes Mckenzie, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Rena McLean, RRC, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 2.

N/S Agnes MacPherson, RRC, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 3.

N/S Henrietta Mellett, Canadian General Hospital No. 15.

N/S Eden Lyal Pringle, Canadian General Hospital No. 3.

N/S Nellie Grace Rogers, CAMC.

N/S Ada Janet Ross, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Mary Belle Sampson, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Gladys Irene Sare, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Anna Iren Stamers, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Jean Templeman, CAMC, Llandovery Castle Hospital Ship (HS).

N/S Alice L. Trusdale, CAMC.

N/S Dorothy Pearson Twist, Canadian Military Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD).

N/S Gladys Maude Mary Wake, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

Funeral of Nursing Sister Gladys Maude Mary Wake, Canadian General Hospital No. 1, who died of wounds received in a German air raid, May 1918.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3624517)

N/S Anna Elizabeth Whitely, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 10.

1919

N/S Margaret Elisa Baker, CAMC.

N/S Ernestine Champagne, Canadian General Hospital No. 8.

N/S Gertrude Donaldson (Petty), Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Grace Mabel Grant, CAMC.

N/S Jessie Nelson King, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Agnes McDougal, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 10.

N/S Rebecca McIntosh, Canadian General Hospital No. 9.

N/S Margaret Christine MacLeod, Canadian General Hospital No. 2.

1920

N/S Mary Geraldine McGinnis, CAMC.

1921

N/S Isobel Katherine Cumming, Canadian General Hospital No. 1.

N/S Bessie Maud Hanna, Canadian Stationary Hospital No. 3.

1922

N/S Caroline Graham Green, CAMC, Hospital Ship.

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Ambulance Service, First World War

Ambulance, advanced dressing station, Sep 1916.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395790)

Canadian (No. 5, 8 or 11) Field Ambulance, Battle of Amiens, Aug 1918.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395883)

Great War Ambulance with Red Cross girls (St. John Ambulance).  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4167328)

Canadian Nurses in the South African War

In April 1885, orders were issued from Ottawa requesting that a medical and surgical department be organized for service in the Northwest.  This led to Canada’s Nursing Sisters taking to the field later that year, providing care to the Canadian troops sent to put down the North-West Rebellion.  A total of seven nurses, under the direction of Reverend Mother Hanna Grier Coome, served in Moose Jaw and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan served a tour of duty which lasted four weeks, providing treatment to wounded soldiers.  With the discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1898, a contingent of Royal Canadian Dragoons was sent to the Klondike to reinforce the Northwest Mounted Police.  Included with this contingent were four members of the Victorian Order of Nurses.  

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3407158)

Nursing Sister Minnie Affleck, First Canadian Contingent, South African War, 1900.

Following the formation of the Canadian Army Medical Department in June of 1899, the Canadian Army Nursing Service was created and four Canadian nurses were dispatched along with the volunteer force of 1,000 other Canadians to South Africa.  They were granted the relative rank, pay and allowances of an army lieutenant.  Before the war was over on 31 May 1902, eight Canadian Nursing Sisters and more than 7,000 Canadian soldiers had volunteered for service in South Africa.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3217003)

Canadian Nurse Deborah Hurcomb, 2nd Canadian Contingent, 1900, South African (Boer) War.

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