Grace Elizabeth Armstrong

Born 1867?, New Zealand. Died January 5, 1960, Regina, Saskatchewan. Grace graduated from Otage University, Dundin, New Zealand. In 1908 she immigrated to Regina, Saskatchewan, with her younger sister, Nora, a graduate nurse who became one of the first public health nurses in the city. Dr. Grace Armstrong opened a private practice in the city. During the First World War (1914-1918) she became a public school dentist serving 1917 through 1935. She supported women's suffrage and was active in several woman's organizations including the University Women's Club and the Women's Canadian Club. She was also a member of the Natural Historical Society and the Society for prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Source; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022) 

née Gaudreau. Born June 2, 1861, Montmagny, Quebec. Died 1934. As a young woman she was educated by the Ursuline Sisters. In 1879 she married Dr. Henri-Edmond Casgrain (1846-1912) a dental surgeon, inventor, and alderman in Quebec City. Emma worked and trained with her husband in his dental practice. She graduated from the Dental College of the Province of Quebec (now part of McGill University of Dentistry) in 1898 and became the first woman in Quebec to be officially admitted to the profession of Dentistry. She continued her practice until 1920. Quebec City placed a  plaque on the house where she lived in recognition of her achievement. (2022)

Born October 20, 1881, Cobourg, Ontario. Died December 10, 1965, Winnipeg, Manitoba. When Louise was an infant the family settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Louise attended Winnipeg public schools and secondary schools in Manitoba before earning a degree in dentistry from the University of Manitoba. She went on to earn a dental degree from the Dental College at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA then did postgraduate work at the Dewey School of Orthodontia in New York City, USA. She returned to Winnipeg to work as a dental surgeon. She was a member of the Winnipeg Dental Society, Women’s Canadian Club, and the University Women’s Club where she served as president in 1934-1936. She was also a member of Omicron Kappa Epsilon of Northwestern University, Delta Sigma Phi Sorority, and American Orthodontia Society. Source: Memorable Manitobans, online (accessed 2021)(2021)

Born Nova Scotia. Died 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Annie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Dalhousie University, Halifax, where she earned an Avery Prize in 1911 for distinction in physics, political economy, history, and philosophy.  She continued her education with post-graduate studies at the University of Washington, U.S.A. Relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia she taught high school of several years. Relocating once again, she attended the Dental School of Ontario in Toronto graduating in 1922. Dr. MacKenzie then moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to run her dental clinic until 1930.  Closing her clinic she spent two years in scientific research in biological chemistry at the University of Toronto. She is known to have practiced privately in Toronto for the five years leading up to her death. Source: A Real Girl and a Real Dentist: Ontario Women Dental Graduates of the 1920's by Tracey L. Adams online (accessed 2022)

Arrabelle MacKenzie-McCallum    3949

née MacKenzie. Born March 22, 1895, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Died March 28, 1984. When Arrabelle was eleven she lost a leg after infection from stepping on a rusty nail. Not to be held back she used a wooden leg, and after primary school attended Sydney Academy in Cape Breton. Arrabelle then taught school for a year on the Canadian prairies. Back in Nova Scotia in 1914 she attended Dalhousie University with her sister. In 1918 she was the student vice-president and switched her studies to dentistry. In 1918 her sister Emelyn Laura Mackenzie (1891-1977) became the first woman to graduate in law from Dalhousie. In May 1919 Arrabelle became the first woman to graduate with a doctor of dental surgery degree from Dalhousie University. Traveling to Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. she studied at the Forsythe Dental Infirmary for children to learn about paediatric dentistry.  March 1, 1920 the Massachusetts-Halifax Health Commission opened to help those in north end ship yards of Halifax after the great Halifax Explosion. This was the first paediatric dental service organized in Canada. Arrabelle handled 8.000 appointments a year. In 1921 she met Dr. Archie McCallum (died 1964) a navel officer. October 3, 1922 the two were married. After Archie left the navy in 1924 the couple settled in Toronto, Ontario and opened a joint practice. The couple had one daughter. Archie was called to serve with the coming of World War ll and in 1944 the family moved to Ottawa. Arrabelle worked with the Ottawa Collegial Institute Board as a high school dentist for six low income schools. The couple retired from their profession in 1952. In 2019 the firs Arrabelle MacKenzie Bursary was presented at Dalhousie University. Source: 'Arrabelle MacKenzie Our First Female Dentistry Graduate' by Deanna Foster in Alumni Anchor 2019-2020 online (accessed 2022)

Born August 12,1917, Poland. March 2009, Sarnia, Ontario. During world war ll (1939-1942) Hélène was working in a Warsaw, Poland, hospital when she was arrested and taken to a concentration camp by the notorious German Nazi regime. She was eventually liberated from a forced labour camp by the Allied Forces. It took her two years to recover from the horrendous camp life. Once recovered she joined at United Nations team of doctors traveling across Europe helping displace war victims. In 1950 she emigrated to Canada settling in Sarnia, Ontario, where she worked at odd jobs putting herself through dental school. She retired from her dental practice after 20 years of service. After her career as a dentist, Hélène started to volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels to bring food to the homes of people who were ill or older and unable to cook for themselves. She noticed many meals went uneaten. She found out that this was because of dental problems. She founded a charitable Dental Health Centre and volunteered her services to help out. Her dedication and service of others has not gone unnoticed. Dental association, her home city, her home province all honoured her. In 1997 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. This polish immigrant has truly honoured her Canadian citizenship. (2021)

Caroline Louise Josephine Wells                          0003

née Irwin. Born August 1856, Aurora, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died March 17, 1939, Toronto, Ontario. Josephine married a farmer, a teacher, and eventually by 1882 a dentist, John Wells (died 1904) on March 9, 1877. The couple had five children, three of whom survived to become adults. She assisted her dentist husband in his office located in their home. After her husband became ill she decided to apply to formal study to become a dentist. Family helped Josephine in her studies by taking care of her children. By October 20, 1893 Josephine Wells was the first woman to graduate from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and the first woman licensed in dentistry in Ontario and possibly in Canada. The Ontario Dental Society elected her an Honorary Member with voting privileges. She went on to receive her doctorate degree from the Trinity College in 1899. Josephine practiced her profession for 36 years in Toronto. She provided dental services at provincial mental hospitals in Toronto, Mimico, Hamilton, Orillia, and at the infamous Ontario Mercer Reformatory for Females. Josephine retired in 1928. Source: D C B  (2021)

Born March 24, 1962, Channel Post-au Basques, Newfoundland. Died April 22, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario. Meridith attended the University of Waterloo, Ontario and gained a keen interest in medicine. She returned to Newfoundland to attend Memorial University with a special interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She worked at the Rehabilitation centre in Ottawa after her June 1989 marriage Peter Bruneau. The couple had one child who died in infancy. She earned her Masters in Education and taught students to bring out the best in their profession. Her work was recognized by multiple care and teaching awards. She worked as Assistant Dean at the Academy of Innovation in Medical Education that she founded at the University of Ottawa in 2006.  Submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario. (2021)

In the early 1900's one of the main professions that opened up to women was to become a trained nurse. At the beginning of World War l in 1914 there were not enough Nuns to do nursing of the wounded so in January 1915 the Canadian government put out the call for trained nurses to serve in the war. At first there were 70 positions and 2,000 trained certified nurses applied. During World War 1 (1914-1918)  3,141 trained nurses enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. 2,500 of these nurses served overseas. They were given the rank of lieutenant making them the first women in the Commonwealth to be officers in the military.  The Canadian Nursing Sisters were nicknamed 'bluebirds' since their uniforms were a light blue double-breasted blouse with and open collar and a long blue skirt. They wore a white veil  head covering and a white apron was worn over top of the uniform. They were paid $4.10 a day with room and board included. These courageous and adventuresome women provided medical services for Canadian and Allied troops and enemy prisoners of war at the war near the front in Europe and they operated treatment facilities and hospitals in rear areas of France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Some 50 Nursing Sisters were casualties of disease or enemy action such as bombings, or sinking of ships. The women earned the admiration and affection of their patients who referred to them as Sisters of Mercy or Angels of Mercy. I have included in this listing of nurses over 300 stories of these courageous and adventuresome women as samples of the dedication of the over 3,000 women who served. The women are listed under the name with which the served followed by married names when applicable.

née Sinclair. Born  November 22, 1898, Shoal Lake, Manitoba. Died December 13, 1990, Neepawa, Manitoba. Eva took her early education there then attended nurses training in Neepawa General Hospital in Manitoba, beginning in February 1918. Nursing duties at the time included milking cows for the patients’ meal trays. She worked at the hospital during the influenza epidemic of 1918, and was also one of the nurses who volunteered at private residences in order to contain the illness. She was at the hospital for the second outbreak of influenza in April 1919. She nursed in Russell, Manitoba and Spy Hill, Saskatchewan, before settling down again at the Birtle, Manitoba, General Hospital. In November 1922, she married William R. Adams and the couple had four children. She worked with the Red Cross as a Home Nurse and at blood donor clinics. In 1982 she wrote her autobiography, Diary of a Nurse, providing a written legacy of being a nursing student from 1918 though 1921. Sources: Memorable Manitobans, Manitoba Historical Society Online (Accessed December 2011); Diary of a Nurse by Eva Adams Manitoba History no. 14, autumn 1987. (2020) (2021)

née  Affleck. Born May 28, 1874, Middleville, Ontario. Died March 21, 1956, Vancouver, British Columbia. Minnie, like so many young women of her generation, taught school after graduating high school After she had save enough money she nursing at the Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses in Ontario. Minnie worked for a year in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. prior to returning to Canada to work at the Ottawa Children's Hospital. Within a few months she was one of the first four women who enlisted to serve as a nursing sister in the Boer War 1899-1901 serving with the 1st Canadian Contingent under Nursing Matron Georgina Pope (1862-1938). This was the first time the Canadian military had sent nursing sisters on overseas assignment. The Nursing Sisters serving in the Boer War were granted the equal rank and pay to that of lieutenant. On her return from the Boer War she was greeted as a heroine in her home area. She was met in Perth Ontario, by a reception committee and a procession complete with bands wound its way through Lanark County for 19 miles to Middleville where there was a torchlight parade to welcome her home. Minnie received the Queen's South African War Medal for her services in South Africa. In 1900, after having had time to recuperate from the war, she was posted to work in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1912 she married Adolphus Wolfe (1881-1956) and the couple had two children. In 1913 she retired from the military and became active for the rest of her life in the Boer War Veterans Association. She would marry a second time to Jack George Mitchell. (2021)

Born October 20, 1883, Whitburn, Scotland. Died December 3, 1931, Brandon, Manitoba. Lizzie trained as a nurse at Craig House Private Nursing Home, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1909 she immigrated to Canada. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1912. She began her career as an operating room nurse at a private doctor's hospital. IN 1914 she was an assistant Operating Room Nurse at W G H. That year she was one of three nurses chosen to represent Manitoba in the British Red Cross. Overseas, after a short stay in London, England she served in Malta at the residence of the governor. Returning to London  she was posted to the No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, France and later to NO. 10 Casualty Clearing Station in England. In June 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and was stationed at the Canadian Military Hospital at Shorncliffe. Back in Canada she was posted  to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. She was discharged in 1923. She worked as Matron at the Brandon Mental Hospital in Manitoba and then did some private duty nursing. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1915, Caledonia, Ontario. Died December, 2000, Hamilton, Ontario. Henrietta would study nursing at the Hamilton General Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1938.  Later she would earn a Teaching and Supervision Diploma from the University of Toronto School of Nursing.  She taught nursing at Hamilton General Hospital  and then at Brandon Mental Hospital. In 1949 she earned her Bachelor of Science from Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1947 she became a founding faculty member at the McMaster University School of Nursing in Hamilton.  In the mid 1970's she conducted dozens of oral interviews with former students and faculty members  to produce her book: Twenty-five Years A-growing: The History of McMaster University School of Nursing. She also curated a collection of dolls in the Nursing School's foyer with each doll dressed in historical nursing uniforms. Henrietta, prior to retiring from McMaster in 1975 initiated a search for photographs of the early graduating nursing classes. Source: In Her Hands: A Century of Women Shaping Healthcare in Hamilton, online (accessed 2024)

Born July 19, 1914, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 14, 2005, Toronto, Ontario. Chronic illness as a child made Margaret's formal education a longer process than for most people. However, she was not deterred and at 22 she entered the School for Nursing at the University of Toronto (U of T). She began her working career at the Toronto General Hospital and then volunteered for service during World War ll. After the war she took advantage of educational opportunities for veterans and returned to university studies at U of T to earn a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She became a teacher of nursing science at Belleville General Hospital. In 1951 she returned to teach at the School of Nursing at University of Toronto. She continued her personal post graduate studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. Her thesis was on nursing history. It was the beginning of a lifetime interest in all things historic and nursing. She interviewed nursing sisters from both world wars. She collected stories, photos, uniforms and all sorts of memorabilia. In 1987 she and Barbara Keddy of Dalhousie University inaugurated the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing. She was also a kingpin of the Ontario Society of the History of Nursing incorporated in 1993 as the Margaret M. Allemang Centre for History of Nursing.  (2021)

Edith May Allison                 3225

World War l Nursing Sister

Born May 14, 1878, Marysville, Ontario. Died July 10, 1933, Calgary, Alberta. Edith graduated from the Nursing School, Bellville, Ontario, in 1898. A few years later she moved with her family to Calgary, Alberta. Edith enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) April 5, 1917. She served overseas in Brighton, England and No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Otreau, France. Back in Canada after the war she served at Colonel Belcher, Hospital, Calgary.  Discharged in January 1920 she worked as Matron in Charge until 1933. In 1934 the Calgary Branch of the United Empire Loyalist's Association furnished a room in the Colonel Belcher Veterans Hospital in her honour. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

née Allison. Born January 27, 1887, Demorestville, Ontario. Died April 16, 1976, Belleville, Ontario.  Mabel graduated from the Toronto Western Hospital School of Nursing in 1914. She was working in Toronto when World War 1 broke out. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on April 21, 1918. She was posted to Niagara Camp in Canada and later overseas in Thorncliffe, Brighton, Bramshott and Orpington, England. She returned to Canada at the end of the war. She worked as a nurse at the Ontario School for the Deaf, Belleville, Ontario. She was a member of the Albert College Guild . July 11, 1934 she married Hiram Bingham Fetterly. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Born July 5, 1891, St. Jean Quebec. Died October 12, 1918, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Agnes enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) July 4, 1918. Agnes served at the Fredericton Military Hospital, New Brunswick. She died from the Spanish flu in a military hospital in New Brunswick. This was her second attack of influenza. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women and Men Who Served in Armed Conflict online (accessed 2021)

née Alport. Born October 6, 1886, Orillia, Ontario. Died November 13, 1918, Regina, Saskatchewan. Jean graduated from the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing in 1915. Jean enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on April 7, 1915 in Toronto, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Jean was posted to No. 4 University Bas Hospital. She served in France and worked in the No. 4 Canadian General Hospital Kalamaria, Greece and Basingstoke, England. She was suffering from tuberculosis and was discharged as unfit for service. She was the wife of Dr. M. Chesley Roberts (1879-1938) of Toronto. She died of influenza in 1918 and is buried in Regina, Saskatchewan. Source: Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2024)

née Rae. Born February 18, 1910, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 5, 1999, Toronto, Ontario. Isobel graduated from nursing in 1929 from Grace Hospital, Toronto. In 1933 she married Fred Benham (d 1938). She became ill with tuberculosis and spent four yeas in sanitariums and at the same time endured the death of her infant son. She returned to nursing in 1937 and became a widow a year later. She volunteered at the Chinese United Church, Toronto, working with young girls. In 1943 she entered the United Church Training School. Graduating in 1945 her 1st appointment as a Deaconess Candidate was at a United Church in Brantford, Ontario. Isobel became a designated Deaconess on May 28, 1947 and worked at the Dixie Work Camp. Here she met the Reverend Norrie Anderson and In June 1948 they married. She gave up being a Deaconess as a married woman. By 1950 the couple were serving in Scotland. After the death of her husband in 1952 Isobel replaced him in the pulpit. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and served as a Deaconess with the Church of Scotland. She served as a Dormitory Matron at King Edward's School in Surry England prior to returning to Canada in July 1954. Isobel worked at the United Church's Five Oaks Centre in Ontario and took a refresher courts in nursing. Nursing wages were higher than wages of a Deaconess so Isobel worked at the Lambert Lodge for 14 years being Director of Nursing the last six years. Isobel retired from nursing to care for her mother in 1969. She volunteered at St. Andrew's United Church, Toronto, and started her own seniors home. Source: Deaconess History of the United Church of Canada online. (2021)

née Dolphin. Born 1915. Died 1995. Maude earned her Diploma in Nursing from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec in 1944. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Nursing in 1947 from the McGill University, Montreal. From 1947 through 1953 she taught at the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in British Columbia. Moving on in 1953 she joined the World Heal Organization of the United Nations establishing nursing school in Dacca, Pakistan and Mauritius.  Returning to Canada in 1959 she continued to study at the University of of Seattle. In 1961 through 1966 she was Director of Nursing at Nanaimo General Hospital, British Columbia. She served as Director of Nursing at Maple Ridge Hospital, British Columbia from 1973 through 1980. She was an active member of the Registered Nurses' Association of British Columbia (R N A B C) serving on numerous committees. In 1989 she was presented with the Award of Excellence in Nursing Administration from the R N A B C. (2023)

Born 1918. Died 2013, New Brunswick. As a young woman Jean had cared for her dying mother and decided that she would study nursing. She graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing and spend 16 years working in Montreal and then Vancouver, British Columbia. She completed her Diploma in Schools of Nursing Administration from McGill University, Montreal. She served as Directory of Nursing Services at the Victoria Public Hospital, Fredericton, New Brunswick and during this time took study leave to earn her Bachelor of Nursing from Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1964 she became President of the New Brunswick Association of Registered Nurses (N B A R N) and in 1968 was appointed as executive director. She retired in 1976. She was also a welcome volunteer with the New Brunswick Mental Health Association as well as the Heart and Stroke Foundation. In 1977 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Silver Jubilee Medal and two years later was given an honourary life membership with the N B A R N. In 1992 she received the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation Commemorative Medal. Source: Memorial Book, Canadian Nurses' Association. online (accessed 2023)

Born December 26, 1923, Ninette, Manitoba. Died 1986, Brampton, Ontario. Pearl grew up on her parents farm near Gibbs, Saskatchewan. She enlisted in the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. She served in administrative roles as various postings across the country. At the end of the war in 1945 Pear studied nursing. She Married December 18, 1948 a former service man and engineer, Earl William Boal (1921-2010). She helped the family finances working as a home care nurse. Source: Saskatchewan Legion, Military Service Book, online (accessed 2022)

Born September 23, 1884, Newdale, Manitoba. Died May 26, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1909 Alba Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  April 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she was posted to the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, No. 2 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station in France. She returned to Winnipeg in January 1919. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 5, 1887, Swindon, England. Died 1960, San Francisco, California, U.S.A. In 1913 Maude graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. After graduation she relocated to Saskatchewan. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as part of the Saskatchewan Nurses' Unit. Overseas she was posted to Granville Canadian Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, and then to Shorncliffe, England.  She then served at No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France and No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, The Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, England. After the war she settled in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. working as a private nurse.  Died 1960, San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1871*, Guelph, Ontario. Died January 9, 1952, Grand Falls, Montana, U.S.A. Augusta took her studies at the Guelph General Hospital Nursing School graduating as a Registered Nurse. She then graduated from the Toronto Methodist Deaconess Home and Training School in 1900. She worked with the Fred Victor Mission in Toronto for her Deaconess internship. Working in Toronto she did what was called 'rescue work' which today would be called being a street nurse dealing with the homeless and prostitutes. She was a familiar figure riding her three wheel bicycle though slum areas of the city. She went on a two year loan program to to Grand Falls, Montana, U.S.A. and her work at the Grand Falls Methodist Hospital became her life career. In 1905 she started the nursing school and served as the Superintendent of the Hospital and the School for 30 years. The school had strong religious requirements including nursing students to attend daily chapel prior to going on duty. *some records indicate 1877. Source: Deaconess History of the United Church of Canada. Online 2019 (2021)

Margaret 'Magee' Ashworth-Foreman 4460

née Ashworth. Borne 1922? Invermere, British Columbia. Margaret graduated from the St. Eugene's Hospital School of Nursing in the mid 1940's. She worked at firs in the Lady Elizabeth Bruce Memorial Hospital in Invermere, British Columbia. Diagnosed with Tuberculosis (T B) she was admitted to Willow Chest Centre. Sent home to convalesce  she helped doing X-rays and lab duties at the hospital. Recovered she worked in Vancouver at the Jericho Beach Military Hospital and within months was in charge of the night shift. Back in hospital again she had surgery and again found herself in Invermere to recover. She then served at the Willow Chest Centre. She married Ralph Foreman and worked for awhile at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver prior to the couple relocating to California, U.S.A. where she worked as a nurse-anaesthetist and an oral surgeon.  After the death of her husband in 1962 she worked as supervisor at St. Joseph's Hospital, Orange County, California, U.S.A. In 1981, diagnosed with a T B kidney she returned to Vancouver for Surgery. Settling in Victoria she worked at Oak Bay Pavilion until retiring in 1987. In 1992 she relocated back home to Invermere and volunteered with Meals on Wheels. Source TB Nurses in B C1895-1960 online (accessed 2023)

