Agnes Warner and the Nursing Sisters of the Great War (4 page)

Public opinion, though, failed to grasp the nuances of the debate, with many calling it “ungallant” to complain in time of crisis and the papers barely distinguishing between trained and untrained nurses. As far as onlookers on both sides of the Atlantic were concerned, anyone who signed up to help the wounded was to be commended — the privileged girl perhaps even more so for her greater sacrifice. Headlines such as “Society Girl Forsakes Social Frivols for Stern Duty of Nurse,” published in a New Brunswick paper, rewarded and inspired similar acts of selflessness. Nonetheless, there was an undercurrent of suspicion that V.A.D.s might take advantage of their newfound freedoms abroad: a few postcards in circulation showed flirtations — or worse — between V.A.D.s and soldiers.

In Canada, a few thousand men and women were recruited as “V.A.D.s” early in the war to protect Canadians in various ways in the event of an invasion. The men were gradually absorbed by the army, but the women — mostly well-educated, unmarried, in their twenties and thirties, and middle class, who could afford both the training programs and the time for unpaid work — evolved into a volunteer nursing organization.

The Canadian military authorities took a practical view of V.A.D.s. The number of trained nurses who were applying to join the C.A.M.C. was sufficiently large that Canada did not have to turn to V.A.D.s to help fill the ranks. So, while V.A.D.s would not be permitted to work alongside the hospital and military-trained nurses of the C.A.M.C. — they lacked qualifications and the army could not vouch for their discipline — there might be a place for them as non-nursing assistants in military convalescent hospitals back in Canada, or as “home sisters” keeping house for trained nurses overseas in their billets or rest homes. Canadian V.A.D.s who wanted to nurse the wounded would still be welcomed by British
authorities, but only if they could get themselves across the Atlantic — and about five hundred did so.

From the beginning, then, a clear line in Canada indicated where serious, disciplined nursing ended and nursing “assistance” began. The line also struck through any aspirations women might hold of nursing full time without proper training. Consequently, Canada did not see the uglier side of the V.A.D. debate that was ongoing in Britain, although some of the young V.A.D.s who sailed for England from New Brunswick with local accolades ringing in their ears must have bumped abruptly into it
on arrival. Fortunately, some hospitals managed to maintain a cooperative and friendly atmosphere between the nursing sisters and the V.A.D.s. And for the soldier-patients, who called them all “Sister,” the differences in certification meant little or nothing.

As the war dragged on into its second year, there were nurses in blue, nurses in grey, nurses in white veils, nurses in black veils, volunteers with red crosses on their sleeves, and many variations in between. They bustled through the wards of giant general hospitals in England, lurched on hospital trains barrelling toward the French interior, slogged through inches of mobile ambulance mud, kept watch under dripping canvas marquees, shooed swarming flies from open wounds in the Mediterranean heat, or matured their sea legs on hospital ships plying the Atlantic. Though it might have been their second choice, some stayed home to nurse at convalescent soldiers' hospitals, where the need was also great. According to the
Daily Telegraph
, “up to October 5, 1916, the number of soldiers sent back to Canada because of medical unfitness was 6,208. Of these, 961 were suffering from wounds, shell-shock, or the effect of gas; 122 were insane; 245 were afflicted with tuberculosis; while the remainder, 4,880 were suffering from other diseases and disabilities.” Those who needed artificial limbs or physical therapy to regain function had a long road ahead, and nurses were there to see them through their treatments.

While it is impossible to overstate how arduous were the challenges of nurses' on-duty hours, there were also hours of leisure and sheer exhilaration. Upon arrival in England, New Brunswick C.A.M.C. Sister Joyce Wishart and fellow nurses went on a grand tour of Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, and the Guildhall. They visited an art gallery and took in a symphony concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In every direction lay a feast for the senses, mingled with corporeal reminders of a nation at war: “We don't hear much about the war, but you see soldiers everywhere, drilling in all the public squares and parks, while every taxi and wall is covered with patriotic appeals and mottoes, and the cry everywhere is for more men. . . . We have great fun here riding around on the high motor 'busses. They don't stop a second, but we go up and down the steps like squirrels.” Soon the Canadian nurses settled into the
hospital routine, whether in England or in France, but even then they were encouraged to make the most of their regular half-days, holidays, or leaves by enjoying the country they had come so far to see. Sister Clare Gass from Nova Scotia and her Miramichi friend Ruth Loggie purchased bicycles and raced around exploring the countryside of Boulogne and Étaples and seabathing on the French coast. To the vexation of British nursing authorities, Canadian nurses were even permitted to dance, provided it was with fellow officers at military events. With such a variety of edifying entertainments available to them, it was hoped Canadian nurses would not be tempted to break the rules and seek less legitimate forms of amusement, such as fraternization or intemperance, that might defame their service.

On the home front, family and citizens gobbled up nurses' letters and stories and tracked the comings and goings of local nurses. Saint John residents followed with special interest the vicissitudes of No. 1 Canadian General Hospital at Étaples, which was under the charge of Lieutenant-Colonel (Dr.) Murray MacLaren, who hailed from Saint John as did several of the nursing team. No. 2 Stationary Hospital at Le Touquet delighted newspaper readers in Canada by naming its wards after the provinces that had sponsored them.

The continued smooth operation of these hospitals was due at least in part to unflagging moral and material support from home. Women oversaw much of the fundraising through their local and provincial branches of the Red Cross, which organized the collection and sending not only of money, but also of supplies such as bandages, pillow slips, comfort bags (containing pencils, soap, candy, tobacco, and other useful items for soldiers), and bales of socks. Indeed, the emphasis on socks was quite remarkable, with periodic “sock drives” or “sock appeals” spurring knitters to new heights of production. Other philanthropic organizations participated, too, among them the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.), which collected socks as admission to its social events. Evidently, the sock drives succeeded, because thousands of warm pairs reached soldiers in time for winter, many with equally warm notes from New Brunswick ladies tucked into the toes. (Woe to the man who failed to remove the note before wearing!)

The Red Cross's policy was to supply the war zones as equitably as possible, rather than to deliver specific packages to particular hospitals on demand. Other philanthropic organizations, however, were free to post supply boxes directly to nurses who requested them, particularly those who worked for more loosely supported organizations such as the F.F.N.C. Individual chapters of the I.O.D.E., for instance, took charge of furnishing hospital supplies for individual nurses, as the De Monts chapter of the Saint John I.O.D.E. did for Sister Agnes Warner.

Surgical team, including a nurse, perform surgery within an hour of the patient's being wounded.
CWM 19920085-102

No. 7 Canadian General Hospital.
Queen's University Picture Collection V28 Mil-Hosp-10

Unloading a stretcher carrying a wounded soldier from a truck to a reception tent at a Canadian casualty clearing station.
CWM 19920044-811

Canada Food Board poster targeting housewives.
McGill University WP1.F12.F2

C.A.M.C. nurse's dress uniform.
CWM 19590034-002