Evelyn Mary Aston-Simister

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3288

née Aston. Born October 13, 1889, Grenfell, Saskatchewan. Died January 14, 1971, Port Burwell, Ontario. Evelyn graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked at the Regina Hospital, Saskatchewan and then the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia.  In 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. Overseas she worked for a year at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Hants, England before she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Military Corps (CAMC) in February 1918. She was then posted to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she served as a private nurse in Winnipeg before she married Alexander Simister. The couple settled to Ingersoll, Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Born July 31, 1877, Minden, Ontario. Died October 14, 1970, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was christened Isabella Jane but legally changed her name to Alfreda Jenness Attrill, taking the name of her stepfather in 1904. Her family moved to Manitoba when she was an infant and her mother left her father and took the children to Bismark, North Dakota, U.S.A. By 1894, the mother was a widow and she moved her family back to Manitoba. Alfreda studied at Normal School after high school earning her teaching certificate in 1896. She would  teach for a couple of years in Dauphin, Manitoba until the death of her mother in 1899. From 1898 through 1906 she worked at various jobs to support herself and her siblings.  By 1909 she had graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing and worked on staff at the WGH. In 1912 she took a military Nursing Course in Kingston, Ontario, and joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) reserve nursing service. In 1914 she was working at the Winnipeg Public Health Department for a short time prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the CAMC. She served at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Touquet, France, Salonika, Greece, Malta, and in England at No. 4 Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke and No 10 Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton. Returning to Winnipeg after the war she worked at the city's Department of Public Health until 1943. In 1924 she became the Superintendent of the Fort Gary Division of the St. John's Ambulance. In 1966 she was proclaimed a Dame of Grace of the St. John Ambulance Association and a year later she was named a Dame of Justice. A you tube video was produced by the Seven Oaks Historical Society called Nurse Alfreda Attrill.    Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, online, (accessed 2021)

Born January 12, 1877, London, England. Mrs. Austin signed up  with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force as a Nursing Sister in April 1915 in Montreal. She was working at the time of her enlistment at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal but listed her next of kin, a stepson, as  living in Barbados, British West Indies. She was sent overseas on the S.S. Metagama on May 6, 1915.  She served in England and France at the Imperial Stationary Hospital, Canadian General Hospital No. 3, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France, at the casualty centre, Shorncliffe, England and the Canadian Convalescent Hospital Bearwood, England and D.D. No. 11. She was discharged in 1919. Source: No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, C E F R G online (accessed 2023)

Born fall 1947, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Died November 15, 2017, Sudbury, Ontario. Patricia earned her nursing diploma from Grace Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1966. Desiring to further her knowledge of her chosen profession she studied at McGill University, Montreal for her undergraduate years and went on to earn her Master's at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Still pushing forward she studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and earned her PhD. While working at the emergency department at the Queensway General Hospital in Toronto, she met and married Bruce Bailey. The couple settled in Sudbury in Northern Ontario and raised two children. Patricia would teach her beloved nursing at Laurentian University in Sudbury for 30 years. In 2014 she became a professor Emeritus. Along the way of her career she was presented with the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal as a person who has made significant contribution to Canada, to their community and to their fellow Canadians. (2021)

Born Toronto, Ontario. Ruth had applied to Ontario nursing schools but was rejected each time. Ruth's sister Doris, discouraged with rejection at Ontario nursing schools chose to train in Tennessee, U.S.A. while Ruth applied and was accepted in the Canadian Maritimes. Ruth and Gwennyth Barton were the first Black Nurses to earn a diploma in nursing in Canada. They graduated in 1948 from Grace Maternity Hospital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1948. Prior to this time, Canadian Nursing Schools did not accept non white women as students and Black women wishing to study nursing had to study in the U.S.A. where Black nurses could be educated since 1870.  Ruth would go on to study Public Health Nursing at the University of Toronto and worked in Chatham, Ontario.  (updated 2023)

Born August 20, 1886, London, England. Died October 17, 1918, Clivedon, England. Miriam graduated from Saint-Rubis Hospital training for nurses, New York, U.S.A. in 1915. By October 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was posted overseas to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital and No 15 Canadian General Hospital. She was admitted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital October 3, 1918 and shortly died from bronchopneumonia. She is buried Cliveden War Cemetery, Buckinghamshire, England. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women and Men who Have Died in Conflict. online (accessed 2021).

Dorothy Mary Yarwood Baldwin 3885

World War l Nursing Sister

Born October 10, 1891, Toronto, Ontario. Died May 30, 1918, Doullens, France. Dorothy was born a twin but sadly her sister died in infancy. Dorothy studied nursing at the Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, London, Ontario. On the day she graduated she enlisted with as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). She arrived in France on July 25, 1917. she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.  While serving at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Etaples, Frances she was killed in the operating room when the camp was bombed by enemy aircraft. Two other Nursing sisters Eleanor Lyal Pringle (1893-1918) and Agnes MacPherson (1891-1918) were also killed during the bombing. Her name appears on the plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto dedicated to the Nursing Sisters who died in the First World War as well as in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa and the War Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Source: Women in War, Canadian Military Heritage Museum of Brant County online (accessed 2024)

Born February 23, 1882, Centreville, New Brunswick. Pauline graduated as a nurse and was working in Toronto when World War 1 (1914-1918) broke out. In the spring of 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian Stationary hospital BEF, France. She returned home to New Brunswick after the war.  Source: Canadian Nursing Sisters  Harold A. Skaarup. Online (accessed 2021)

Born November 14, 1894, Brigus, Newfoundland. Died November 3, 1918, London, England.  On December 6,  1916 Bertha volunteered to serve overseas with the Canadian Military Voluntary Aid Detachment, (V A D), a civilian organization established by the British Red Cross and the Order of St. John to provide military nursing, patient care and support for the armed forces. Bertha arrived in England in December 1916 and served with the 4th Northern General Hospital, Lincoln, England June 6, 1916 to July 4, 1917.  She was then posted July 23, 1917 to the Bermondsey Institution. London, England. While caring for patients with the Spanish Flu she contracted the illness herself and died. Nurse Bartlett is commemorated on Page ll of the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance and the Brigus War Memorial.  Source: Nurse Bertha Bartlett For Evermore...Stories of the Fallen online (accessed 2023); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2023

née Bayliss. Born September 4, 1893**, Morden, Manitoba. Died February 15, 1971, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ethel attended and graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital School of Nursing. She began her nursing career by working at the King George Hospital, in Winnipeg. With the onslaught world War l (1914-1918) she enlisted with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Q A I M N S). She served for 18 months in Malta at the Imlays Hospital and then enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) in May 1918. She was posted to the Granville England Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Kirkdale, England. In the fall of 1919 she was discharged from the C A M C and rejoined the Q A I M N S. Returning to Canada in 1920 she took up private duty in Morden, Manitoba. April 28, 1933, she married Raymond Joseph Large (1895-1951) and the couple lived in Winnipeg from 1950 through to 1971. The couple were active founders of the Deer Lodge Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and active fundraisers for the Women's Tribute Memorial Lodge in St. James, Winnipeg. ** Find a grave list birth date as October 9, 1992. Source: Ethel Bayliss...Children's Hospital Graduates - World War One Nursing Sisters. Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023)  Find a grave Canada (accessed 2023) September 4, 1893).

née Clark. Born June 29, 1929, Barbados. Died April 12, 2017, Montreal, Quebec. In her mid teen, having graduated school, Gloria worked as a private teacher but when she did not receive her pay she sued her employer and settled out of court. Gloria relocated to England to take nurse training at the Kingston General Hospital, London, and worked in England as a Registered Nurse (R. N.) and went on to earn a certificate as a midwife. In 1952 she emigrated to Canada where she met and married Richard Headley Baylis in 1956. The couple settled in Montreal and had two children. In 1964 she made history by fighting as a key witness and winning a landmark employment related racial discrimination legal case Her Majesty the Queen, Complainant v. Hilton of Canada Ltd., underscoring the critical importance of equality in the workforce. Gloria had applied for a nursing position at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, part of the famous Hilton Chain of hotels, but was told the position had been filled when they were still vacant and Gloria filed a complaint. January 19, 1977 the Court of Appeal of Quebec upheld the initial conviction. For the first time in Canada an institution was found guilty of racial discrimination in employment. After retiring in in 1986 Gloria founded Baylis Medical Company for medical equipment and supplies manufacturing situated in Montreal. In 2004 she would retire from the business but remained as a member of the board of directors. The Gloria Baylis Foundation is part of her legacy. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia; Gloria Baylis Foundation, online (accessed 2024)

Sibella  'Bey/Bay' Annie Barrington
                                       0012

Born December 4, 1867, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Died December 7, 1929, Saint John, New Brunswick. She was called 'Bey' (sometimes spelled Bay) and from 1901 through 1904 she attended the Aberdeen School of Nursing in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She followed these studies with post graduate work in Chicago, Ireland, and London, England. She volunteered in the recovery during the Halifax explosion in 1917 and was made a life member in the British Red Cross. By 1917 she was set up in Halifax with a private practice. From 1918-1923 she was superintendent at the Halifax Infant Home. She became an Registered Nurse when Nova Scotia opened its registration of nurses in 1922. She was a member and served as president of the Graduate Nurses Association of Nova Scotia. By 1924 she was working with children through the Red Cross. She was by all accounts a gifted speaker and lectured about Home Nursing classes linking support from various organizations throughout the province. By 1928 Bey was Port Nurse at Saint John, New Brunswick. She was well remembered for her skills, service and dedication to her profession. Source: D C B  vol. 15 1921-1930 (2021)

Born Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gwennyth Barton and Ruth Bailey were the first Black Nurses to earn a diploma in nursing in Canada. They graduated in 1948 from Grace Maternity Hospital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1948. Prior to this time, Canadian nursing schools did not accept non white women as students and Black women wishing to study nursing had to study in the U.S.A. where Black nurses could be educated since 1870.(2023)

Born October 17, 1956, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 2, 2008, Kitchener Ontario. Sheela grew up in Guelph, Ontario, and attended the University of Western Ontario, London, to obtain her Bachelor of Science in1979. She continued her education earning her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Toronto in 1982. She returned to Guelph where fo a year she had a private practice. She spent a year in India in the mid 1980's where she became interested in public Health. She earned a Master of Health Science in 1987 from the University of Toronto (U of T). During her residency she was an assistant professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at U of T. In 1998 she became the Medical Officer of Health for the new amalgamated City of Toronto. She gained recognition in 2003 during the Severe acute respiratory syndrome (S A R S) outbreak in Toronto. She contributed articles to the Canadian Journal of Public Health. She arranged for the city program that required restaurants to post health inspection results in their windows and worked on a citywide ban on cigarette smoking in 20014. In 2004 she was appointed Chief medical Officer of Health and Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Health in Ontario. In 2007 she was granted life membership in the Ontario Public Health Association (O P H A). A oncology nursing fellowship was established in her name by the Registered Nurses' Foundation of Ontario and the O P H A created an award for social justice in her honour. The Headquarters of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion are located in the Sheela Basrur Centre. She was inducted posthumously into the Order of Ontario.   (2023)

Born September 1,1916, Arbuthnot, Saskatchewan. Died April 19, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bertha had worked for two years at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Gravelbourg before entering the Grey Nuns Order on February 5,1939. She graduated as a registered nurse in 1947 from the St. Boniface General Hospital School of Nursing and, in 1951, as a Laboratory Technologist specializing in Clinical Chemistry. Named Supervisor of the Laboratory at St. Boniface Hospital, she served for twelve years until she became Assistant Administrator of St. Boniface Hospital in 1962. A few years later, she was appointed administrator of the St. Boniface Sanatorium, later to become the St. Amant Centre, where she helped the cognitively impaired children and young adults of Manitoba. After 22 years she retired and continued until 1994 to serve at the Grey Nuns Provincial House as coordinator for the visiting residents whose health required medical needs. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1985 and the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt the following year. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 2005; Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Hilda Tumaine Beeston-Scott
World War 1 Nursing Sister    3303

née Beeston. Hilda graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1915, She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service Reserve as a staff nursed in 1917 and served until 1919. After the war she married Richard Scott a Major with the British Imperial Indian Army and the couple lived in India where he was posted. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Constance graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing,  She served overseas during the war but is unknown with whom nor at which hospitals. In 1919 she returned to Winnipeg where she worked at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Born November 5, 1885, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died July 22, 1951, Victoria, British Columbia. Lola graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1908.  She took her first job with the Winnipeg School Board as a school nurse in 1910. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Salonika, Greece and then to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France where she would work with others from WGH. Returned to Canada in 1919 she was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she returned to nursing with the Winnipeg School Board. She instituted the school nursing divisions in both Moose Jaw, and Regina, Saskatchewan. Lola retired in 1943. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class or1908. online (accessed 2021)

Yvonne Beaudry / Baudry


World War 1 Nursing Matron  0014

Born October 16, 1875, Beauharnois, Quebec. Died 1947. In 1901 Yvonne graduated for the Nursing School of the St.-Luke Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario.  After graduation she worked for six years at the Strathcona Hospital in Ottawa.  In 1909 she became Head Nurse at the Gross-Ile quarantine station, Quebec. Grosse-Ile was the quarantine station for all immigrants headed for Quebec City as a port of entry to Canada. Yvonne managed a team of 12 nurses. In the late fall of 1915 Yvonne enlisted as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Medical Corps (CAMC) and by February 1916 she was serving in England before proceeding to the No 8 Canadian General Hospital and the No. 6 Canadian General Hospital with the rank of Matron. In June 1919 she was back in Canada where she was discharged. In 1919 she was presented with the Royal Red Cross 2nd Class medal and in 1926 she was awarded the French Médaille des Epidemies Or. She worked with the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in Ottawa until her retirement in 1939. Source: A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (2021)

Born August 18, 1883, Northumberland, England. Died July 19, 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Ethel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1916 and for awhile worked at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Overseas she was posted to Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, the Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke and the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England.  In the late fall of 1917 she was serving in France at No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital.  By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). After the war she worked at the Winnipeg City Welfare Department. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

née Grimsley. Born April 1, 1890, London, England. Died April 26, 1990, Daniel’s Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. As a girl Myra studied nursing and continued courses as a midwife. During World War l (1914-1918) she worked in England in the North London slums. She was persuaded by Lady Harris, wife of the governor of Newfoundland, to immigrate and on April 13, 1921 she sailed for St. John’s, Newfoundland. She worked caring for the people of the great northern peninsula, a 200 mile stretch of isolated coastline in colony. In 1922 she married Angus Bennett, a former merchant marine. The couple had three children. Once her paid contract ran out, Myra worked freelance. She served as nurse, midwife, dentist, veterinarian, educator, and was known as the 'Florence Nightingale of Newfoundland'. She retired in 1953 but still continued to care for folks. In 1935 she was presented with the King George V Jubilee Medal and in 1937 the coronation Medal of George VI. She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire and the Order of Canada. In 1974 the CBC made a documentary on her life.  In 1991 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador declared her home in Daniel’s Harbour an Historic Site. Source: 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forster, Dundurn Press, 2010; Heritage Newfoundland (accessed  June 12, 2012. (2022)

Born April 28, 1883, Centre Musquodaliet, Nova Scotia. Died February 4, 1971, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1915 Ada enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She served at Moore Barracks, England, Canadian General Hospital, Buxton, England and in France at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, N0. 3 General Hospital LeTreport. She returned to Canada in the summer of 1919 on the S. S. Northland. She worked with the Victorian Order of Nurses in Wolfe, River Nova Scotia. In 1922 Ada graduated from the Public Health Nurse Diploma Program at the University of British Columbia. Source: History of UBC Graduate Nurses: the Ethel Johns Years online (accessed2023); The Canada Great War Project, Library and Archives  Canada (accessed 2023). 

Vivien M Bergren- Berrisford  4473

World War ll Nursing Sister

née Bergren. Born 1915, Viscount, Saskatchewan. Died 1996. Vivien took her training as the Saskatoon City Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1936. In 1943 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in England. She was one of two nurses chosen to nurse former Prime Minister, M. B. Bennett. After the war she returned to Canada and continued working as a nurse in Saskatoon  where she married Enoch 'Barry' Berrisford (1911-1971). The couple would eventually settle in Lethbridge, Alberta and then in White Rock, British Columbia.  She retired from nursing in 1980. Source: Military Service Recognition Book, Saskatchewan Royal Canadian Legion, online (accessed 2024); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2024)

Born September 24, 1884, McKillop, Ontario. Died July 26, 1968, Walhalla, North Dakota, U.S.A. Mary graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She found work on staff with the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. In April 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) . Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Egypt, No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England as well as in France. Returning to Canada in 1918 she was posted at St. Andrew's Military Hospital, Toronto. She was discharged in April 1920. She returned to Winnipeg and then relocated to North Dakota, U.S.A. In 1933 she worked as Matron of an American hospital in Mexico for several years. Source: Health Sciences centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021).

née Bickley. Born 1889, England. Died June 14, 1992, Quesnel, British Columbia. Beatrice studied nursing at the Manchester Work House Infirmary, England and graduated in 1913. During World l (1914-1918) she joined the Queen Alexandra Territorial Nursing Service. Immigrating to British Columbia after the wary she earned her British Columbia Nurse Registration. She too the University of British Columbia course in Public Health Nursing. She married Arthur Leon Stroyan on June 4, 1924 in Burnaby. She worked in midwifery and nursed pneumonia and diphtheria patients. Source: Early UBC Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' years oneline (accessed 2023); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2023)

née Birkett. Born October 25, 1886, Birmingham, England. Died August 21, 1962, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1898 the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nora trained at the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1909 July 30 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in Esquimalt, British Columbia. She served at the No. 5 Canadian General Hospital sponsored by British Columbia. Nora served six weeks in France before serving seven months in Salonika, Greece. She was sent  back to England as a patient on the ship Llandovery Castle and was in an English hospital for 23 days and was  and expected to take three months off work. She returned to serve at the Canadian General Hospital Training School , Yarrow and then No 4 Canadian General Hospital, Granville Canadian Specialty Hospital and No 16 Canadian General Hospital. After the was she was discharged in 1919. She married David Angus Rose on July 19, 1921 , Victoria, British Columbia. The couple had at least one son. She is commemorated on the World War l Saanich Honour Roll. Source: Saanich Residents Who Served online (accessed 2023)

Born 1858, Sheffield, England. Died June 22, 1943, Alexander, Manitoba. Mary Ellen immigrated to Canada with her family in June 1883, settling at Winnipeg. In 1889 she was one of the first three graduates of the nurse training program at the Winnipeg General Hospital, established in 1887. Upon graduation, she left to work at a small hospital in North Dakota where she remained a few months. In 1890 she accepted a position as assistant nurse at a new hospital in Medicine Hat, North West Territories (now Alberta), staying there two years until a hospital opened at Brandon. She took the position of senior nurse and remained there a year and a half. Moving to Calgary in 1894, she was in charge of the new hospital being built there, the first Matron of the Calgary General Hospital. She attended British celebrations of the 1887 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria, returning to Manitoba the next year to become Matron of the Brandon General Hospital, where she stayed until her retirement in August 1919. In 1935, she received the Order of the British Empire. Source: Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Elizabeth Hazeltine 'Bonnie'  Bjarnarson                       0017

née Polson. Born August 22, 1893, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died November 12, 1979, Gladstone, Manitoba. Bonnie's family moved to Gimili, Manitoba in 1901 where she taught school for five years before taking nursing training at the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1916. She nursed privately and worked for the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) until her marriage in 1922. After marriage she continued to provide nursing support to her community and especially to residents of the Sandy Bay First Nation, where she was known as “Mrs. Barney”. In 1969 she was presented a Good Citizenship Award for meritorious service to Manitoba. (2021)

Donna Margaret Louise Blight

                                        0018

née Crosland. Born September 30, 1936, Calgary, Alberta. Died February 5, 2008, Calgary, Alberta. Donna graduated from the Calgary General Hospital, went on to earn a Bachelor of Nursing Science Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and  a Master's Degree from University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. While nursing in Saskatoon, she met her husband, Dr. William J. Blight. The couple moved to Winnipeg Donna worked briefly for the V O N (Victorian Order of Nurses) prior to raising the couple’s two sons. She returned to work as a nursing instructor and registrar at the St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing and as registrar with the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. She was a long time member of the Alpine Club of Canada, and she served as a member of the Manitoba Environmental Council. She was actively involved with the University Women’s Club of Winnipeg and the Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba, serving on a variety of committees and as president of both organizations. The latter organization honoured her in 2007 at its first Celebration of Women. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 February 2008; Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Born December 2, 1882, Ottawa, Ontario. Died April 3, 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Mary graduated from the Royal Victoria School of Nursing, Montreal and by 1911 she was living with her family in Smith Falls, Ontario Mary enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1915 in Montreal and sailed in May 1915 aboard the S. S. Metagama to serve in France.  She served overseas at the No 1 Canadian General Hospital, Buford Camp, England, No 3 Canadian General Hospital, Camiers, France.  France, the Canadian Forestry Corps Hospital, Paris Plage, the Canadian Army Medical Corps Depot, Shorncliffe, England and Beech Hill Hospital. She cared for the wounded after the Somme Offensive and at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. She was mentioned in dispatches and received the Red Cross, 2nd Class for showing a special devotion and competency in the performance of her duties. She returned to Canada 1918. She is buried in the Canadian Military area of Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario.  Source: No 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) online (accessed 2023); Nursing Sister Mary Forster Bliss, North Lanark Regional Museum. online (accessed 2023); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2023)

Born May 12, 1884, Dereham, England. In 1915 Florence graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She worked, after graduation, at the Weyburn Hospital, Saskatchewan. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and went overseas with the Saskatchewan Nurses Unit. Overseas she was posted to the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe Canadian Military Hospital, No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. She resigned her position in October 1918. Returning home to Canada she took courses in Public Health at the University of Toronto.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

Born October 28, 1887, Delaware, Ontario.  Died March 16, 1962. In 1914 she graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario. On December 14, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She served overseas at No. 12 Canadian General Hospital and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as the first Matron of Crèche Day Nursing in London, Ontario. From 1923 through 1932 she worked at Westminster Hospital, London, Ontario.. Source: Class of 1914, Victoria Training School, London Public Library (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Born September 14, 1890, Quebec. Died February 16, 1919.  She served as a nurse with the Canadian Voluntary Aid Detachment during World War 1. Source: [Canada} A Tribute to Some Woman and Men Who Served in Armed Conflict. online (accessed 2021)

née Crisp. Born 1854, Warwickshire, England. Died  June 11, 1943, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Annie trained at Queen’s Hospital before joining as Nursing Sister in the British army. She served in the South Africa Zulu War, as well as in Egypt, and the Sudan. She was decorated in each campaigns, receiving the Royal Red Cross Medal in 1884. That same year she moved to Auckland, New Zealand, to establish New Zealand’s first school of nursing. In 1886 she married Dr. John Henry Richard Bond. The couple moved to the U.S.A. to administer the British exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1896. They  eventually settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1903. She began urging the foundation of a children’s hospital in 1906 and in 1909 she began a children's hospital on Beaconsfield Street which became the roots of the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital. Sources: Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted (University of Manitoba Press, 1999); Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Born November 15, 1932, Laurier, Manitoba. Died January 20, 2003, Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Marie entered the Grey Nuns novitiate in St. Boniface, Manitoba, August 1950 and dedicated herself to the service of the poor in February 1953. Sister Marie received her nursing diploma from the Regina Grey Nuns School of Nursing. She also earned her Masters in Nursing and a Doctorate in Education. She was director of the School of Nursing, Saint Boniface, Manitoba, from 1960 to 1963. She helped to establish the baccalaureate degree in nursing at the University of Montreal from1965 to 1972 and 1978 to 1980 she became director of Pastoral Care at Saint Boniface General Hospital. In 1983, she was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt. She served as local superior and provincial superior of St. Boniface from 1980 to 1986, and was elected assistant general of the Grey Nuns congregation in 1986. Towards the end of her life, she did mission work in the USA. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 January 2003; Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough. Online (Accessed December 2012.) (2021)

Born March 28, 1906, Havelock, New Brunswick. Died March 28, 1990, Morden, Manitoba. Beulah studied nursing graduating from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1929. Her first job was on the nursing staff at the United Church Hospital in Hafford, Saskatchewan. In 1931 she spent a year in Toronto preparing to leave Canada for Missionary work in Korea. In 1932 she took charge of nurse training in a 50 patient hospital while Superintendent Ada Sandell went on furlough. In 1933 she was assigned to a small hospital in Ling Chin Sen, Manchuria, and carried out public health work and began her interest in working with mothers and babies. She moved on to North Korea as an itinerant, travelling by ox cart, horse and train along the Manchuria border. While nursing she provided baby clinics, established mother’s club, cooking, and sewing classes, and challenged herself with learning the local language. During World War ll (1939-1945) she and Dr. Florence Murray (1894-1975) were held under house arrest and worked in an adjacent hospital. She was repatriated in a prisoner of war exchange and returned to work in a United Church Hospital in British Columbia until the end of the war. At the end of the war she studied psychiatric care and went on to work in Matheson, Ontario, before returning once more to Korea, this time to serve by special request of the Koreans. She was the only western woman and the only Canadian not to leave Seoul during the Communist Invasion. During the Korean War she worked at refugee camps, helping organize evacuation of hundreds of orphans. In 1959 she was made a Honourary Life Member of Winnipeg General Hospital Nurses Alumnae Association and in 1962 she received the Korean Presidential Medal for her distinguished public service. She retired home to Manitoba in 1974. A chapel at Severence Hospital in Korea is named in her honour. In 1979 she received the Jubilee Award from WGH Nurses Alumnae Association. The Koreans called her their “blue-eyed-angel” and took her ashes to be buried in Yanghwajim International Cemetery, Seoul, Korea. Source: Beulah Bourns.  Winnipeg General Hospital/Health Sciences Centre Nursing Alumnae Association Archives. online (accessed April 2014) (2021)

Jean Kathleen Boyce-Fisher                             3227

World War 1 Nursing Sister

née  Boyce. Born June 11, 1889, Grafton, Ontario. Died December 12, 1965, Fonthill, Ontario. Jean moved with her family to Belleville, Ontario, in 1894. She graduated from the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing in 1916. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) March 12, 1917. Overseas she served at the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. In June 1918 she was serving on transport duty returning wounded to Canada and then returning overseas. Jean was on board the Canadian hospital ship, Llandovery Castle, returning from Halifax, Nova Scotia when the ship was torpedoed by an enemy U-boat, U-86, (submarine) off the coast of Ireland on June 27, 1918. Jean was one of the survivors of 14 Nursing Sisters and 210 medical personnel and seamen who died when the ship sank. The German U Boat Captain even fired on occupants of a life-raft in an attempt to cover up the fact that he had fires on a clearly marked hospital ship. The German Captain thought that the ship was carrying armaments. Firing on a hospital ship was against international law and standing orders of the Imperial German Navy. She served at hospitals in Kingston, Montreal and Cobourg Military Hospital, Ontario and was discharged on April 30, 1920.  She married Harold Fisher on September 1, 1923. The couple settled in Belleville, Ontario, to raise their family.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Born August 11, 1881, Bewdley, England. Died September 17, 1972, Havant, United Kingdom. Alice enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in March 1917 at the Base Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. She served in Canada, England, and in France at the Canadian Army Medical Depot, Ontario, No 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England, and No. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She also served at No 8 Canadian General Hospital, Dunkirque, France, No 35 General Hospital Calais, France. She sailed to Canada on the S. S. Northland in May 1919 and she was discharged from service in November 1919. Source: Canada Great War Project online (acce4ssed 2023); Bluebirds: Canadian Nursing Sisters...Imperial War Museum, online (accessed 2023)

Born September 10, 1886, Eardley, Quebec.  Died January 31, 1965, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Eva enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Source: Bluebirds; Canadian Nurses of World War l, Imperial War Museum online (accessed 2023

Born December 5, 1893, Placentia, Newfoundland. Died February 3, 1945, Oak Bay, British Columbia. Trix was named after Queen Victoria youngest daughter. In 1907, a few years after the death of her father, William George Bradshaw, her mother and five of her eight siblings relocated to Victoria, British Columbia, to join her uncle Gus. Beatrice graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Vancouver Island, in 1917. She began her nursing career working at the Military Convalescent Hospital, Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island. She served with the Voluntary Army Medical Corps for eleven months at Military District, Victoria. In 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). By September 30, 1918 she was assigned to the Canadian Army Medical Corps Regiment Depot  She served at the #11 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England. In May 1919 she visited Ireland prior to being posted to No 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington. She had become engaged to be married but sadly he was killed in the war. After the war she worked as a school nurse in Victoria. Beatrice is listed in the Saanich Honour Roll with a plaque. Source: A First War Canadian Nursing Group To Sister E. Bradshaw. emedals online (accessed 2023); Beatrice Eugene Bradshaw , Lives of the First World War...Bluebirds...Imperial War Museum, online (accessed 2023); Monuments Honouring Nurses in B. C. B C History of Nursing Society online (accessed 2023)

Born April 3,1891, Placentia, Newfoundland. Died December 14,1984, Parksville, British Columbia. In 1907, a few years after the death of her father, William George Bradshaw, her mother and six of her eight siblings relocated to Victoria, British Columbia to join her uncle Gus. After high school she worked as a stenographer before studying nursing. Nance graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Vancouver Island in 1915. Upon graduation she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She was stationed in Shorncliffe, England, Heliopolis, Egypt, and Salonika, Greece.  While overseas she secretly married Major Dr James Thomas Wall who served with her at No 5 Canadian General Hospital. After the war the couple settled in Vancouver and raised three children. Nance is listed in the Saanich Honour Roll with a plaque. Source: Lives of the First World War...Bluebirds...Imperial War Museum, online (accessed 2023); Monuments Honouring Nurses in B. C. B C History of Nursing Society online (accessed 2023)

Born October 11, 1881, Ellershouse, Nova Scotia. Died October 15, 1972, Saskatchewan. In April 1915 Louise enlisted to serve in World War 1 (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) in Montreal. She was sent overseas to the No 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France. She would serve at several other hospitals  including the Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton, England, The Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. The No 7 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France , the Casualty Centre, Shorncliffe, England and District Depot No 11. She returned to Canada and was discharged in 1919. Source: Bluebirds; Canadian Nurses World War l, Imperial War Museum, online (accessed 2023)

née Bray. Born Cochrane, Ontario. Died September 3, 2024, Stratford, Ontario. As the family moved in Cochrane Deborah attended both Ferguson Public School and Central Public School. She began at Cochrane High School but completed her high school years in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) when the family relocated there in 1954. She continued her education at the Wellesley School of Nursing in Toronto, graduating in 1960. She moved the United States  and in 1977 she earned her bachelor of Science at the University of Pittsburgh.  After working a few years she earned her Master's in Science in 1980 at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) at University Park. She would also earn her doctorate (P h D0 there in 1984. In 1983 she was working as an associate professor at Penn State at University Park. She became a member of the American Nurses Association and the National League of Nurses. December 15, 1988 she married Daryl Heasley Preston and the couple had two children. Continuing her teaching career Along with a colleague from Penn State she co-authored the book, The Challenges of Being a Rural Gay Man: Coping With Stigma. Upon retirement from Penn State she became  professor emeritus. She and her husband retired to live in Stratford, Ontario. Source: Deborah Bray Preston, Prabook, online (accessed 2024)

Constance Eleda Brewster
                                      0022

Born September 27, 1888, Brantford, Ontario. Died July 4, 1988. After completing her nursing studies at the University of Toronto, Constance taught school in Saskatchewan. She took additional studies in nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, and began working in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1925. From 1934 through 1953 she was Director of the School of Nursing at the Hamilton General Hospital. During her career she improved working conditions, strove for shorter working hours, better accommodations, and fought for a higher rate of pay for the nurses under her charge. She also served as President of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario from 1938-1940. Source: Find A grave Canada online accessed 2024)

née Buck. Born 1898, Port Rowan, Ontario. Died April 5, 1988. A talented hospital administrator she took her early nursing training in the United States. She became the 1st Superintendent of the Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe, Ontario, in 1925 and remained in the position until 1943. She was an active member national nursing organizations, the I.O.D.E., the University Women’s Club, and the Norfolk Historical Society. (2021)

Margaret Martha Brooks



World War 11 Nursing Sister

Born April 10, 1915, Ardath, Saskatchewan. Died January 9, 2016, Victoria, British Columbia. Margaret studied household science at the University of Saskatchewan. After her graduation Margaret enrolled in the Canadian Navy on March 9, 1942 as a Nursing Sister dietician with the rank of a sub-Lieutenant. While serving in the S S Caribou, the ship was torpedoed in mid October 1942. Margaret clung with one hand to a lifeboat and with her other hand she held on the her friend and colleague, Agnes Wilkie. Unfortunately Agnes died due to the frigid temperatures in the Cabot Straight off the coast of Newfoundland. Margaret became the only Nursing Sister during World War ll (1939-1945) to be named a member (Military Division) of the Order of the British Empire for her heroic effort to save her friend. Margaret remained in the Canadian Navy and in April 1, 1957 having obtained the rank of Lieutenant Commander. She retired in 1962. Returning to Saskatchewan she resumed her post graduate studies in paleontology earning her Doctorate (PhD). She would author numerous research papers in her discipline. She retired to Victoria, British Columbia. In the spring of 2015 she was contacted by Canadian Defence Minister, Jason Kenny to inform her that the Canadian Navy would name one of the new arctic offshore patrol ships in her honor. Sources: James Goldie,  “Canada’s Navy names vessel after living Victoria woman for the first time.” In Globe and Mail April 14, 2015.; Arctic/offshore Patrol Ships Naming Biographies – HMCS Margaret Brooks. National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces. Online (accessed June 2015). (2022)

Born December 4, 1892, Emerson, Manitoba.  Belle enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the fall of 1917. She served at various hospital overseas in England including the Canadian Special Hospital, Lenham, No 10 Canadian General Hospital and the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Brighton, England. She was discharged from the service in March 1919 and returned to Canada on the S. S. Empress of Britain in April 1919. Source: Bluebirds: Canadian World War l nurses. Imperial War Museum. online (accessed 2023)

Born October 9, 1877, Port Stanley, Ontario. Jane was living in Regina, Saskatchewan, at the time of her enlistment as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Nursing sisters were given the rank of Lieutenant when entering the armed services. On April 4, 1917 Jane received a promotion to the rank of Captain when serving as Matron of the Canadian Military Hospital, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan from April 4, 1917 to June 14, 1918. She was formally discharged from service in April 1919. Source: Canadian Great War Project online (accessed 2023)

née King. Born April 11, 1876, Chatham, Ontario. Maude Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1898. In 1915 she relocated to England with her husband, Dr. John K. Brown who was serving with the British Royal Army Medical Corps. She wanted to serve in the World War l (1914-1918) effort so Maude joined the St. John's Ambulance and was appointed Matron in Charge of the Auxiliary Hospital, Shorne Hill, Totton. England.  In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She was one o the first married Canadian nurse permitted to enlist. Maude served three years in England working at Granville Special Hospital, Ramsgate, Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton, and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe. She returned to Winnipeg in 1918 and served at No 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park. After the war she and her husband settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Class of 1898. (accessed 2021)

Born December 20, 1893*, Eramosa Township, Ontario. Died November 3, 1962, London, Ontario.  Harriet was one of threes sisters who studied to become nurses and would enlist as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) during World War l (1914-1918). Hattie graduated from Queens University, Kingston about 1905. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister in Kingston, Ontario in May 1915. She served in England, No 1, No 2, No 3, & No 7 Canadian General Hospitals,France, and Egypt. After the war she returned to Canada. She received the World War l British War Medal, the Victory medal, the Service Medal and the 1914 Star Medal. She was also the holder of Life Membership in the Canadian Red Cross Society. Her medals are preserved in the Wellington County Museum.  * her C A M C attestation set her birth date as 1893.Toombstone 1881. Source: Bluebirds: Canadian Nurses of World War l Imperial War Museum online (accessed 2023); Find  Grave Canada (accessed 2023)

Born July 14, 1884*  Eramosa Township, Ontario. Died September 3, 1956, Guelph, Ontario. Helen was one of threes sisters who studied to become nurses and would enlist as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) during World War l (1914-1918). Helen graduated from the Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, London Ontario about 1910. She served with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Q A I M N S) for 11 months at the No 5 Canadian General Hospital prior to enlisting with the C M A C in December 1917. She served with the C A M C Westcliffe, and Folkstone, England, E & R Hospital and the No 4 Canadian General Hospital.  When she served in Egypt she was able to spend time with her sister, Harriet. She was discharged in July 1919 and returned to Canada aboard the S. S. Olympic. In 1927 she attended the University of Western Ontario to earn a certificate in Public Health Nursing. Her World War l service medals are part of the collections of the Wellington County Museum *Enlistment attestation state birth date as 1884.toombstone 1993.

Born September 30, 1886, Eramosa Township, Ontario. Died October 28, 1982, Cambridge, Ontario. Janet studied at the Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, London Ontario around 1910. By 1917 Janet was serving as a Missionary sponsored by the Women's Missionary Services in China. From 1917-1939 she served at the Honan North Chine Mission. She retired and settled in London Ontario in 1948.  Source: Healing Honan: Canadian Nurses at the North China Mission 1888-1947 by Sonya Grypma, UBC, 2007 online (accessed 2024)

Louise Elizabeth Buckley -Jones  4441


Public Health Nurse

née Buckley. Born August 3, 1891, Ireland. Died October 2, 1986 Vancouver, British Columbia.  Louise graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Victoria, British Columbia. She was one of four graduates to attend the firs diploma course in Public Health Nursing at the University of British Columbia in 1920. She worked as a dental nurse and joined the Saanich school health Department.  She introduced hot lunches in the school so students would have at least one good meal a day. The school department's car was in good hand with her as she learned how to change tires herself! September 29, 1926 she married William Carlin Jones (1877-1963). The couple had at least one son.  Source: Early U B C Nursing Graduates: the Ethel Johns' Years 1921-1925. online (accessed 2023);

Born April 14, 1972. Died January 17, 2013, British Columbia. Janice earned an Associate of Arts Degree in general studies and then went on to earn her Diploma of Registered Nursing fro University college of the Cariboo (now Thompson Rivers University), Kamloops, British Columbia. She worked in various posts before taking on the role as a rural nurse at Lillooet Hospital. She worked in maternity, palliative care, emergency and operating room nursing as well as doing general ward duties. She became a community health nurse when she became a certified by the Canadian Vascular Access Association. She was the only nurse in this Integrated Community Health Nurse job working with the Home Care, Long Term Care Case Manager, Palliative Care Support nd the Ambulatory Care Clinic for Lillooet and area which provided attention to the more remote community. Janice died in a car accident on her way to provide services to a remote community. Source: B C History of Nursing Society. online (accessed 2023)  

Born 1917, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan. Died November 9, 1988. Between 1957-1977 she was the Director of Nursing at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. She was internationally renowned for developing nursing strategies for the treatment of cancer patients. She would pioneer programs to meet physical and emotion needs of the hospital’s cancer patients. For her contribution to ontological nursing she was presented with the Civic Award of Merit from the city of Toronto. She would also serve on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Cancer Society of Ontario for 20 years. In 1988 she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Canadian Women’s Breast Cancer Foundation. (2021)

Kathryn 'Kay' Emilor Burns Rodger    3805

Pioneer Nurse in Northern Ontario

 

Born December 31, 1906, Spanish, Ontario. Died April 25, 1990, South Porcupine, Ontario. As a youngster Kay and her family moved to the Porcupine area of northern Ontario. After high school she studied nursing in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. In 1927 she began nursing in Porcupine at St. Mary's Hospital. Within a year she was working at the Presbyterian Hospital in South Porcupine which was an outpost supported by the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Society. In 1930 she married Frank Rodger and the couple had three children. While it was normal for a nurse to stop working after marriage there was a shortage of good nurses in northern Ontario and Kay continued to work as a nurse. In 1936 her husband became ill with tuberculosis and was sent to a Gravenhurst Sanatorium leaving her as sole supporter for her family. A new hospital was built in 1938 and Kay would work there until she retired in 1956. That year she became the administrator of the Golden Manor seniors home. She took courses in typing, bookkeeping, and nutrition to make sure she did her job well. She retired from the Golden Manner in 1967. (2022)

Mary Irene Burns-Thomas


World War 1 Nursing Sister
 

                                                3094

née  Burns. Born March 6, 1883, Woodstock, Ontario. Died December 16, 1966. In 1883 Mary moved to Manitoba with her family. In the 1890's she was working at the offices of the Canadian Pacific Railway (C P R) but then decided to study nursing. Mary Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1907.  After graduation she worked with the Eye and Ear Department of the W G H. In 1914 she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and served at Valletta Hospital with the Red Cross in Malta. By November 1915 she was working at Hamrun Officers Hospital, Malta. From there she served at No. 5 British General Hospital and No. 20 Casualty Clearing Station in France. In June 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and was sent to No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and then to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, The Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Clivedon, England.  Returning to Canada she was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg until 1922. On June 9, 1923 she married Wesley Thomas (died 1956). Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

née Ingimundon. Born February 25, 1930, Lundar, Manitoba. Died April 8,  2008. Norma trained to be a nurse then worked at Whitehorse, Edmonton, and Winnipeg with the federal government working in Aboriginal and Northern Health and in Occupational Health. In 1978, she led a national federal nurses’ strike resulting in salary increases and other benefits for nurses. In the 1980s, she was instrumental in developing national guidelines for occupational health nursing certification and she initiated the Nurses-at-Risk program, the first of its kind in Canada. In 1992 she was awarded the Confederation 150 Medal. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 April 2008: Memorable Manitobans. Online (Accessed December 2011) (2021)

Born 1871?, Glace Bay? Nova Scotia. Died 1918? Marble Mountain, Nova Scotia. In 1918 the city of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. was one of the hardest hit cities during the influenza pandemic. Julies soldier son was at Camp Devens in Boston suffering from influenza and she headed there to help nurse her son. Returning to Canada she volunteered at an influenza hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Learning that there were 100 influenza cases in Marble Mountain, Inverness County, Nova Scotia she once again volunteered. Sadly seven days later she herself died of influenza. (2021)

Born 1888, Bracebridge, Ontario. Died December 26, 1978, Bracebridge, Ontario. While nursing in Hailabury Hospital in northern Ontario, René (she pronounced it Reen)  came across an old woman who had survived much longer with cancer than doctors had projected. The old lady had used a remedy that she said was an old Indian cure for cancer. The old lady shared the recipe for this life saving tea and René, whose goal was to control cancer and alleviate pain, used it to help cancer patients, including her own mother, who were considered to be incurable.  René  began to refine the herbal tea. She joined with Dr R. D. Fisher to study in a makeshift lab and began to research on mice with the herbal tea and found it to be successful in treating breast cancer and other cancers. They isolated what they deemed was the herb responsible for reducing the tumors and called their product ESSIAC which is René’s surname spelled backwards. In 1926 she was charged with practicing medicine without a license by the Canadian Government. Thus began a 50 year controversy over this “cure”. From 1928 through 1930 René worked at the Christie Street Hospital Laboratories, Toronto and even consulted with Dr. Frederick Banting (1891-1941), one of the discoverers of Insulin) but she always kept the formula of Essiac to herself. She opened a cancer clinic in Bracebridge, Ontario where tending patients deemed hopeless by other doctors. René continued to treat patients in Bracebridge even though her cure fell out of favour. She married Charles McCaughey, a North Bay Lawyer, and former patient but retained her maiden name. In retirement she took up oil painting. In 1977 René handed her formula to the Resperin Corporation, controlled by uranium magnate Stephen Roman of Toronto who paid $250.00 during a test period and promised of a share in future profits. In 1985 a Dr. Gary Glum purchased the formula for $120,000.00 from one of René’s former patients and released this formula into public domain in 1988. He wrote a book, Calling of an Angel: Essiac Nature’s cure for Cancer. Mary McPherson who had worked with René in preparing the formula did not want to die with the controversy over her head so she released the formula, as she had prepared it, to public domain on December 23, 1994. Today several versions of Essiac are on the market sold as a natural remedy. The Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre was built and named in her honour in her hometown of Bracebridge. Sources: Obituary. Bracebridge Examiner, 1978 : Lisa Wajna. Great Canadian Women: Nineteen Portraits of Extraordinary Women. (Folklore publishing, 2005). (2021)

Grace Louise Reynolds Calder                            0027

née Reynolds. Born 1854, United Kingdom. Died June 16, 1924, Saskatchewan. Grace trained in Leeds, England with the teachings of the Florence Nightingale system of nursing. In 1884 she immigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1890 she became the 1st Matron at the new Medicine Hat General Hospital which opened June 4, 1890. This hospital was the 1st such hospital between Winnipeg and British Columbia. Grace is credited with introducing the Nightingale system of nursing to the Canadian west. Grace resigned her position on December 14, 1891 and on January 12, 1892 she married the chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr. John George. Calder (d 1912). John served as superintendent from 1881 through 1894. August 1, 1894 a training school for nurses opened at the hospital with Miss Jean Miller as Head Nurse. Perhaps Jean Miller called upon the expertise of Grace in establishing the student curriculum. The Calders remained in Medicine Hat and john took over his brothers pharmacy in 1911 just a year before his death. There is not much information on Grace and her son after this date but there is a record  of a Mrs. J. G. Calder purchasing 160 acres of land in Saskatchewan in 1912. Source: Kay Saunderson, 200 Remarkable Alberta Women, (Famous Five Foundation, 1999); Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021). (2021)

Born 1935, Peepeekisis First Nation, Saskatchewan. Died January 16, 2023, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ann was forced to attend File Hills Residential School away from her family for ten yeas. In 1946 she went home to Peepeekisis and attended Birtle Indian Residential School. She enrolled at the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) three year nursing school. After working twice as hard as non-indigenous students who had received good primary education, and surviving racism, she graduating in 1954 as one of the 1st aboriginal nurses to graduate from the program. In 1958 she worked in the gynaecology ward of the WGH. She quickly was promoted to Head Nurse, a position she held until 1973. After leaving the hospital job she took a position with the newly formed Continuing Care for People in Need providing care to people in the inner city. In 1983 she became an instructor and counselors with the Southern Nursing Program at Red River Community College. She retired in 1996. Retirement did not meant she stopped learning as she earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master degree. On June 28, 2006 the Winnipeg Health Services named a building in her honour. (2021)

Born September 25, 1942, Orpington, Kent, England. Died November 6, 2020, Vancouver British Columbia. Helen graduated in nursing from the Royal Free Hospital, London, England, in 1963 where she earned an award as the most helpful operating theatre nurse.  Helen married John Calverley and the young couple immigrated to Canada in 1964. The couple had two children. After qualifying to work as a Registered Nurse in Canada she began her Canadian career at the Vancouver General Hospital (V  G H) in 1966.She became an Assistant Head Nurse in the Pediatric and Orthopedic operating rooms at the V G H. She moved to work at the Children's Hospital where she worked with her beloved child patients for more than 30 years. She participated in the separation of conjoin twins, a first in the hospital. As an active member of the BC Operating Room Nurses' Group she held head office of Regional Presiding Officer for the Vancouver Region and served as chairperson of the Hostess Committee for numerous conference. She was also a keen runner who entered many marathons until her knees began to say 'no way!' Helen retired in 2003 and began volunteering for six overseas missions with Operation Rainbow which assists cleft pallet victims in third world countries. She also enjoyed in her retirement being a member of the Lions Gate Chorus. Source: BC History of Nursing. Online (accessed 2023); Obituary. Vancouver Sun November 113, 2010. online (accessed 2023)

Born December 8, 1894, Canso, Nova Scotia. Died August 26, 1956, Montreal, Quebec. On May 22, 1917 Mary graduated from nursing school in Montreal, Quebec and after graduation she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). In December 1916 through January 1917 Mary with the 8th Field Ambulance in Montreal and then she worked in a Montréal military hospital. She went overseas and served at the University of Toronto No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, Kent, England. She also served for a short time at No. 15 Canadian General Hospital before returning home in July 1919. She worked in New York City, U.S.A. and in Montreal, Quebec, as a public health nurse. On June 27, 1927 she married Colin Andrew Chisholm and after a year the couple relocated to Kirkland Lake, Ontario, where they raised their four daughters together. In 1951 the family moved to Stirling, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. By 1956 they were back in Montreal.  Sources: Lieutenant Mary Lillian Cameron, A Nursing Sister's Story, The First War Veterans of Guysborough County. Bruce Macdonald. Online (accessed 2021)

Born August 17, 1877, Beauly, Scotland. Died June 27, 1918, at Sea. Christina immigrated to Canada and graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Victoria British Columbia in 1897. On September 16, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C)  in London, Ontario. Over seas she was posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital and then she served on the Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Born November 1871, Montreal, Quebec. Died 1951, Toronto, Ontario. Daisy graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, New York, U.S.A. in 1907. She worked at the hospital after graduation and then worked in Manhattan before returning to Montreal to work. In September 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Overseas she assisted in the establishment of the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. She was one of nine Canadian Nursing Sisters to receive the Military Medal for bravery shown on May 31 1918 at the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France was bombed in an enemy air strike. After the war she was Superintendent of the Toronto Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VO N) retiring in 1934.  She also received the King George Jubilee Medal in 1935.  A collection of her medals and some personal affects are maintained at the Canadian War museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

Margaret Amelia Campbell

                                      0030

Born June 27, 1923, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 29, 1992, Vancouver, British Columbia. Margaret earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia (U B C) in 1947 and then earned a second bachelor degree in Nursing Science in 1948. She would continue her studies with a Masters of Science in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. in 1955 and returned to again study to earn her Education Doctorate at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. in 1970. She was the co-developer of conceptual models for nursing. In 1987 she was recognized for her research efforts with the Award of Excellence from the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia. She was also the recipient of an Award of Distinction from the Nursing Division of the Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia in 1988. followed in 1990 by a Certificate of Merit. She was an instructor and professor of nursing at the UBC School of Nursing from 1955 through 1988. She died six months after her retirement. (2021)

née Campbell. Born May 7, 1890, Cannifton, Ontario. Died January 23, 1989, Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. Olive graduated from the Hospital for Sick Children School of Nursing, Toronto in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on November 19, 1917. The nurses were granted the rank of Lieutenant. They wore blue uniforms and earned the name 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton, England May 20, 1918 she married Dr. Percival Keith Menzies, a Lieutenant Colonel with the CAMC. After the war the couple settled in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. The couple raised two sons together. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Born August 6, 1885, Helensburg, Scotland. In 1909 Anne graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. In October 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was granted the rank of Lieutenant. They wore blue uniforms which earned them the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. Overseas she served at N0. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe England. She returned to Canada in January 1919 where she worked for the Manitoba Agricultural Hospital and the Deer Lodge Hospital. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online. (access 2021)

Born July 4, 1879, Ottawa, Ontario. Died 1964. Marguerite was born into a family of means. Her father was a university professor. In 1886 to 1899 she attended Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, where she was a member and captain of one of the earliest women's hockey teams. There was a reversal of family fortune and Marguerite left Queen's without graduating. She trained as a nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A. She worked in New York and Canada prior to enlisting May 12, 1915 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. They wore blue uniforms and were know as 'Bluebirds'. She served at the No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England. She was awarded the Red Cross 2nd Class medal for bravery while evacuation patients from the hospital during the bombing of Etaples in northern France in 1918. After the war she worked for a short while at the Canadian Department of Soldiers Civil Re-establishment Hospital. By 1927 she was attending teachers College at Columbia University, New York City, New York, U.S.A. after having earned a Bachelor of Science. Her story was written by Meryn Stewart and published in the Canadian Medical Lives Series.  (2021)

Ethel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1914. After graduation she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and then to Skagway, Alaska, U.S.A. In 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service.  She served overseas but it is not known where. After the war she worked at a mission in Romania. She returned to Canada and settled in Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Born 1888, Dutton, Ontario. Died November 1971, Vancouver, British Columbia. As a teenager Annie moved to Calgary Alberta so that she could attend high school. At 18 Annie Annie graduated with honours from the Calgary Normal School (teacher's college). After graduation she moved to join her family who had relocated to the Okanagan in British Columbia.  Between 1910 and 1918 she taught school in Armstron, British Columbia and served as principal from 1917. As the family storey goes she was brokenhearted by the death of her fiancée after World War 1. By 1920 she was teaching in Vernon, British Columbia.  At 36 she entered the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing where she earned the Alison Cummings medal for heights standing in the 1927 graduating class. She became Instructress of Nursing at VGH and won the adoration of her students until she retired in 1947. After retirement she wrote the book, Our School of Nursing 1899 to 1949. Source: Anne Sutherland Cavers (1888-1971) Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 27, 1880, St. Eustache, Quebec. Died March 24, 1919. Ernestine studied nursing and during the First World War (1914-1918) she enlisted in Montreal on March 23, 1915 and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Nursing Sister. Each nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. They wore blue uniforms which earned the women the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Serving overseas on July 28, 1915 she worked at the 4th Canadian Stationary Hospital. By No. 6, 1916 she was diagnosed with having tuberculosis and was then sent home to Canada in May 1917, on the H. S. Letitia, to convalesce. She was demobilised on July 31, 1918 having settled in Montreal. On January 16, 1919 she was awarded the Medaille des Epidemies. Sources: Imperial War Museums. "Lives of the First World War Bluebirds: Canadian Nurses of WW1" online (accessed 2023); A tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts: a few shot biographies of members of the Army Medical Corps and the Scots Guards Regiment. online (accessed 2023)

Born 1904?, China. Died 1962, China. Ah Fung was just one more girl in the family which already had five girls. Her parents wanted her to have a better life so she was given to a family friend who promised to raise her as his own. However growing up she was actually sold several time including to a family in Victoria, British Columbia. Treated unjustly she ran away to a missionary school  called the Chinese Rescue Home.  It was here she took the name Agnes. She had been able to keep in touch with her family at home in China and really wanted to send money home. Her sister was placed in the Wesleyan Methodist School for Girls in Fatshan, China with the help of a missionary charity in Toronto. It was the same charity that was willing to help enroll Agnes in the Women's College Hospital School of Nursing. She proved to be an exceptional student and stood top of her class for obstetrics and was the first Chinese-Canadian to graduate. After graduation she did postgraduate pediatric studies in nursing in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.. Returning to China she worked in a missionary hospital. She would keep in touch with her nursing colleagues in Canada and would attend occasionally returned to Canada for nursing Conventions. She earned a promotion as Superintendent of Nurses at the missionary hospital and wrote to her colleagues about the Japanese occupation in China.  Source: Katie Daubs, They Said I was too tall, too big...how three nurses broke through the nursing's starched white world The Toronto Star May 5, 2019. (accessed 2023)

Born 1857/1858, Toronto, Canada West (now Ontario). Died November 6, 1910, Ontario. Anne studied nursing at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. In the mid 1890's Annie was appointed Lady Superintendent of Nurses at the new St Luke's Hospital (later Ottawa Civic Hospital) which had  patterned on the nursing school of the Lady Stanley Institute founded in 1891. The school provided instruction and residences for nursing students. Annie administered the 30 bed hospital and she up the three year training program for nurses. Seven nurses graduated in 1901. Annie served also as the 1st president of the Ottawa Graduate Nurses Association and established the first registry of professional nurses in the city. Source: D C B  (2021)

Born December 29, 1888, Bresaylor, Saskatchewan. Died February7, 1976, Saskatchewan. Jane graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms that earned them the nickname "Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Eastbourne, England. In 1918 she suffered from poor health and by late fall was back in Canada where she was admitted to the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. Once recovered she moved to Saskatchewan where she married.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Born June 10, 1911, Little Current, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Died February 7, 1994, Toronto, Ontario. By 1934 Kay trained and worked as a nurse. When World War ll (1939-1945) broke out she did not hesitate to sign up with the Royal Canadian Medical Corps in 1941 as a Lieutenant. She was posted to Hong Kong. The British military hospital where she served came under heavy Japanese shelling and the British surrendered on Christmas Day 1941. Kay spent the next 21 month as a POW (Prisoner of War) in the Far East living under severely crowed conditions with little food and water loosing some 20 pounds. In September 1943 she and other nurses were part of a prisoner exchange between the Allies and the Japanese. The conditions on the ship before the exchange were worse than at the camp. Even after the exchange she was more than a month before reaching home. After V E Day, Kay received a position with a prominent Toronto heart specialist as a medical nursing secretary. She was granted a discharge from the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps on October 30, 1945. After her discharge, she worked as a medical secretary for a neuropsychiatry specialist until retirement. She was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross medal for her distinguished service, and in ensuing years she was named Honorary Patron of the National Council of Veterans, Honourary President of the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada, and in 1995, both she and fellow nurse, Ms. Waters were honoured by a plaque erected in the Police Academy in Hong Kong in recognition of their outstanding service. Sources: Women of Courage 1812-2012 Reading and Remembrance. Online (accessed March 2015) ; Veterans Affairs Canada. Nursing Sister – Kay Christie. Online (Accessed March 2015);Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2024)

Born June 28, 1893, Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Died January 1965, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eleanor graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on the Military Wards of the W G H, and at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. She was posted overseas to No. 13 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings, England, and in France to No. 3, N0., 8, and No. 6 Canadian Stationary Hospitals. After returning to Canada she married W. M. Graham and the couple settled in Yorkton Saskatchewan. In the 1960's they resettled in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 4, 1885, Elizabeth Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Died September 12, 1987, Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Like many of the young women of her day, Jessie taught school after she graduated High School in 1904. In 1907 she relocated to Calgary, Alberta, to attend nursing school at the Calgary General Hospital. Sadly she was forced to return to her Gore Bay home for six months to recuperate from Typhoid fever. She took up her nurse training again at the Guelph Sanatorium for mental and nervous patients. The supervisor at Guelph suggested that Jessie take studies at the Massachusetts's General Hospital, Boston, U.S.A.  She spent three years at the Harvard University Branch of the hospital and served as head of the surgery department. In 1911 she worked the Massachusetts Hospital, Fitchburg, U.S.A. as Superintendent of nurses for a year and then returned to the Harvard University Peter Brent Brigham Hospital. With the breakout of World War 1 in Europe (1914-1918) Jessie served in June 1915 with the Harvard Medical Unit in hospitals in both England and France until February 1916.  Returning from the front to England she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant.  The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Jessie served back in France at a Canadian Casualty Clearing station. In England she served at a hospital in Hastings, England. She returned to Canada after the war. During the war she had kept track of the local Manitoulin Island Boys and often sent them boxes with cakes and candy which had been sent to her from Canada. She also wrote letters to the local boys who were wounded and in hospitals. In 1919 she worked in Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.A. as Superintendent of Nurses in Training  and also as Superintendent of Nursing Schools for the state of West Virginia. In the early 1920's she returned to Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island to care for the three children after the death of their mother Nora, Jessie's sister. As the children grew up she ran a nursing home. During World War ll (1939-1945) when the local doctor enlisted to serve she was a mainstay for her community. She worked at the Registry Office in Gore Bay but retired early to care for her brother. When her brother was taken to a nursing home Jessie moved to Toronto to be with her niece, Noreen. Jessie was a honourary member of the Canadian Legion and the American Veterans of Foreign Wars. Jessie is remembered in national memorials and at the Memorial to Women who have fought in Canadian Wars Memorial, Manitoulin Island. Source: Manitoulin Roots online (accessed 2021)

Born 1888, England. Died March 13, 1937, Cecil Lake, British Columbia. Elsie completed her nursing studies in pediatric, general nursing, and midwifery in England prior  immigrating to settle in British Columbia. She worked at firs with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) in Vancouver and enrolled in the University of British Columbia Public Health Nurse Diploma program and graduated in 1922. She worked a a public health nurse and from 1927-1930 she was a nursing supervisor with the British Columbia provincial Department of Health in the Cowichan Health Centre. She went on to work with the Red Cross at the Gough Memorial Red Cross Hospital, Cecil Lake. Working in remote communities in northern British Columbia she was most likely paid with local farm produce, Poultry or firewood. She herself maintained a large vegetable garden to help patients'. She also introduced the local Women's Institute, a children's animal protection group, and obtained books from friends in larger centres to share in her community. Brass candlesticks, communion vessels, and bell for St. Mathias Anglican church, Cecil Lake in her Honour. Source: History Of U B C Graduate Nurses: The Ethel Johns years online (accessed 2023).

Born  June 21,1876, Quebec City, Quebec. Died March 17, 1939, Montreal, Quebec. A trained nurse she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 25, 1914. Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the name of 'Bluebird'. abel served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. She suffered from Dysentery at Lemnos and later she had Influenza. In February 1916 she was admitted to hospital in Cairo, Egypt with phlebitis. and became dangerously ill with an embolism in her right lung. In May 1916 she was discharged to England. After having taken extended medical leave she re-enlisted in December 1917 and served at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital,  England, France, Turkey, Lemnos Island. In February 1918 she was serving at No. 4 Casualty Clearing Station. After the war she returned to Canada and continued her nursing career. She wrote about her wartime experiences in a memoir, Our Bit: Memories of War Service by a Canadian Nursing Sister published in 1934. Source: Mabel Clint, Library and Archives Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Agnes was the first Black nursing school student graduating from the three year program at the Women's College Hospital School of Nursing June 1, 1951. She had been rejected numerous times to be accepted to train as a nurse with weakly disguised excuses that hid the discrimination against accepting Black nursing students. After graduation she worked as a surgical nurse at the Women College Hospital. She continued her studies taking Public Health Nursing at the University of Toronto and worked in the filed of public health for 13 years. She also went on to study substance abuse at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. She was paramount in establishing a public health program for the homeless working with the Detroit Health Department in, Michigan, U.S.A. where she was a committed worker in mental health caring for people with HIV. (2023)

Born June 25, 1883, Belleoram, Newfoundland. Died November 1969. As did many women of her era she worked at first as a school teacher. October 2, 1916 she received word that she had been accepted to sure in World War l (1914-1918) with the Volunteer Aid Detachment (V A D). This was a group of volunteer nurses founded in 1909 by the British Red Cross and the St. John's Ambulance. These women provided basic services in hospitals and covalescence homes in Europe or were ambulance drivers, cooks, kitchen maids, clerks or fundraisers. Frances was one of some 38 Newfoundland women sho would served with the V A D.  After completing basic training in England she was sent to N0. 10 General Hospital, Rouen, France. She is best remembered for her remarkable detailed letters home which provide historians with the daily work life of a V A D nurse and the ravages of war. After Rouen in 1918 she was transferred to Constantinople (now Istanbul).  She did not return to Newfoundland until 1920 when she returned to her former teaching position. In 2006 her letters wre published in: Your Daughter Fanny: The War letters of Frances Cluett V A D. by Flanker Press. Her original letters form part of the collections at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Source: Frances 'Fanny' Cluett (1883-1969), V A D , Belleoram, Fortune Bay, Maritime History Archives online (accessed 2024); Find a grave online (accessed 2024) . .

Born March 5, 1884, Wingham, Ontario. Died April 23, 1974, Neepawa, Manitoba.  In 1890, Olive and her family relocated to Eden, Manitoba. Olive graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. With the coming of World War l (1914-1918) She worked at the Camp Sewell (later Camp Hughes) military hospital, Manitoba, to gain military nursing experience. In November 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, the University of Toronto No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. In France she served at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Etaples, France, where she survived enemy air raids. After the war she returned to Canada working as private or special nurse in both Canada and the U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

née Barnet. Born February 23, 1879, Renfrew, Ontario. Died December 18, 1957, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1906 this daughter of a lumberman millionaire married businessman Edmund Henry Code. Henry enlisted to serve during World War 1 (1914-1918) and when her husband went to London, England, she went with him. She worked as a Canadian Red Cross volunteer  assisting Canadian families to get in touch with service men who were prisoners of war or in hospitals overseas. She went on to joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment (V A D) as a nurses' aide working at Canadian convalescent hospitals in England. Because of her nursing experience with V A D she was allowed to enlist as a Nursing Sister in 1917 with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She returned home to Canada in 1919. Source: The Six Nursing Sisters of W W l online (accessed 2024)

née Grier. Born October 28, 1837, Carrying Place, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died February 9, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. On July 23, 1859 Hannah married Charles Horace Coome. Widowed in 1878, Hannah took her nursing training at Trinity Hospital, New York, U.S.A. as a novitiate of the Anglican Sister of St Mary. Shortly after she established the Sisters of St John the Devine in Toronto. In April 1885 she was the Nursing Matron in charge of five Nursing Sisters serving in the Northwest Rebellion. The women, Mother Hannah, Amelia Elizabeth Hare, Helen Augustine Crouch, Mary Campbell MacKenzie, Florence Caroline Cottle, and Joan Matheson were the first women to serve as Nursing Sisters in the Canadian Military. The group reached Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle, were waiting for them. The nursing sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days. The Rebellion was suppressed by June 26, 1885 and the Nursing Sisters were ordered to return home. Back in Toronto, Mother Hanna and the other nurses in her Order established  St. Jon House, the city's first women's surgical Hospital. The Nursing Sisters received the North West Canada 1885 silver medal for their service as members of the expedition. (2021)

née Cochrane. Born July 17, 1888, Ranchvale, Manitoba. Died 1961, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jessie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1913. In September 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enrolled nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to West Cliff Eye and Ear Canadian Hospital, Folkstone and was transferred to Princess Patricia's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Ramsgate, England. In 1917 she was serving at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France. After the war she married C.  V. Coombe and the couple settled in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021)

née Comerford. Born June 29, 1892, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Died April 2, 1954, New York State, U.S.A. Gertrude Ethel graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario in 1916. April 17, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse held the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore a blue uniform which earned them the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England and then she served in France. She was herself hospital in England in the fall of 1917. After the war she immigrated to the United States in 1924 to work at the Detroit Board of Health. Later she relocated to work at the Oregon Hospital, Portland, U.S.A. November 2, 1928 she married Vernon Beckwith Durling and the couple settled  in New York State, U.S.A. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Grace Jean Conner-McKenzie

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3286

née Conner. Born May 21, 1887, Morden, Manitoba. Died February 7, 1974, Manitou, Manitoba. Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1914. After graduation she worked in the operating room at the W G H. May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Those who enrolled were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The Women wore blue uniforms which earned them the name of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport and the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France. She also served at No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England before returning to Canada in 1919. After the war she married William McKenzie. They lived in Peace River, Snowflake and Pilot Mound where Grace continued her nursing career. She retired in 1952 to Manitou, Manitoba. Source: Health Science Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021); Alberta History Vol 66 #4

Born April 18, 1879, Antrim, Ireland. Died August 26, 1926, Winnipeg, Manitoba ?  In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on staff at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. In may 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The nurses who enlisted were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became known affectionately as 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 16, Canadian General Hospital, the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. After the war she returned to the King George Hospital, Winnipeg.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada, online (accessed  2021).

Born November 17, 1881, Wilnecote, England. Alice was a graduate nurse who signed up in April 1915 as a World War l (1914-1918)Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps  Medical Corps (C A M C) in Montreal, Quebec. The nurses who joined the C A M C were given the rank of Lieutenant.  The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately called 'Bluebirds'. She was sent overseas in May 1915. She served at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital,  Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France, No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, No 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital. After the was she returned to Canada and was demobilized in 1919. Source: No 3 Canadian General Hospital C E F R G online (accessed 2023)

née Cornette. Born March 9, 1889, Orangeville, Ontario. Died 1973, Leduc, Alberta. Ruby enlisted as a nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on  May 5, 1915. She registered with several of her roommates from the Nurse's Home, Kingston, Ontario. The nurses who enrolled were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to N0. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She was then sent to France at N0. 1 Canadian General Hospital for two month. Back in England she was sent to Egypt. In 1916 she was serving at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, France and after a month she was transferred to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital. The hospital was bombed on May 6, 1918 which caused Ruby anxiety and she was found to be fit in July of 1916 to return to duty at No.7  Hospital. After the war she married Dr. Clarence Kidd (Died 1946) in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1919. The couple settled in Leduc, Alberta where they raised their son. Source: Beckwith Heroes , Officers of Beckwith Township. online. (accessed 2021) 

Born August 2, 1886, Quebec City, Quebec. Died August 12, 1977, Outremont, Quebec. Dorothy graduated from nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, supported by McGill University. Later she was one of nurses who were sent to serve in an Anglo-Russian hospital at Dmitri Palace, Petrograd. In 1917 she returned to England to serve as acting Matron at an officer's hospital, London. Her diary (1915-1916) and several photographs taken during her war are preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Sources: Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021)

Born May 30, 1884, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Died July 3, 1963, Sussex, England. Hilda graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1909. She originally worked with the Winnipeg Children's Hospital but soon left her position to work as a private nurse. She relocated to British Columbia to work at the Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops. By 1914 she was working at the Regina General Hospital in Saskatchewan. The following year she was Acting Superintendent at Ninette Sanatorium, Saskatchewan. In November 1915 she enlisted to serve in World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was stationed at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital/No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Clivedon, England, No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, South Hampton, England, No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Canadian Special Hospital, Lenham and also on the hospital ship H. M. A. T. Araguaya. After the war she took courses in child welfare work and was certified by the Central Midwives Board, London, England.  In 1921 she returned to Winnipeg working until retirement in 1952 when she returned to England. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2021)

Born February 6, 1877, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Died October 17, 1934, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Annie graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing.  In February 1916 she enlisted to serve during World War l (191401816) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned they the affectionate name of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served  at Moore Barracks Hospital, England before she was sent to France. She was posted to No. 1 and No. 2 Canadian General Hospitals in France prior to serving at the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in Shorncliffe, England. After the war she returned to Sault Ste. Marie where she worked with the city as a relief officer. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online Class of 1911 online (accessed 2021); The Canadian Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

née Courtice. Born September 26, 1887, Bethany, Ontario. Died August 17, 1963, Toronto, Ontario. After attending Albert College Irene Pearl attended Normal School (teacher's college) and taught school in Fortescue, Ontario. By 1913 she had graduated from the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing. April 7, 1915 she enlisted to served during World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) just a few weeks after her brother Dr. John Thomas Courtice had enlisted. Nurse who served were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and later in France and Salonika, Greece. She also served on transport duty in 1918 on the H. M. H. S. Araguaya. Irene became Matron at the Whitby Military Convalescent Hospital in Ontario. March 30, 1920 she married Rev. Sidney Lambert who became president of the Amputee Association of the Great War (War Amps). Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born August 7, 1891, Guelph, Ontario. Died April 1, 1971, Saskatchewan. Jean graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. In April 1916 Jean enlisted to serve in World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately called 'Bluebirds'. Jean travelled overseas with the Saskatchewan Unit of Nurses and was posted to Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe Canadian Military Hospital, No 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings in England and then in France at No. 6 Canadian General Hospital. She suffered from poor health, extreme fatigue, and a bout with the mumps before she returned home in 1919. She settled in Toronto, Ontario, and worked for the Department of Soldier's Civil Re-Establishment (now Veterans Affairs) In the early 1960's she returned to Saskatchewan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

née Cowie. Born June 9, 1888, Fort McMurray, Northwest Territories (now Alberta). Died February 11, 1982, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. In 1912 Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. The next year she was working as Nigh Supervisor at the Royal Island Hospital, Kamloops, British Columbia. Shortly after she worked in the Operating Room at W G H. By 1916 she was on staff at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Later that year  wanting to served during World War l (1914-1918) she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. While serving overseas she met and married Lieutenant W. Earl Harry. After the couple returned to Manitoba and she became teaching supervisor at W G H from 1928-1932. She served as president ot the Nurses' Alumnae Association in 1932. Until 1959 she worked as Superintendent of both Administration and School of Nursing of Victoria Hospital, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In 1935 she was presented with the King George V Jubilee Medal in 1935. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 24, 1935, Trinidad and Tobago. In the 1960's she immigrated to Canada and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba where she pursued studies to become a Registered Nurse. She would work at various hospitals in both Winnipeg and Toronto including 50 plus years at St. Boniface, Sunny Brook Health Science Centre, Misericoardia Deer Lodge, and Sharon Home. While she worked full time she always had time to help out with the children at school organizing fund raising events and after school activities. After living 20 years in Toronto she returned to Winnipeg in 2010 to live with her daughters. She was the mother of four children. Source: Obituary; Online (accessed 2023)

née Craig. Born March 29,1890, Renfrew, Ontario. Died July 26, 1978, Ottawa, Ontario. Abigail graduated from a school of nursing in New York, U.S.A. Her career began serving during World War l (1914-1918) in Passy, France at the Hospital Française de New York. In 1916 while in London England she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Abigail served at various Canadian hospitals in England and in France. In 1917 she served on the hospital ship, Letitia, caring for soldiers invalided back to Canada. She transferred to a position on land just before the Letitia ran aground and sank off the coast of Nova Scotia. Abigail's sister and  three of her brothers also served during World War l. In the summer of 1920 she married Bernard James Gillies(1889-1967). Source: The Six Nursing Sisters of W W l online (accessed 2024); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2024)

née Craig. Born Renfrew, Ontario. Died 1982?, Dover, England. Janet graduated from the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, in the spring of 1915. In March 1917 she enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1915) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in Montreal. The nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Janet was posted to various Canadian General Hospitals in England. In April 1918 she contracted influenza and bronchitis and was in hospital in Brighton, England. She married a British lieutenant, George William Barnes. She returned to Canada and was discharged from service in 1919. Her sister and three brothers had also served in the Great War. Janet and George returned to settle in Dover, England. Source: The Six Nursing Sisters of W W l online (accessed 2024)

Born April 13, 1923, Wilmot Township, Wellington County, Ontario. Died September 11,  2012, New Hamburg, Ontario. Elsie attended Goshen College in Indiana, and Easter Mennonite College, Virginia, U.S.A. She studied nursing at St Mary’s Hospital, Kitchener, Ontario. Later in life she took extra midwifery training in England. As a Mennonite medical missionary from 1953 through to the mid 1970’s she established a number of health clinics in East Africa. She also established a Leprosarium in Shirati, Tanzania, and the Tom Mboya Memorial Health Centre in Kenya. Elsie was also responsible for setting up midwifery program at various Canadian Universities such as McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, and Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario. All of these universities offer a bachelor degree in midwifery. Her efforts earned her recognition with the Order of Ontario. She retired from birthing babies in 1998 at 75 years of age. In 2010 she was the subject of a documentary aired on C T V.  Source: Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. Online (Accessed July 2014) ; “Elsie Cressman was staunch advocate of midwifery in Ontario.” The Record, Kitchener/Waterloo September 13, 2012. Online (Accessed July 2014) ; “Elsie Cressman” . Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. (Accessed July 2014) Book: Elsie Cressman: A trailblazing life by Nancy Silcox, 2012  (2021)

née Crummey. Born February 25, 1892, Nellore, India. Doris graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wanting to served during World War l (1914-1918), b y April 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore uniforms of blue and were affectionately nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton and No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne, England. After the war Doris married Charles Harrison and the couple lived in California, U.S.A. where she worked as a private nurse. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

née Cuddy. Born June 28, 1887, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Died 1954, Toronto, Ontario. Ada graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1917. After graduation, wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Ada enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was provided the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, West Cliffe Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, and the Ontario Military hospital, No. 16 Canadian General hospital where she served until she was hospitalized with appendicitis. In March 1919 she married Dr. A. E. Morgan in England. After the war the couple returned to Canada and settled in Toronto, Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

née Cutter. Born March 12, 1888, Aldershot, Ontario. Died August 31, 1966, Kern, California, U.S.A. Ethel trained in Vancouver, British Columbia to be a nurse. She relocated to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. in November 1914 to continue her nursing training at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Rather than return to Canada to serve with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A  M C) during World War 1 (1914-1918) she joined and served with the American Red Cross. After the war she relocated to Honolulu in September 1920 nursing at Queens Hospital. In 1922 she married Clarence E. Baxter in California but sadly they divorced in 1924. In 1964 she married Harold L. Jackson. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born February 5, 1892, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died November 29, 1918, Clivedon, England. After graduating from Havergal College in 1909, Ainslie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1916. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. Overseas she served for a year prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in April 1918. Like the nurses before her she was accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, also known as No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England. Shortly after her posting she contracted influenza and then pneumonia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1877, England. Died 1974, Lethbridge, Alberta. While she was still an infant her parents immigrated and settled in Ontario. In 1904 she followed her father and brother to settle in Cardston, Alberta. In 1905 she opened a Children's Shelter which she ran through to 1909 when she opened a private maternity hospital. The city of Lethbridge has names a street in her honour. She soon was a familiar figure working as the first public health nurse in Lethbridge. She worked as a registered nurse at the Galt Hospital in Lethbridge earning her nursing degree in 1919. A generous person, after a staff cut in pay, she gave part of her earnings to supplement the hospital maid's pay. In 1918 her private hospital became a public regional facility where she housed victims of the First World War (1914-1918) Spanish influenza epidemic. In 1922 she retired but continued to care for people in her neighbourhood. St. Mary's Anglican Church named the parish hall Dainty Hall. The city of Lethbridge names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

née Dancey. Born July 4, 1886, Goderich, Ontario. Alma studied to become a nurse at St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, New York City, U.S.A. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918), Alma enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and sailed to England with the second contingent of nurses to going overseas. When Alma left the local Reading and Knitting Club presented her with a pocketbook and a small piece of gold. As a Nursing Sister she was known by the nickname of 'Bluebird' and held the rank of Lieutenant earning $2.00 per day. She was assigned at first to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital and then was sent to the Isle of Lemmos in the Eastern Mediterranean to serve the wounded of the Gallipoli Campaign. In April 1916 she was transferred to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France.  While serving she met an d in the fall of 1916 she married Captain Uberto Casgrain. Since only single women could serve Alma resigned her commission and sailed home on the S S Missanabie. Soon the couple were in England where her was assigned with a staff position at Canadian Headquarters, London. Source: Goderich's Nursing Sisters in the Great War online (accessed 2023)

née Johnson. Born February 8, 1886, Rosscarberry, Ireland. Died September 4, 1974, Brandon, Manitoba. Sarah's family emigrated to Canada in September 1898 and settled at Beresford, Manitoba. In 1908, she was admitted to the nursing program at Brandon General Hospital graduating as gold medalist in 1911. She did her postgraduate work at Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. and returned home to become Assistant Matron of Brandon General Hospital. She was posted overseas in 1914. Working as a nurse during the First World War (1914-1918) she nursed in field hospitals in France, and war hospitals in England. She served Matron of No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross, Second and First Class, the latter being awarded to her by the Prince of Wales in 1919. Returning home in 1919, she became Superintendent of Nurses at Brandon Hospital where she worked to improve the working conditions of nurses and establishing standardized nursing training programs. In 1920 she married Robert Darrach. The couple set up a fresh-air camp for disadvantaged kids at Lake Clementi, south of Brandon that accepted needy children for ten years. In 1934, she was the recipient of the Order of the British Empire. In 1936 she became the Dean of Women at Brandon College where she retired in  1953. She received the Canada Centennial Medal in 1967. Darrach Hall at Brandon University was named in her honour as was Darrach Avenue in the City of Brandon. Source: Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed February 2014) (2021)

Born 1877, Carleton, Ontario. Growing up Lydia’s family moved across the country following their father’s jobs along the railroads. Lydia trained as a nurse in the U.S.A. She was nursing in Ottawa when she married Adam Davis and the couple settled in Toronto. While it was not the norm to allow married women to work as nurses at this time most young married nurses who held training certificated in their maiden names simply revered to using their married name to procure a job. While looking for work in Toronto in 1906 the call came out for nurses from the typhoid infected town of Cobalt in Northern Ontario. The town was desperate for nurses and being married was not a deterrent to hiring anyone. Lydia’s husband was supportive of her volunteering to go north as there were good job possibilities for men or perhaps he could prospect and strike it rich. Lydia may have shared a room with her friend Jessica Batten, Later Dixon,. Lodgings were often crude in the mining town of Cobalt in 1906. The Mining Managers association and churches often found respectable rooms for the incoming volunteer nurses. The rooms came with no bathrooms (outhouses were all that were available ) no running water and heating was from a stovepipe that ran thought the rooms. Lots of blankets were provided. Lydia’s husband would have lodged in a men’s bunkhouse. Nurses worked at the hospital run by Annie Saunders (1866-1932) working long days in rather primitive conditions.  In 1907 Lydia left nursing to have her first child. Little information of the Davis Family is available after this time. . Source: The Sterling Women of Cobalt 1903-1914 by Debra B. North, Kalmar Publishing, 219 revised 2021 p 111-117; Not on find a grave 2024.

Born February 26, 1890, Ontario. Died June 1972, New Brunswick? Winnifred graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she nursed in Canora, Saskatchewan. By 1916 she was working at the W G H in the operating room. In 1917 she became nurse in charge of the operating room at the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in September 1917. The nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she returned to Canada and worked in Toronto for the Child Welfare Department. In 1922 she moved to Rio d Janeiro, Brazil, working for the Rockefeller Foundation as a public health nurse. In 1937 she became the Eastern Supervisor of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), Moncton, New Brunswick.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1914.. online (accessed 2021);

Born November 28, 1880, Lancashire, England. Died February 12, 1967, Brandon, Manitoba. In 1913 Edith graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked at the W G H. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918), in April 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses were given the rank of lieutenant. Yje women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, France and then to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Lemnos Island and Alexandria, Egypt. Returning to England she served at the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe. She was then transferred to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, France. In 1919 she was working at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1922 she relocated to San Francisco, California, U.S.A. to work as a private nurse. In 1927 she was in Illinois, U.S.A., where she took a course in anesthetics. She would return to Canada and settled at the Brandon Mental Hospital, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

née Flash. Born January 30, 1894, Svenskund, Sweden. Died April 27, 1992, North Bay, Ontario. Louise's god mother was her namesake Princess Louise of Denmark (1875-1906). Louise trained as a nurse and worked with the Danish Red Cross during World War l (1914-1918).  In 1918 she married one of her former Russian officer patients Lt. Gleb Nikoleyevich Kiriline. She followed him to Russia when he returned to service fighting with the White Army in the Russian Civil War. In 1919 the couple were captured by the Red Army and separated. Although Louise would look for her husband after her release after a short visit with him, while he was in custody, she lost contact with him and he disappeared in Siberia. Louise worked as a nurse for several years in Russia while looking for her husband. In 1927 she emigrated to Canada where she worked with the Canadian Red Cross in rural northern Ontario. She was the nurse to care for the famous Dionne Quintuplets during the first year of their lives. For her work with the Quints she received the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. Retiring from nursing in 1935 she published the book, The Quintuplets' First Year: The Survival of the Five Famous Dionne Babies and its Significance for all Mothers. she met Leonard Lawrence and the couple married in 1939. Louise became interested in ornithologist studying and writing about birds. She exchanged information with many of the most knowledgeable bird enthusiasts of the day. She would publish numerous articles in the The Auk, the Wilson Bulletin, and the Canadian Field-Naturalist magazines as well as the Audubon magazine. Working just ourside of North Bay in northern Ontario, the most northerly bird banding station in Ontaio she continued to make significant contribution to the scientific knowledge of birds. In 1954 she became the first Canadian woman named an Elective Member of the American Ornithologists' Union. In 1969 she received the Burroughs Medal and the Sir Charles G. D. Roberts Special Award. In 1980 her writings were acknowledged with the Frances H. Knight Outdoor Writing Award. In 1991 the Society of Canada Ornithologists presented her with the Doris Huesitis Speirs Award. In 2024 the Nipissing Naturalists Club established  an annual Louise de Kiriline Lawrence Nature Festival.  Ontario Heritage Trust has placed a historic plaque in her honour in Nipissing District. Laurentian University awards annual scholarships in her name. Some of he papers are retained in the Collections at the Library and Archives Canada. (2024)

née Denmark. Born July 13, 1886, Belleville, Ontario. Died February 12, 1969, Vancouver, British Columbia. Ida began her nursing training at the Montreal Maternity Hospital, Quebec. In August 1909 while visiting his daughter in Montreal she father collapsed and died. graduated from the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, New Westminster, British Columbia in 1912. September 18, 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital LeTouquet, France. This was the first of all Canadian units to set up in France. In July 1916 she resigned her commission and married Dr. Louis Wellington MacNutt. After the war the couple settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born May 3, 1891, Lochgelly, Scotland. Agnes immigrated to Canada in May 1911. She graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario in 1917. After settling in Toronto and enlisted as a Nursing Sister in January 1918 with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisting nurses were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were nicknames "Bluebirds'.  Agnes was posted to Davisville Military Orthopaedic Hospital, Spadina Military Hospital and Base Hospital, Toronto. She herself was hospitalized for influenza, then anaemia and was given a disability discharge on August 31, 1919. After the war she nursed in Toronto. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born July 29, 1890, Carlyle, Saskatchewan. Died March 20, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ruby graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. Right after graduating she  wanted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) so she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and served in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and England. After the war, she returned to Winnipeg and worked with the Manitoba Provincial Board of health. In 1925 she was working out of Brandon, Manitoba. Later she would joint staff at the Out Patients Department of St. Boniface Hospital where she retired in 1956. Ruby was an active member of the WGH Nurses' Alumna Association and enjoyed working on the Alumnae Journal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born July 6, 1880, St. John's, Newfoundland. Died October 26, 1918, St. John's Newfoundland. Ethel attended Methodist College in St. John's prior to attending MacDonald Institute, Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario.  During World War L (1914-1918) she was a volunteer nurse at Wadsworth Hospital, London, England and also at Ascot Hospital. At the end of World War l the world was shaken by a pandemic commonly referred to as the Spanis influenza.  In St. John's the outbreak of thr flue say emergency services set up at the Kign George V Institute.  Ethel was quick to volunteer yet again. Ethel was the only nurse she would dies of the Flu.  A monument stands in Cavendish Square was unveiled by Lady and Governor Sir Charles Harris on October 26, 1920. Ethel is considered one of the Remarkable Women of Newfoundland and Labrador. (2024)

Born 1881, England. Died 1955, Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Jessica trained a s a nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, London, England.  She emigrated to Toronto in 1906 hoping to find a position for work. In 1906 a typhoid break out in Cobalt, Northern Ontario, put out a desperate call for nurses and Jessica soon found herself in the rough and tumble mining town. The town and the churches found presentable rooms for the volunteer nurses but there was still no running water, toilets were outhouses,  and heating was a stovepipe going through the rooms. Lots of blankets were provided for comfort. Jessica may have shared a room with fellow nurse, Lydia Davis (1877-    ), while Lydia’s husband lodged in a men’s bunkhouse. The nurses worked in the hospital run by Annie Saunders (1866-1932) under primitive conditions. In December 1907 Jessica left nursing to may Geoffrey Dixon (1876-1950), an engineer and map maker. Being a well educated couple they were able to afford a better life in Cobalt than most who came seeking their fortunes. The couple would remain in Cobalt for their entire lives raising their six sons.  During the depression of the 1930’s Jessica returned to work at the hospital to help the community. By this time her older children were considered adults and her two younger children were in school all day. The 1991 book, Jessica, is a work of fiction based on facts by Beverly Dixon Mallette, the granddaughter of Jessica Dixon. Source: The Sterling Women of Cobalt 1903-1914 by Debra B. North, Kalmar Publishing, 219 revised 2021 p 111-117; Not on Find a grave 2024

Born June 11, 1878, Gloucestershire, England. Died January 17, 1974, Lethbridge, Alberta. Mildred trained as a nurse in England and for awhile worked with the Queen's Nurses, an English organization similar to the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) in Canada. In 1911 she immigrated to Canada following her brother to Lethbridge, Alberta. She began working at the Isolation Hospital just outside of Lethbridge. She hauled coal  to keep the six coal fires burning. Her assistant was 'fumigated' and allowed out for one day each three months. Relatives left treats for patients outside the hospital fence. By 1828 there was a new quarters for the Isolation Hospital which was furnished with beds from the Grace Hospital. Mildred retired after 32 years in 1950 at 74 years of age, never having taken so much as one day sick leave. The local I O D E chapter was named in her honour. The city of Lethbridge named a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Born April 7, 1887, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea.  Wanting to serve during World War l(1914-1918) C J enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on March 2, 1915. Each nurse was accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and earned the nickname 'Blue Bird'. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

née Drummond. Born July 28, 1882, East Flamborough Township, Ontario. Died October 28, 1985, Burlington, Ontario. Jennie travelled to the U.S.A to train as a nurse at the Episcopalian Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  After graduating she returned to Canada and worked at a hospital in Toronto. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on March 17, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). As a nurse she was granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were nicknamed "Bluebirds.' Jennie was posted to the Base Hospital, Military District No. 2 organizing blood donor clinics. After the war she married Arthur Thomas Field on June 22, 1921.  Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

née Drummond. Born May, 16, 1886, Keene, Ontario. Died September 3, 1961, Peterborough County, Ontario. In 1910 Lylia graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she went overseas to work at Bloomingfield Bridge-of-Allan, Scotland. On October 7, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). As a nurse she was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms that earned them the nickname 'Bluebirds.' Lylia was posted to military hospitals in Ramsgate, London, England, Brighton and Eastbourne, England, She returned to Canada after the war and nursed in Belleville, Ontario. She went on to private nursing in Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A. for awhile and then returned to Canada. November 27, 1942  where she married Robert Plunkett. The couple settled in Keene, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born 1928, Victoria, British Columbia. Died September 26, 1997, Duncan, British Columbia. In 1951 Thurley graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing in Victoria, British Columbia. She worked as a staff nurse at the hospital and went on to become a Head Nurse and Assistant Supervisor. She furthered her education with  a Bachelor of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. From 1966 through 1973 she was Assistant Supervisor of Centennial Pavilion of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). from 1975-1978 she was Building Supervisor of the Heather Pavilion, VGH. In 1978 she became Director of Nursing at VGH. She also served as the 24th president of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia. After retirement she relocated to Shawinigan Lake, British Columbia. Source: BC History of Nursing Society. Online (accessed 2021)

Born June 29,1923, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died November 20, 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia. Beverly studied nursing earning a Bachelor Degree in Nursing in 1945 and earning her Masters Degree in 1947 at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. Later in life she would return to school for her Doctorate (PhD) in Adult Education in 1969. She began her nursing career at the Vancouver General Hospital and in 1957 she became acting director and director in 1960. Beverly was married and the mother of four children. She introduced students to real people as patients and wrote a 1st year nursing textbook, the first of many textbooks in the nursing education field. In 1965 through 1967 she worked for the World Health Organization (W H O) of the United Nations going to India. Back home in Canada she began working at Health and Welfare Canada and with World Health. In Barbados she established a program to prepare teachers for the Health Sciences. In 1982 she joined the faculty of nursing  the University of Ottawa and became director of the School of Nursing in 1987, retiring in 1989. She continued in nursing with W H O going to Fiji, China, Manila, and India as well as producing more nursing textbooks. In 1999 she was presented with the Order of British Columbia and in 2001 the Order of Canada. Source: School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, Online accessed November 2012. ; Obituary.   (2021)

née Rennie. Born November 1953, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Wendy earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. She married Tom Duggleby and the couple have two children. She furthered her education with a Master’s in Nursing at the University of Alberta before heading to The University of Texas Health Sciences Centre, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. to earn her PhD in 1999. She returned to Saskatoon in 2001 to work at the College of Nursing. Her main efforts in research have been on eldercare. She is the founder of Living in Hope Program with the mandate to explore and foster hope in terminally ill health. In 2006 she earned the Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of Saskatchewan before moving to become Professor and acting Vice Dean, for the Endowed Nursing Research Chair in Aging and Quality of Life at the University of Alberta. She is a regular contributor to medical and scholarly journals on her area of expertise and she has contributed several chapters to books on this topic as well. In January 2013 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. Source: Herstory 2012: The Canadian Women’s Calendar (Coteau Books, 2011)  (2021)

Born 1893, Renfrew, Ontario. Died 1975, Shelton, Washington, U.S.A. Lila graduated in 1916 from St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Ottawa, Ontario. She worked at the Mowat Tuberculosis Sanitorium..., Kingston, Ontario. In April 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She was posted overseas in England first in Liverpool and then in Kent County. By January 1919 Lila was back in Canada. In 1921 after the death of her brother she relocated to Shelton, Washington, U. S. A. to live close to her sister Helen. Source; The Six Nursing Sisters of W W l online (accessed 2024)

Born March 25, 1875, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918), Alexina enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 25, 1914. It is possible that she claimed she was born in 1882 to be younger than was allowed to enlist. As a nurse she was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and earned the nickname of ‘Bluebirds’. Alexina was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital. In February 1916 she was on the front in Boulogne, France. She volunteered to serve on hospital ships caring for wounded being sent back to Canada. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered the crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin Source: Alexina Dussault, Library and Archives Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Born February 8, 1883, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 1, 1964, Toronto, Ontario. In 1905 she studied nursing at the John Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Back home in Toronto she began working for the Toronto Department of health and worked her way up to Superintendent of Nurses in the department. In 1914 she established Public Health Nursing in the Toronto City Department of Health. Her advocacy for Public Health Nursing got her fired at the peak of her career. This was an era when nurses were nothing more than hand maids for doctors. Eunice went on and  facilitated the education of public health nurses in a university setting. She developed a visiting housekeeper service which was the forerunner of the Visiting Homemakers Association. She would travel throughout North America and Europe lobbying and encouraging others in the field of Public Health Nursing. After her retirement she established the Second Mile Club for seniors in Toronto. This was the 1st senior citizens organization in Canada. In 1960 the Canadian Public Health Association honoured Eunice with a life membership. The book Eunice Dyke: Health Care Pioneer by Marion Royce from Dundurn Press tells the whole story. Suggestion submitted by Dave Ferguson. (2021)

Born June 11, 1865, Carlisle, Canada West, (now Ontario). Died ???? While living with her brother, Dr. John Murray, in 1901 she worked as a nurse in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She travelled on a medical excursion with her brother and another doctor to Havana, Cuba in 1911. She worked after her Cuban trip in London, Ontario. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on June 2, 1916 Margaret enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nursed were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the name of 'Bluebirds.' When Margaret enlisted she gave the date of her birth as June 21, 1878 so that she could meet the age restrictions of the C A M C. She served in England and in Canada until 1920. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

née Ehlers. Born November 15, 1891, Rapid City, South Dakota, U.S.A. Died July 18, 1978, Salmon Arm, British Columbia. In 1919 Winnie graduated from the Royal Jubilee School of Nursing, Vancouver. British Columbia. She began her career working in Eagle Bay, an new Nursing Station in an isolated area of British Columbia, as a Red Cross Nurse. In 1923 she married Harold Dawson Spence Keighley (1880-1948). The couple lived in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, where they raised their two daughters. Source: Early UBC Nursing Graduates: the Ethel Johns' years 1921-1925. online (accessed 2023); Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2023).

Born January 15, 1889, London, Ontario. Died 1965?, London, Ontario. Susie graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario, in 1914. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on April 5, 1917. Enlisted nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and soon became known as "Bluebirds.' After the war she returned home to London, Ontario. Source: Class of 1914, Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London Public Library online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. (accessed 2021)

Born July 16, 1887, Penticton, British Columbia. Died March 9, 1968, Penticton, British Columbia. As a child Kathleen professed that she always wanted to help people. In 1915 she graduated in nursing from the Johns Hopkins College, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Returning to British Columbia she became Matron of the Vancouver Island Military Hospital in Victoria. She went on to work in Detroit Michigan, U.S.A. and Toronto, Ontario. In 1921 she became Superintendent of Nurses and Principal of the School of Vancouver General Hospital. During this time she was President of the Vancouver Graduate Nurses Association and went on to be president of the Graduate Nurses of British Columbia. In 1929 she enrolled in a Public Health Course at Bedford College, London, England. Returning to Canada she worked as Director of Nursing at the Winnipeg General Hospital in Saskatchewan. In 1930 she had a major role in publishing the National Survey of Nursing in Canada which is a historical milestone in Canada’s nursing history. In 1938 she played a major role in opening the School of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan and served as Director of the school until her retirement. She would serve as vice-president of the Canadian Nurses Association and during World War ll she was the national emergency advisor for the Canadian Nurses Association as well as holding the position of secretary treasurer. During her distinguished career she published numerous articles in the Canadian Nurse Journal. In 1966 she was presented with ‘the Freedom of the City’ from Penticton, British Columbia. (2021)

née Ellis. Born October 27, 1878, London, England. Died December 9, 1965, Vancouver, British Columbia. The Ellis family immigrated to Canada just prior to 1911 and settled in British Columbia. Muriel enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1915. Her enlistment declaration gives her date of birth as 1881 but she may have lied to be sure she would be accepted for service. The nurses who enlisted were given thr rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which accorded the anme of 'Bluebirds.' Muriel served at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France, after a short time with the No. 4 British General Hospital. In August 1916 she was invalidate to Villa Tino Hospital. Fit for service by the end of November she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, England. By February 1917 she herself was in Hospital and given 14 days leave. She was posted to France serving at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Doullens. May 4, 1918 she was again back in hospital. Recuperated she was posted at the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital and later at the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital. December 1918 once again found her in hospital.  By March 1919 she was declared medically unfit and she returned to British Columbia. She was posted for the last time to Hastings Park, Vancouver. In July 1919 she was discharged. November 30, 1929 she married Edward Lawrence Slevin (died 1953). Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Born September 29, 1888, Waterdown, Ontario. Died May 25, 1980, Waterdown, Ontario. Gertrude travelled to the U.S.A. to train as a nurse at Grace Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. After graduation she worked for the Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit. In 1918 she joined the American Red Cross to serve overseas during World War 1 (1914-1918). After the war she returned to work again at the Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit. In September 1921 she took out her American citizenship. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born May 11, 1877, Keady, Ireland. Died Died September 7, 1925, Dublin, Ireland. In 1912 Mary immigrated to Montréal, Quebec. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Mary registered to be Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and enlisted in Montreal May 1 of that year. Enlisted nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and earned the nickname 'Bluebirds.'  Mary was originally posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital Le Touquet, France, and then transferred to England working at the No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in South Hampton, England. By August she was serving on the Greek Island of Lemnos. Here she suffered from jaundice and was sent to England where by February she was once again fit for service. February 23, 1917 King George V himself presented her with the Royal Red Cross 2nd class (A. R. R. C. ). The next month she was serving in Boulogne, France. July 1918 she was with the No. 8  Canadian General Hospital where Canadian Head Matron reported that she was one of the best nurses. She served in various additional locations in France. June 20, 1919 she arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. and was demobilized July 1, 1919. Source: A tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (accessed 2020) (2021)

Born September 14, 1884, Ottawa, Ontario. Died April 23, 1947, Ottawa, Ontario. Nellie trained as a nurse with the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, Quebec. She worked for awhile with the Roosevelt Hospital, New York State, U.S.A. before returning to work at the Royal Victoria Hospital. In 1915, during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as "Bluebirds.' Nellie served overseas at the No 3. Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France, and worked at casualty clearing stations on the front line in France. For her service she was given the Royal Red Cross Medal, The War Medal, the Victory Medal, and the Jubilee Medal. February 26,1940 she was once again service with the Canadian Armed forces as Matron in St. Thomas, Ontario and Halifax Nova Scotia. She retired from the R C A F Hospital in Halifax in February 1943. Nellie was an active member of the Royal Victoria Hospital Association, the Business and Professional Women's Club and the Royal  Red Cross. Source: Newspaper clipping Nursing Sister of Two wars in honored. Ottawa Journal February 18, 1943. online (accessed 2023)

née Bruce. Born July 29, 1878, Cartwright Township, Ontario. Died June 2, 1951, British Columbia? Mabel trained as a nurse in St. Catherines, Ontario. She completed her post graduate work at the Bellevue Hospital, New York, U.S.A. When the Bowmanville Hospital in Ontario opened in the spring of 1913 Mabel became the first Superintendent of the hospital for which she was paid $40.00 an month. She was responsible for teaching the hospital's first class of nurses. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps to serve during World War l (1914-1918). The women wore blue uniforms and gained the nickname ‘Bluebirds.’ She served overseas in England and France with the first Canadian Field Ambulance. She served overseas in England and France with the first Canadian Field Ambulance. For her World War l service she was presented with the Mons Star, Red Cross Medals, and victory medals by the King at Buckingham Palace. After the war she married Charles G. M. Evans and settled at first in Manitoba and then relocated to British Columbia. Mabel's medals and awards were given to the Bowmanville Hospital where they were framed and displayed. Source: Nursing Sisters In Canada - The story of Mabel Bruce Evans by Alexandra Geropoulos, Clarington Museum and Archives. online (accessed 2023)

Born September 6, 1889, Burlington, Ontario. Died July 31, 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Muriel's father was a dentist in Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Muriel Marguerite graduated from Nursing School, Clifton Springs, New York, U.S.A. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Muriel enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on December 15, 1916. The enlisted nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant.  The women wore blue uniforms and earned the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served in several hospitals in England and then at No. 6 Canadian General Hospital, Troyes, France and then to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. In 1919 she herself was in hospital with anaemia. After the war she worked at the Belleville General Hospital and served as Superintendent of Nurses at the new San Jose Hospital, California, U.S.A. She returned home to Canada working for the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N ) in Toronto. She is remembered for her service in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa, the Canadian War Memorial, and on the Manitoulin Women's War Memorial. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born June 26, 1885, Assiginack Township, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Died August 25, 1981. Ida was doing nursing studies at the New York Post Graduate General Hospital during World War 1. In June 1917 Ida, was a member of the New York Hospital Unit with the Army Nurse Reserve Corps. The ship headed to serve in France was rammed by a German vessel and their departure was delayed. Much of their equipment and personal possessions were ruined. In August the group set sail again this time on the S.S. Finland as part of a convoy. This trip they were involved in a battle with a German U-Boat (submarine). The finally arrive at St. Naziare, France where they marches 18 kilometres to a Base Hospital No. 8. While serving at Field Hospital No. 12 Ida display great courage on October 8, 1918 when the hospital was bombed for an entire day. She remained at her post in the operating room risking he own life for 12 hours. She and another nurse received a citation Certificate and the Crois De Guerre Medal from France for their bravery. Both the citation and medal are on display in the War room of the Assiginack Museum,, Manitoulin Island. When she returned home from overseas to Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island she was met by a large crowd who had decorated the town in her honour. Source: Manitoulin Roots. online (accessed 2021)

née Ferguson. Born December 30, 1888, Belfast, Ireland. Died January 6, 1965, British Columbia. Sadie graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, By 1914 she worked on the staff of the Regina General Hospital, Manitoba. Wishing to served during World War l (1914-1915) in February 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian army Medical Corps (C A M C). The nurses were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore uniforms of blue earning them the affectionate nickname 'Bluebirds.' Overseas Sadie was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France, and No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. Suffering poor health she was discharged and returned to Manitoba in 1917. Having recuperated she worked that summer at Keewatin Beach in charge of the convalescent cottage for returned soldiers. She then became Assistant Matron at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she married John Hook and the couple settled in California, U.S.A. and then returned to British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

née Fisher. Marion took some studies at university in 1913 and then attended the British Columbia Norma School (teacher's college). After teaching school for three years she attended the Vancouver General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing graduating in 1919. She was one of the first women to join the newly established University of British Columbia baccalaureate program in nursing. After graduating she was diagnosed with tuberculosis (T B) and was sent to the T B Sanatorium, Tranquille. She improved and finished her recovery on Gabriola Island. She returned to Kamloops to work as a public health nurse. She married Donald Kay Faris on August 15, 1925. The couple became missionaries with the United Church of Canada and served in China. Source: Early UBC Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' years online (accessed)

Born Pontiac County, Quebec. Died November 1, 1988? Montreal, Quebec.  After graduation from high school Eileen trained as a nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal.  She sailed to England where she took post graduate studies. Back in Quebec, she became the first Director of Nursing at the Montreal Neurological Institute. Eileen successfully lobbied for the passing of the Quebec Nurses Act in 1946 which was the firs Canadian legislation that required a licence to practice nursing. She retired in 1961. After becoming a retired nursing director she  taught the legal aspects of nursing with McGill University Faculty of Law. Some of her correspondence is maintained at the University of British Columbia Archives. Source: Famous Women in M U H C History: An Invitation to Discover Some Exceptional Women Who Made Our History, by Dr. Liane Feldman McGill University Health online (accessed 2023) 

Born 1894, Nova Scotia. Died 1918, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. In December 1917, when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12, Including Georgina and her sister Winnifred (1885-1918), making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)

Born 1894, Nova Scotia. Died 1918, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. In December 1917, when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12, Including Georgina and her sister Winnifred (1885-1918), making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)

Died 1954. Rachel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1898. She served as a missionary nurse to South Africa in 1900 and worked at Cottage Hospital, Bloemfontein, where she became Nurse Superintendent in 1921 in charge of both hospital and training school for nurses. She served with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service during World War 1 (1914-1918) receiving the Royal Red Cross Medal First Class from King George V on July 26, 1919. She returned to Winnipeg after she retired and became the first librarian in the Nurses Residence Library. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1898: The British Journal of Nursing, August 2, 1919 pg. 78. online (accessed 2021)

Born November 11, 1884, Port Grenville, Nova Scotia. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Minnie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 25, 1914. All the enlisted nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned them the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Minnie was posted at No. 1 Canadian Casualty Station, Quebec. Serving overseas she was diagnosed with nervous exhaustion on April 8, 1916 and was given two months rest. Returning to duty she contracted bronchitis and was once again in hospital this time at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital near the end of march 1917.  In August of 1917 she served on the H M S Letitia and was transferred to the Ontario Medical Hospital that fall. In March 1918 she was posted to serve on the Llandovery Castle hospital ship. On June 27, 1918, she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts, online (accessed 2021)

Born September 12, 1887, East Flamborough Township, Ontario.  Died ???? Agnes  travelled to the U.S.A. to train as a nurse at White Plaines Hospital, New York. After graduation she returned to Waterdown, Ontario, and worked as a nurse for a year. In 1914 she returned to White Plains, New York with her step-sister who was a student nurse.  Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on August 22, 1916 Agnes enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately given the nick name of 'Bluebirds.'  Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born April 7, 1880, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Died December 1, 1902, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Sara's early education was at Liverpool Academy and later at a young ladies' finishing school. Although interested in becoming a nurse, her father was opposed and it was not until after his death in 1887 that she attended Columbia Hospital, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Under the Canadian nurse Georgina Fane Pope (1862-1938) Sara worked in Montreal, Quebec, with the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N) and then returned to Columbia Hospital as head nurse under Georgina Pope. Back once again in Canada she worked in private nursing. Sara was one of four nurses in the first contingent of Nursing Sisters sent to the Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa in the fall of 1899. Sara, Minnie Affleck (1874-1956), and Elizabeth Russell (1879-???), served under Matron Georgina Pope. The Nursing Sisters were given a rank and pay equal to that of an army Lieutenant. They were the first Canadian military Nursing Sisters to be sent overseas. These were the nurses worked at No.1 General Hospital, and then at No. 3 General Hospital at Rondebosch (Cape Town), South Africa. In May 1900 she assisted Georgina Pope in establishing a temporary hospital and finally worked in Pretoria at a Irish Hospital Sara was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal for her services. Sara returned home for awhile but was soon back in South Africa with the 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles at No 19 Stationary Hospital near Harrismith. She would return to Halifax at the end of the war in 1902 weakened by the overseas ordeal.  Source: D C B (2021)

Born April 18, 1881, Belleville, Ontario. Died April 24, 1918, Bramshott, England. Agnes graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute Nursing School, Ottawa, Ontario in 1906. February 22, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and would be given the affectionate nickname if 'Bluebirds.' Overseas she served at the Kitchener Memorial Hospital, Brighton, England and then was posted to No. 8 Canadian General Hospital St. Cloud, France. In February 1918 she was invalided to England where after a month's rest she was posted to Bramshott, Canadian Military Hospital, England. Within a few weeks she suffered a relapse and died of hemorrhagic peptic ulceration. She is buried in the church yard at Bramshott, England, where her nursing colleagues erected a marble cross. She is also commemorated on a plaque at St. Luke's Church, Kingston, Ontario, where her father was minister. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born November 16, 1880, Renfrew, Ontario. Died ???? Annie Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1907. After graduation she worked in charge of the Operation Room at Galt Hospital in Lethbridge, Alberta. By 1909 she was working in the Operating Room at the W G H. In 1914 she was appointed Lady Superintendent at Ninette Sanatorium in Manitoba. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which lead to them receiving the affectionate nickname of "Bluebirds.' Annie served overseas at No. 5 Canadian Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, and then at a Casualty Clearing Station Hospital in France. In 1918 she was posted to a Canadian Special Hospital, Lenham, England. After the war she settled in London, Ontario, working at the Queen Alexandra Sanatorium. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

née Fraser. Born October 1, 1892, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 28, 1958, New Albany, Ohio, U.S.A. Jess took her step-father's name, Forshaw, as an infant. Jessie graduated from the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing 1915. The following spring she was working at the St. Ann's Hospital, Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.. In 1918 she was working with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and was the first V O N to establish a health centre in Saanich, British Columbia, under the provincial Public Health Department. She travelled throughout the eastern part of the province visiting Women's Institute groups espousing the virtues of public health facilities. In 1922 she was in Quebec teaching Public Health Nursing at MacDonald College, part of McGill University, at the agricultural extension on Montreal Island. She went on a four month extended tour inspecting and surveying in Eastern Quebec, the Maritimes, and touched some parts of Northern Ontario. She relocated to New York State in the U.S.A. for post graduate studies in mental hygiene and by 1930 she was in Queens, New York, working to employ nurses. She was also very active in community life. In 1934 she married Richard M. Bryon and by 1948 the couple had settled in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (2021)

Born June 23, 1878, York Factory, Manitoba Territory. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Daisy spent her childhood at the home of her paternal grandfather in Dawlish, England. She returned to Canada living in Kingston, Ontario, and then attending the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing in Quebec graduating in 1905. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on April 22, 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) serving in France at various hospitals including No 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne Sur-Mer, France. By June 1918 she was assigned to HMHS Llandovery Castle returning war wounded to Canada. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Her name appears on a Halifax memorial at Point Pleasant  Park and memorials in Kingston, Ontario and Dawlish, England. (2021)

Born February 22, 1891, Moira, Ontario. Died February 18, 1949, Belleville, Ontario. Annie graduated with honours in 1917 from the Toronto Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l on May 1, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Enlisted nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became affectionately nicknamed 'Bluebirds.'  She served first at Camp Borden before going overseas where she was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. After the Armistice she was left in charge of the hospital until the patients were transferred or discharged. After the war she travelled to Europe visiting France and Germany. In December 1938 she designed and built a new home in Belleville, Ontario. Sadly when she returned to Canada she never enjoyed good health having contracted tuberculosis during her service.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

née Foster. Born July 28, 1894, Bancroft, Ontario. Died May 1, 1990, Toronto, Ontario Margaret graduated in 1917 from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario. After graduation she worked at the hospital for a few months before wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 5, 1917, she was provided the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately nicknamed 'Bluebirds.'  Overseas she was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Cliveden, England, which was also called the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital. Since married women were usually not allowed to serve she resigned in January 1919 and married Rev. Ernest Harston. The couple returned to Canada after the war. After the death of her husband in 1944 she returned to her nursing career working at the Toronto General Hospital and then at Lockwood Clinic.   Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born October 28, 1889, Hastings, Ontario. Died June 16, 1965, Hastings, Ontario. Helen studied nursing at Grace Hospital, Toronto. In 1914 at the break out of the First World War (1914-1918) Helen enlisted served spend a month in London awaiting her postings. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) anad as an nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. . She sailed overseas on the S. S. Zealand in February 1915 serving in Wimereux, France as the No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, and in Lemnos & Salonica Greece before returning to England. After a brief illness she was posted to a Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Bushey Park, England.  She was awarded the Royal Red Cross (2nd class) medial at Buckingham Palace. On June 1, 1917 she served at the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Clarence House, London. After a short leave when she returned to Canada for the first time since 1915 she was back in England serving at Buxton, in Derbyshire, and then Matlock Bath, Derbyshire. She also served in the Dardanelles, Salonica. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross by King George V in recognition of gallantry under fire when she was wounded while helping to evacuate a hospital in the Middle East. After the Armistice was signed she returned to France serving at Dax and Dunkirk  and traveled through Northern France to Germany. She returned to Canada in 1919 remaining in service in Toronto until October 1920.On April 25, 1921 she married Capt. Gerald Marryat. The couple lived in Montreal, Quebec before retiring to Hastings, Ontario. She became a well known local historian, documenting Hastings and Asphodel, Townships, and Peterborough County, Ontario. After her death her papers, including photographs, letters her diary, and some poems, were deposited with the Archives at Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. Source: digital collections. Trent University. online (accessed 2023)

Born March 20, 1885, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Pearl graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute for Trained Nurses, Ottawa, Ontario, in 1909.  She became Head Nurse at Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Pearl enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 28, 1914. Nurses were provided the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became known by the nick name 'Bluebirds.' Pearl served overseas in England and  at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital in France. In July 1917 she was transferred to Kin's Red Cross Special Hospital, England, and promoted to Matron with the rank of Major. In March of 1918 she was posted to the H M C S Llandovery Castle, a hospital ship that took wounded soldiers home to Canada.  On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Valour Canada, Matron Fraser and the Llandovery Castle. online (accessed 2021)

Born March 27, 1884, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Died December 21, 1980, Shaughnessy, British Columbia. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918), in 1917 Gertrude enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C)  and served in England. The nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and would earn the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds'. After being discharged from service she returned to Canada and settled in British Columbia. She enrolled in the new Public Health Nurse Diploma course at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, in 1920. She worked as a nurse living at first with a brother in Vancouver and then with another brother, a chiropractor, in Richmond, British Columbia. Source Early U B C Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' Years 1921-1925. online (accessed 2023); Bluebirds: Canadian Nursing Sisters of the First World War, Imperial War Museum, online (accessed 2023)

Born July 9, 1886, Skagafjord, Iceland. Died October 24, 1918, Edmonton, Alberta. Christina was a trained nurse and worked at Strathcona's Military Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on January 10, 1918 Christina enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The nurses who enlisted were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Christina died in the isolation section of a hospital from influenza.  Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

née McGregor. Born October 28, 1889, Waterdown, Ontario. Died October 8, 1987, Waterdown, Ontario.  January 27, 1917 Isabella married Herbert Percival Frid in Toronto.  She joined the American Red Cross, In London, England in 1917, as a nurse,  having graduated from the Roosevelt Hospital in New York, U.S.A. The Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) did not accept married women of those  to serve as Nursing Sisters and this may have been the reason that she joined to serve with the American Red Cross. She served in England. Isabella and Herbert Frid would have at least three sons living in Wentworth, Ontario. She was a charter member and served as president of the Garden Club of Hamilton. In the 1960's she was a member of the Hamilton Community Foundation.  Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021);Find a Grave online (accessed 2024.

Born January 10. 1876, Pittsburgh, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Minnie was a graduate nurse from the Protestant General Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on September 2, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in England. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were soon known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

née Galloway. Born April 4, 1893, Freelton, Ontario. Died July 1987, Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A. Evelyn was a trained nurse. On May 2, 1917 she enlisted along with her sister Ruby Lorene Galloway (1888-????) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) at Base Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the nickname 'Bluebirds. She went overseas and served in France. After returning to Canada at the end of the war she married on October 14, 1920 to Albert Edgar Richards, in Hamilton, Ontario. The couple relocated to Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A. in 1928. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born August 17, 1888, Freelton, Ontario. A trained nurse she and her sister Evelyn Grace Galloway-Richards (1893-1987) enlisted as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on May 2, 1917 at Base Hospital, Toronto. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were soon known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds.'  Ruby served overseas in France. After the war she moved to New York City, U.S.A. and worked as a private nurse. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born September 4, 1887, Wakefield, Quebec. Died 1939?, Ontario. In 1910 Laura graduated in nursing from the University of Toronto (U of T). She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on May 4, 1915. Each nurse was accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and earned the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds.' She served overseas at the No. 4 Canadian General Hospital which had been organized by the U of T. She was also posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital. Most of her service was spent on a medical ship in Malta and Salonika, Greece. Laura's war diary, which describes the nurses' social life, is preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.  Source: Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Born May 14, 1875, Pickering, England. Died August 20, 1917, England. A trained nurse, Sarah wanted to serve in World War l (1914-1918) and on April 3, 1917 Sarah enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. She was posted overseas to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, England. She herself was in hospital at the end of June 1917 at Queen Alexandra Hospital. She died of abdomen cancer and is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surry, England. Her name appears on an plaque at Queens Park, Toronto, honouring the Nursing Sisters who died in World War l.  [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021); Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2021)  

Born March 18, 1887, Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Died August 5, 1968, Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a girl, Clare attended a Church School of Girls (later Edgehill School) which was a private Anglican school, Windsor, Nova Scotia. In 1909 she began training at the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing and graduated in 1912. After graduation she worked as a private nurse for three years. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918), in 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and soon earned the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebird'. Clare kept a detailed diary of her war time life. She served overseas at the No 3 Canadian General Hospital sponsored by McGill University in Boulogne-sur-mer, France. She served mainly in France working at various hospitals and for a year at the end of the war working on transport duty with wounded soldiers returning home. Back in Canada she returned to Montreal in 1919 and worked in the Social Service Department of the Montreal General Hospital for 28 years.  Her war diary contains the 1st written reference to the poem In Flanders Field which she copied October 30, 1915 six weeks before it was published in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915. Her original diary is in the archival collections of McGill University and has been edited a published by Susan Mann: The War Diary of Clare Gass 1915-1918 and published in 2000. Source: Clare Gass Fonds, McGill University Archives online (accessed 2024); Canadian Great War Project online (accessed 2024)

née Geen. Born February 7, 1878, Belleville, Ontario. Died August 16, 1972, Toronto, Ontario.  In 1910 Celestine graduated from the Halifax Military Hospital School of Nursing. She enlisted as a nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 25, 1914. Each enlisted nurse was grnted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue univ=forms and earned the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds'.  Overseas she was posted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne, France and also served in England and Belgium. In January 1916 she was hospitalized in England with influenza and nervous exhaustion. In November 1917 she returned to Canada and was discharged in May 1918. December 26, 1918 she married a decorated war veteran Samuel Steele (died 1923).  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

née Gent. Born November 22, 1883, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Died 1967, British Columbia England. Jessie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1909. She immediately began working as Head Nurse of the Maternity Ward at the W G H. In 1910 she left the W G H and worked as a private nurse. In 1913 she became Night Supervisor at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Jessie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in April 1916. Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the nickname of 'Bluebirds.'  Jessie was part of a Saskatchewan Nurses Unit which went to England in July 1916. She served overseas at Granville Special Hospital , Buxton, England, Shorncliffe Military Hospital, Canadian Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, England and No. 8  Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France. She returned to Saskatchewan in June 1919 and later lived with her husband Lancelot Newton (1882-1965) in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1909. online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2021)

Born November 11, 1907, Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S.A.. Died January 1, 1999. Alice came to Canada in 1918. She earned her nursing diploma in 1931 at L'Hôpital St-Vincent-de-Paul in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Alice studied at the University of Toronto to earn a diploma in public health. in 1939. She continued her education with a Bachelor of Nursing at the University of Washington  Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. in 1942. By 1944 she had earned her Master's from Columbia University, New York City, New York, U.S.A.  A public health nurse she would develop into a leading nursing educator. In 1962 she became Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the Université de Montréal,  the first Canadian woman Dean at a French language university. She was the first French speaking  President of the Canadian Nurses Association and was the first Canadian to be President of the International Council of Nurses. serving from 1965 to 1969. In 1967 she received the Canada Centennial Medal and the Florence Nightengale Medal. In 1997 she was named a Commander of the Order of St. John. In 1980 she was named a Dame Commander of the Order of Saint Lazarus. In 1994 she became a Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec and the following year she was inducted as an Officer in the Order of Canada.  (2021)

Born 1855, Galt, Canada West (now Ontario). Died January 1942, Toronto, Ontario. Elizabeth studied nursing at the Toronto Hospital School of Nursing. In December 1889 she was hired at $240.00 per month, to be the first superintendent at the new Galt General Hospital, the first hospital in Waterloo County, Ontario. Included in her duties were that of secretary, dispenser of medicines, admitting and discharging of patients, official treasurer and housekeeper. She had two student nurses in her charge. She left the job five years later saying she was worn out. She took care of her ailing father for the next two years. Moving west she became a deaconess and missionary in the Presbyterian Church of Canada. In 1910 she attended Ewart College and graduated in April 4, 1911. She would serve as Grosvenor and Cooke's Churches.  Elizabeth retired in 1936 and lived in the Belmont Nursing Home, Toronto.  Source: Flash from the Past: Hospitals history of growth at Cambridge-Galt online (accessed 2023): Elizabeth Gibson, Waterloo Region Generations lonline (accessed 2023)

née Griffin. Born 1888, Victoria, British Columbia. Margaret graduated in 1920 from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing (R J H), Victoria, British Columbia. She immediately entered the Public Heals Nurse Diploma program at the University of British Columbia. She worked as a public h nurse in Saanich earning $43.00 a month. She would move to serve at various locations on Vancouver Island.  She would pen several article for the Public Health Nurses' Bulletin over the years. In 1933 she married John Paxton Napier (1904-1947).  Records at the R J H indicated that she had married a second time to Mr. Dowell. Source: Early U B C Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' years online (accessed 2023)

Born September 22, 1889, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died May 5, 1971, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1912 Clara graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing.  By 1914 she was working at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. In 1916 she became Lady Superintendent of the King George Hospital for a year before enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in April 1917. The enlisted nurses who served during World War l (1914-1918) were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were soon nicknamed 'Bluebirds.' Overseas Clara was posted to the No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, the Granville Canadian special Hospital, and the No. 15 Canadian General Hospital all in England. After the war she returned to her position of Lady Superintendent at the King George Hospital. In 1920 she worked on the staff of the City of Winnipeg Anti-Tuberculosis Department. By 1926 she relocated to New York City, U.S.A. to do special nursing. She would go on to nurse in Washington and Virginia in the U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born Tide Head, New Brunswick. Died June 28, 1950. Louella enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A A C) as a Nursing Sister and served overseas. Each nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the nickname 'Bluebirds.' Louella worked at N0. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France, No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station where on October 27 1915 she worked with a patient who had received a blood transfusion, the first such patient at the hospital. She also served at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital at Orpington, England and the Canadian Convalescent Hospital in Wokingham, England. She was discharged from Service September 9, 1919. (2024)

Born March 6, 1890, Coburg, Ontario. Died January 22, 1975, Ontario. Winnifred trained at the St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing, Ottawa graduating in 1913. Winifred enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in February 1915 in London, England. The nurses of World War l were all granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became known affectionately as 'Bluebirds.' Winifred served overseas in various locations in England including the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Moore Barracks, the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, and Clivedon, in France at the No 2 General Hospital. After the war she returned to Canada on the S. S. Lapland.  She was decommissioned in Toronto, Ontario, in 1920. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Nursing at the University of British Columbia. She served as a missionary in Peking, China. Returning home in 1928 she had plans to attend the Yale School of Nursing but no further information can be found. She worked as a social worker at a private hospital in New York, U.S.A. in 1940. By 1974 she was living in Mississauga, Ontario. Source: Great War Project, Library and Archives Canada online (accessed 2023); Early U B C Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns Years online (accessed 2023)

SEE - Jean Cutland Tootoosis-Goodwill

née Graham. Born February 7, 1887, Elmvale, Ontario. Died June 28, 1984, Belleville, Ontario. After leaving high school Mary worked on the family farm and then as a nanny in Toronto. In 1913 she graduated from the Montreal Western Hospital School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on April 14, 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The nurses were accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the affectionate name of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Mary served at the Imperial Stationary Hospital and the Canadian General Hospitals in Rouen and Etaples, France. She was transferred to the West Cliff Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England, where within three months she was admitted suffering from influenza. March 12, 1919 she married Alexander Archibald. In 1925 the couple relocated to Belleville. Mary served as a nurse at the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic, helped organize the Young Women's Guild, and was a member of the School for Leisure which helped women in strained circumstances learn to keep house.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

née Gray. Born May 19, 1892, Brierwood, Manitoba. Died 1975, British Columbia. Katherine graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in January 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was stationed at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, England and then to NO. 3 Canadian General Hospital, France. She returned to England to serve at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks. After the war she joined the staff at W G H. She married L. E. Borden and the couple settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 29, 1881, Beaurepaire, Quebec. Died February 19, 1967, Ottawa, Ontario. Lilly graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing in 1913. She went on to receive a Certificate of Military Instruction from the Divisional School of Instruction in March 1915 in Quebec City. On April 22, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known as 'Bluebirds.' Overseas Lilly served at Canadian military hospital in Etaples and Camiers, France, and then at Shorncliffe and Eastbourne in England. Returning to Canada after the war she worked at the Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. She relocated to the U.S.A. and worked at the Contagious Disease Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and the Henry Street Settlement in New York City, U.S.A. Back in Canada she served with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N ) in Montreal, Quebec, and Renfrew, Ontario. In 1928 she became Superintendent of the V O N in Belleville before settling in to live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born July 3, 1929, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Died September 17, 2012, North Bay, Ontario.  Leila studied nursing at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto becoming a Registered Nurse. The year she graduated in 1954 she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie becoming Sister St. Julia. From 1955 through 1967 she served in various places in northern Ontario including North Bay, Blind River, Elliot Lake and Sudbury.  She returned to school to obtain an Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1963. In 1967 she was appointed as Assistant Administrator at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay). The following year for the next decade she served as Administrator. In 1979 she was appointed Executive Director of St. Joseph’s Hospital and of St. Joseph’s Heritage, Thunder Bay. The St. Joseph’s Heritage was founded on her creative vision of an apartment complex, a nursing home, recreational facility, services for seniors and fine dining in the Georgian Room all in one building.  In 1982 she  returned to Sault Ste. Marie working with  the Canadian Mental Health Association and worked to found the gathering place known as Club 84 for people with mental health challenges. Sister Leila was a devoted Telecare Volunteer and member of the Mount Carmel Parish Choir. She returned to her North Bay Motherhouse. In 2012 a non-profit supportive housing apartment complex was named for Sister Leila Greco in Thunder Bay. . Source: Women’s History Month, City of Thunder Bay, online (accessed 2024); Obituary, September 20, 2012, online (accessed 2024) Sudbury .com

Born February 7, 1891, St. Thomas, Ontario. Died April 4, 1922, St. Thomas, Ontario. Caroline enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in January 1917 in Toronto. Nurses who enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds.' Overseas Caroline was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. At the end of the years she was in hospital for diphtheria. By February 10, 1918 she was fit for duty and returned to duty. In the fall of 1918 she was serving on a hospital ship. In February 1919 she suffered from influenza and returned to Canada to be discharged from service. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

née Hunter. Born October 14, 1867. Died July 24, 1955, Alberton, Prince Edward Island. Alice was a trained nurse. October 30, 1906 she  married George Campbell Gordon (1860-1916) a wealthy fox rancher. The couple had two children. Lucy served as midwife to her community helping with the birth of children with almost every family. Her daughter Alice (1908-1980) also became a trained nurse who served as a medical missionary in western Canada. Alice returned home to care for Lucy when she was ill and remained home becoming a noted local historian. (2022)

Born August 14, 1886, Listowel, Ontario. Died October 9, 1918, Etaples, France. Matilda graduated from the Medicine Hat General Hospital School of Nursing, Alberta. On April 30, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps and ten days later she arrived in England. The nurses who enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) were granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Matilda served at the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, and then at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. She was Struck-off-Strength (S o S) on June 7, 1918 and granted leave through August 1918. She was assigned  to the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital (Queen's University Hospital) in late August 1918. Suddenly, on October 4, 1918, she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with lobar pneumonia and a few days later she was listed as dangerously ill. She died following an attack of influenza and died of double pneumonia. Her name appears on a plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto, dedicated to  Ontario Nursing Sisters who died during World War l. Source: Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group. online (accessed 2022)

Born March 3, 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 4, 1963, Vernon, British Columbia. Ivy graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. For two years she worked as Lady Superintendent of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Kenora, Ontario. In April 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). The enlisted nurses of World War l (1914-1918) were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Ivy was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. She returned to Canada in the summer of 1919. She married Philip Andrews Munson Randal in May 1920. The couple had at least one daughter. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2024. 

Born 1882, Belleville, Ontario. Died June 28, 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Jean at first succumbed to her father's wishes and became a school teacher however desire to become a nurse was strong. In 1905 Jean graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, New York, U.S.A. After graduation she served as head nurse and supervisor for four years at the hospital and  served she did social work in New York City, U.S.A.. She also spent a year as the Assistant Superintendent of Nurses at the Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.A. On September 29, 1913 Jean was appointed the new Superintendent of Nurses, a position she held until 1941. While at the hospital she expanded the nurses training program making it more focused to better prepare the nursing graduates for work. Her service to nursing was recognized with the Order of the British Empire. At the celebration of her 25 years as Superintendent of Nursing at Toronto General, 600 people turned out to take part in honouring her. In 1997 Natalie Riegler published Jean I. Gunn: Nursing Leader.
Source: That I May be of Service - Guiding Hands Part Two Toronto Online (accessed 2023) 

Born September 17, 1917, Aneroid, Saskatchewan. Died November 4, 2014, Victoria, British Columbia. After her nursing training Irma served with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) during the World War (1939-1945). She served in field hospitals on the front lines in Europe where the nursing lieutenant met and served with Dr. Lawrence Hacking (d 1961). At one point he asked her to cut her long hair so that he could use the hair for stitching up wounded soldiers. Romance ensued and the couple were married. Returning from the war the couple first settled in Regina, Saskatchewan, and then in 1955 with three children they moved to Nanaimo British Columbia. Widowed suddenly, Irma became a determined single parent. She refreshed her nursing skills and began working in the admitting department at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. She retired from nursing in 1983 at 66 and began working at a jeweler store. She enjoyed buying jewelery for herself and her daughters. Source: ‘Lives Lived: Irma Elizabeth Hacking’, the Globe and Mail February 13, 2015. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon Ottawa, Ontario (2020)

née Rose. Born June 16, 1882, Manchester, England. Died 1987, Toronto, Ontario. The Rose family came to Canada in 1885 and settled in Elora, Ontario. In 1904 Katherine attended the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1907. After graduation she was hired as Assistant Superintendent of the General Hospital in Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.A. On June 16, 1909 she married Dr. Charles Hair (1876-1953). Charles had been working in Cobalt, Ontario since 1906, so this is where the couple settled. Cobalt was a rough and tumble silver boom town. On July 2, 1909 a fire in Cobalt destroyed the couple’s home. Three weeks later Cobalt was rocked by a typhoid epidemic. A new house, located in the better south side of Cobalt was soon constructed. As a doctor’s wife, even in the better part of town, Catherine would have been expected to support her medical husband, who was on call 24 hours a day, providing care and assistance to patients. Charles would have often been away for days at a time visiting patients in outlying rural areas and Catherine would have had to respond  to answer medical calls often coming with a knock on the door in the middle of the night by an ailing miner.  Charles would serve as the Province’s Medical Officer of Health in Cobalt.  While in the town Katherine was an active member of the Cobalt Presbyterian Church working with the Ladies Aid Society. In 1916 the couple were living in Toronto. Charles served during World War l (1914-1918) with the Canadian Army Medical Corps and after the war he was sent to Russia to tend to casualties of the Russian Civil War. Catherine was on her own with their three children during his years of service. As the family of a prosperous surgeon they were able to afford the luxury of having servants. In the beginning of the 1930’s Katherine cared for her ailing mother who died in 1935. Katherine herself lived to be an astonishing 105 years of age. Source: The Stirling Women of Cobalt 1903 to 1914. By Debora B. North Kalmar publishing 2001 p 125-132; Not on Find a Grave 2025

née Hall. Born August 29, 1888, Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Died January 25, 1977, Indian Head Saskatchewan. In 1912 Evelyn graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. In order to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Evelyn joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and was overseas in 1916. She served a year posted in Malta. In 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England, until April 1919. In 1922 she was on staff at the Social Service Department of the W G H. She married W.R. Patterson and the couple settled in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born May 6, 1897, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died October 14, 1960.  In 1916 she completed a one year maternity nursing course at the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing  and she then completed three more years of nursing training to become a Registered Nurse. She received a scholarship and too post graduate work earning a Public Health Nursing Certificate at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Returning to her home province she worked for twelve years with the Manitoba Department of health at various positions including in Portage-la-Prairie. From 1936 through 1943 she served on the executive of the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. In 1943 she served as Director of Public Health Nurses with the Winnipeg Department of Health. From 1944 through 1952 she served as a National Advisor of the Canadian National Association of Registered Nurses in Montreal. In 1952, with a severe shortage of nurses in Calgary, she became Director of Nursing Services and Nursing Education at the Calgary General Hospital. Here she would take the Calgary General into the modern era a nursing. In the face of budget cuts she resigned in 1960. In 1959 she was named an honourary life member of the Winnipeg General Hospital Alumni Association. She was also a member of the Business and Professional Woman' Club. Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2022) 

Born July 23, 1890, Boissevain, Manitoba. Died June 9, 1969, Boissevain, Manitoba. Lillian was the first woman from her home area to serve overseas during World War l (1914-1918). She enlisted with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Q A I M N S) and sailed from St. John, New Brunswick on December 9, 1916 to England. She served  with the Q A I M N S one year prior to joining as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1917. The nurses who enlisted were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectingly nicknamed 'Bluebirds'. Lily served in Canada and England at No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott. After the war she retuned to Canada and was decommissioned in March 1920. In 1948 she was serving as Matron at the Boissevain Memorial Hospital. Later she operated an nursing home residence for expectant mothers in the family home.  Source: Library and Archives Canada war record. online (accessed 2023); Historic Sites of Manitoba; Halladay House. Online (accessed 2023); Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2023)

née Hambly. Born October 29, 1885, Belleville, Ontario. Died November 1, 1929, Santa Ana, California, U.S.A. Mary travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. to live with her brother Charles and study at nursing school. She graduated about 1910. Back in Canada at the beginning of World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on May 5, 1915. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Mary served overseas at the Canadian Military Hospital, Etaples as well as at several Canadian medical hospitals in England. She suffered influenza, neurasthenia, pleurisy and gastroenteritis during her war service and was often in hospital herself. After the war she retuned to Belleville to live with her parents. By 1920 she was in the U.S.A. November 25, 1926 she married James Young in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born August 17, 1888, Saskatchewan. Died ???? Annie graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of nursing.  By 1914 she was nursing in Revelstoke, British Columbia. She became part of the British Columbia Unit for overseas service when she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in September 1915. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross in England and No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. In 1918 she returned to British Columbia.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born December 24, 1884, Wingham, Ontario. Died September 5, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. On January 30, 1916 Maud enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at Orpington Hospital Kent, England, Shorncliffe Hospital, England, La Treport Canadian Hospital, France Canadian Stationery Hospital No. 3. She contracted diphtheria after being transferred to the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station after a few weeks of beginning her tour at the hospital. She was placed in the base Isolation Hospital and then transferred to England. She died from diphtheria in Toronto.

Died November 30, 1970, California, U.S.A. Charlotte Hardcastle graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she was on staff in the operating room at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia. She served during World War 1 (1914-1918) but it is not known where or with what organization. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg. She married Ian Coltart and the couple settled in California.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

In June 1881 Aimee entered the novitiate of the Anglican order of the Sisters of St Mary at Peekshill New York, U.S.A. She trained as a nurse at Trinity Hospital, New York City, U.S.A. and spent time at hospital missions in New York City. Aimee joined Mother Sarah Hannah Roberta Grier Coome (1837-1921) as she founded the Sisterhood of St John the Devine in Toronto, Ontario. In April 1885 she was among five Nursing Sisters serving in the Northwest Rebellion. The women, Mother Hannah was the Matron in Charge, accompanied by Amelia, Helen Augustine Crouch, Mary Campbell MacKenzie, Florence Caroline Cottle, and Joan Matheson. These women were the 1st women to serve as Nursing Sisters in the Canadian Military. The group reached Moose Jaw Saskatchewan on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle were waiting for them. The nursing sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days. The Rebellion was suppressed by June 26, 1885 and the Nursing Sisters were ordered to return home. Back in Toronto, Mother Hanna and the other nurses in her Order established  St. John House, the city's first women's surgical Hospital. The Nursing Sisters received the North West Canada 1885 silver medal for their service as members of the expedition. (2020)

née Harriott. Born October 11, 1888, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died May 12, 1966, British Columbia. Grace graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. By the fall of 1916 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A MC). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England and then to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital Le Treport, France. While in France she was in hospital herself with appendicitis and spend several months recovering. Fit for duty again she served at West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital and then the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Buxton in England. While in England she married Gordon Tickell. After the war the couple settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 24, 1872, Brantford, Ontario. Died 1944, Brantford, Ontario. Annie studied nursing at the University of Toronto (U of T).  She enlisted to served during World War l as a Nursing Sister and Matron with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). The women when enlisting were accorded the rank of Lieutenant and Matrons, such as Annie, were accorded the rank of Captain. The nurses work a blue uniform which earned them the affectionate nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Annie went overseas with the No. 4 General Hospital from the University of Toronto. She went first to Shorncliffe, England prior to being send Salonike, Poland. Annie was mentioned in dispatches in 1917 and awarded the Royal Red Cross medal in 1917 and then a bar was added to her Royal Red Cross in 1919. When Captain Hartley retuned to Canada she became Matron-in-Chief of Hospitals and Pensions and National Health (now Veterans Affairs Canada). She fought for pensions and rehabilitation services for Canadian war veterans. In 1929 she received the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest honour a nurse may receive. She retired to live in Brantford. Source: Women in War, Canadian Military Heritage Museum of Brant County, online (accessed 2024); Canadian Great War Project online (accessed 2024); Find a Grave online (accessed 2024)

Born April 9, 1892, Kirkwall, Ontario. Died June 25, 1981, Cambridge, Ontario. Marion trained as a nurse in Toronto. Wanting to contribute to the effort of World War l (1914-1919) October 4, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to the Burlington Military Hospital, England, until she was discharged in 1919. After the war she did post graduated studies at Albany General Hospital, New York, U.S.A. in 1925. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born Bloomburg, Ontario. Amorita was a trained nurse living in Brantford, Ontario, when she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Traveling though post world War l (1914-1918) France, Switzerland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, Amorita went to Poland in July 1919 with Mr. and Mrs. Paderewski. She was there to clean up villages and care for the sick. She wrote to her sister of the post war conditions expressing concern for the ragged looking people who had no shoes. Letters to her sister are preserved by the Great War Centenary Association, Brantford, Ontario.  (2022)

Born 1861, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died February 18, 1917, St John, New Brunswick. In 1888 she was one of ten women chosen to tale a trial in nursing training at the Saint John General Public Hospital. All the women remained for two years after their training. After graduation in 1890 she moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick were she took charge of the 20 bed Victoria Public Hospital. In 1892 she was back in Saint John as matron at the Saint John Public Hospital. Here she made changes dividing duties and appointed a head nurse. She was strict with student nurses as shown when she refused to sign graduation certificates for 4 students who had broken rules during training. When the Hospital turned against her decision she left in 1895 and spent the next 3 years as night supervisor at the New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital. After contracting typhoid fever she returned to Saint John and opened a private hospital. She played a role in forming in 1903 the 1st society for nurses in the Maritime Provinces. By 1909 the society admitted all nursing graduates in the city and was called the Saint John Graduate Nurses Association with Eliza serving as its 5th president. The group was incorporated in 1916 as the New Brunswick Association of Graduate Nurses and Eliza helped draw up the by-laws.  Source: D C B  (2020)

Born December 10, 1886, Roland, Manitoba. Died October 23, 1918, Shorncliffe, England. Victoria served with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Q A I M N S) at the Military Hospital of Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) January 1, 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Victoria served with No. 9 General Hospital, Kinmel Park, England. She died of double pneumonia. Her funeral observed full military honours. The Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts maintain part of her uniform and medals.  (2024)

Born July 17, 1873, Ameliasburgh, Ontario. Died November 16, 1960, Kingston, Ontario. Lenora graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1912. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1915) Lenora enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) on May 5, 1915.  Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served in Canadian Military hospitals first in England and then in France.  She served as Night Superintendent at No.1 Canadian General Hospital, France, and was on duty in June 1918 showing courage and determination during an enemy air raid. Returning home after the war she worked at Sydenham Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, until the hospital burned down. She  went to California for awhile after the fire. She retired to Napanee, Ontario, living with her brother Walter Stevens Herrington. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021);  Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)   

Born 1872, Lucan, Ontario. Died December 21, 1943, Montreal, Quebec. Mabel took her training to become a Registered Nurse in 1905 at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. She was the acting night supervisor of nurses before being appointed in 1908 as Lady Superintendent of Nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital. In 1912 Mabel attended the Conference of the International Council of Nurses (I C N) in Cologne, Germany. In 1917 she joined with Grace Fairley of the Alexandria Hospital to work on a plan to establish a higher standard for nurses' training . By 1920 this dynamic duo approached McGill University Faculty of Medicine to establish a nursing school. The plan was approved immediately and the first class in advanced training at the School of Graduate Nurses received their degrees in 1921. In 1925 she was once again in attendance at the conference of the I C N in Helsingfors (Helsinki), Sweden were attendees were called upon to meet again in 1929 in Montreal, Quebec. Mabel served as president of the Canadian Association of Nurses and presided over the I C N conference. She would also serve as president of the Association of Registered Nurses' of the Province of Quebec. For her outstanding service to nursing Mabel was inducted into the Order of the British Empire and received the Mary Agnes Snively Memorial Medal. The Hersey Pavilion at McGill University is named in her honour. (2023).

Born 1871. Died 1936, British Columbia. Isabelle graduated from the Hamilton General Hospital (H G H) School of Nursing in Ontario in 1900. She went on to take a year of training in Montreal with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) Isabelle  was chosen as the first Vancouver nurse for the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in 1901. She would go on to become what is now called an occupational health nurse when she worked with the Britannia Mining Company in Howe Sound, British Columbia in 1905. She opened the first private hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1917 and helped open the Vancouver Military Hospital which would become known as Shaughnessy Veterans Hospital. In 2004 a miniature costumed doll of Isabelle in uniform was displayed by the British Columbia. Nursing History group. In 2006 the Isabelle Hill Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the Family Respite Centre and Home Care Society of BC. Source: B.C. Nursing History Group. Nursing Dolls, online (accessed 2021)

Born Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died November 1972. Judy studied to be a nurse. She worked at the nursing station at Spence Bay in the Canadian north. In the seclusion and solitude of the far north, nurses were forces to also serve as dentists, Public health inspectors and take care of serious heath cases that had to be flown out to Yellowknife Hospital. It was during such an attempt of evacuation that Judy Hill was killed in an airplane crash. The pilot survived the crash but spent a month in the wilderness before being located. The incident was surrounded by controversy as pilot Hartwell decided to use Judy’s body as nourishment to survive. The controversy forced action. The Spence Bay Nursing Station became a hospital, communications to the north were investigated and improved. Evacuation of the extremely ill was written into formal procedures. A foundation in Judy Hill’s name finances specialized northern nursing training. Source: Angel of the Snow: the Story of Judy Hill by Jim McDougall (London, Frederick Muller Ltd., 1977) (2020)

Born 1928, Proserpine, Australia. Died March 8, 2017, Canada. Daphne studying nursing in Australia and worked as a Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife in Australia prior to emigrating to London, England. In 1954 she immigrated to Canada to settle and work in Kirkland Lake in north eastern Ontario and Fort Simpson, North West Territories. In 1957 Daphne joined the Royal Canadian Navy and served in Naden, Rockcliffe, Stratcona. In 1969 she earned a Diploma in Nursing Administration at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Continuing her service she served at Shearwater, Cornwallis, 3 wing Germany, Kingston, Shiloh, and Masset until retirement in 1973.  Returning to Australia she accepted a position as Matron at Wanthaggi District Hospital in Victoria, Australia and was back in Canada  by the late 1970's where she embarked in a ministry of prayer opening Bethany House of Prayer in Greenwood Square under direction of Rev. Claude Shea. She was a member of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Women's League. Source: For Posterity's Sake: A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project, Obituaries for those who served. online (accessed 2023)

Born January 28, 1882, Clontribet, Ireland. Died June 19, 1954, Vancouver, British Columbia. The Hodge  family immigrated to Canada in the early 1900's. Meta graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1916. After graduation she worked in the Military Wards of the WGH. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Overseas she was posted to Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate, England and then to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France. At night on May 30, 1917 enemy aircraft bombed the hospital. Three nurses were killed and Meta even though she was wounded remained at the post helping survivors and evacuating patients until she became unconscious. She was sent to hospital in London, England, and received the Military Medal for bravery. Once recovered she was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she returned to work at the WGH. She later worked as a Public Health Nurse with the Manitoba government. In 1921 she relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. to take post-graduate courses on infectious diseases. Meta returned to Canada and settled in British Columbia working with the Department of Education, Victoria. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021).

Born August 21, 1877, Montreal, Quebec. Sophie trained as a nurse at McGill University, Montreal. During World War 1 (1914-1918) she enlisted on August April 22, 1915 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at No.1 Canadian General Hospital, France, and later she became Assistant Matron at No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station Hospital. During her first year of service Sophie wrote letters home and some of these letters are preserved with the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Sources: Canadian Great War Project, online, (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021)

née Hood. Born August 17, 1887, Shadeland, Manitoba. Died February 28, 1979, Ontario. In 1912 Annie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in May 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served first at Moore Barracks, No. 11, Canadian General Hospital, before serving at No. 10 Canadian Special Hospital, No. 2 Canadian General Hospital and then No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, France. In May 19, 1919 she married W. J. Moorehead in England and the couple returned to Canada.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

née Hood. Born October14, 1874*, Goderich, Ontario. Died April 21, 1948, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Clara moved with her family to Manitoba in 1878. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1901. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1915.  Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served as the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, also known as No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Clivedon, England, for tow years and then was posted to No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station. From there she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France. Her final overseas posting was at Granville Special Hospital, Buxton, England. Returning to Winnipeg after the was she married Dr. John Francis Morrison (1876-1963) on April 22, 1922. She continued in her profession working as a private nurse. She served two times as president of the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. *Some sources put date as December 14,1876. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1901. online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021) Find a Grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

Born December 23, 1884, Glasgow, Scotland. Died March 1959, British Columbia. In 1915 Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She worked after graduation in the operating room of the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Jean was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, England. After the war she took courses in Public Health Nursing at the Henry Street Settlement, a housing complex that offered nursing services to immigrants, in New York City, U.S.A. She also enrolled in post graduate studies at the Teacher's College at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. By 1927 she was on staff at Ninette Sanatorium where she retired in 1943 as Superintendent. In retirement she settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Born September 4, 1888, Ottawa, Ontario. Died July 10, 1970.  In 1900 the Houston family relocated to Saskatchewan. In 1916 Mary graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Service for duty during World War l (1914-1918) and  overseas for a year prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical corps (C A M C) in October 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England, and then in France at No. 7 Canadian Stationary Hospital. After the war Mary worked at the Saskatchewan Sanatorium, Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan where she worked until retirement. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 9, 1888, Ottawa, Ontario. Margaret graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked on staff with the W G H. Wanting to serve During World War l (1914-1918) In 1915 Margaret enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she we posted to No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France, No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, and the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Shorncliffe, England. She returned home to Winnipeg and was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg until 1922 when she relocated to the United States. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021);

Born June 2, 1879, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died April 15, 1964, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Laura enlisted November 15, 1915 as a World War 1 (1914-1918) Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Laura served with the Dalhousie University Medical Unit as unit Matron. She was sent to England in January 1916 and six months later was in France at the No. 7 Canadian Stationary hospital. She also served at the Shorncliffe Military Hospital, the West Cliffe Eye and Ear Hospital, and the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital in England. She returned home to Nova Scotia in 1919. For her services during the war she received the Royal Red Cross 1st Class. Laura retired from nursing in 1938. (2021)

Born February 19, 1889, Mabou, Nova Scotia. Died January 16, 1918, Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Wanting to Serve during World War l (1914-1918) Margaret enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). All the nurses were given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were given the nickname 'Bluebirds. She served at the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Infirmary. (2024)

née Copland. Born April 18, 1849, Kirkgunzeon, Scotland. Died February 18, 1940, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Margaret trained as a nurse prior to her marriage to William Hunter (1845-1894) in 1870. The following year the couple emigrated to Ontario and then moved west to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The couple homesteaded in Llewellyn community raising seven children At the outbreak of the Métis insurrection in 1885 the Copland homestead was an encampment ground for Canadian troops. Margaret used her nursing skills to treat wounded from both sides of the conflict. Source: Saskatchewan Legion, Military Service Book. Online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

Born 1867, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 28, 1907, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.  A few months after her birth her family settled in Alverstoke, Hampshire, England, where she would grow up. She returned to Canada where she studied and graduated from the Montreal General Hospital Training School for Nurses. She worked at first as a private nurse and then relocated to Ottawa to become superintendent of the Perley Home for Incurables. In 1900 she volunteered to enter the Canadian Military as a Nursing Sister and was sent in the second contingent of Nursing Sisters to serve in what was called the Second Boer War in South Africa. The nurses were given a rank and pay equal to that of an army lieutenant. She sailed with three other nurses in February 1900. They served at No. 3 Hospital at Rondebosch and then at Kimberly at a makeshift hospital in a Masonic Temple. They were soon relocated to Bloemfontein to help with an epidemic where Deborah and two other nurses became ill but still continued their work. By July 1900 the Nursing Sisters were in Pretoria serving in an Irish hospital. By December 1900 the women were an their way back to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Deborah was presented with the Queen's South African Mar Medal for her services. She returned to South Africa in 1902 as a member of the British Army temporary unit. She served at the the Canadian 10th Field Hospital as it moved to various locations. She became ill again with enteric fever and had to be evacuated back home in May. After her last enrolment for service Deborah worked as a private nurse in Ottawa. She died while visiting her father in Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. (2020)

Born October 2, 1874, Bray, Ireland. Shortly after her birth Alice and her family immigrated to the U.S.A.  Alice studied nursing at Sr. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.A. She went on to complete graduate work at the Chicago Lying-I Hospital, Illinois, U.S.A. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1914 but transferred and  enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in London, England, on August 29, 1916. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, France. A amateur photographer her war photographs and her war diary are preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Source: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

née Preston. Born October 24, 1917, Regina Saskatchewan. Died February 14, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Helen studied at the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, Quebec, graduating in 1939. She studied to earn a Master of Arts in 1951. By 1953 she began a career in nursing education at the Holy Family School of Nursing, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Two years later she relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba, to raise her daughter and to earn a certificate in teaching and supervision from the University of Manitoba in 1958. In 1960 she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing form Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1962 she began teaching as the University of Manitoba's School of Nursing.  By 1970 she had earned a Master of Education and the following year a Doctor of Education in Nursing all from Columbia University. Helen served as Director of the School of Nursing at the University of Manitoba from 1972-1979. She would also play an important role in establishing the graduate program of nursing and creating the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute. She served as president of the Canadian Nurses Association and the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. In 1977 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1983 she was inducted into the Teacher's College Nursing Hall of Fame at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1984 she worked in helping with the scope and wording of the new Canada Health Act. In 1987 she was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt and the following year the Order of Canada. In 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. The Helen Glass Centre for Nursing at the University of Manitoba was named in her honour.  Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2021) .

née Jaffares. Born November 6, 1895, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 14, 1951, Nanaimo, British Columbia. Isabel graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. That summer she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) to serve during World War l (1914-1945). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas in England she served at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Bramshott and at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington. In France she was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, and No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. Returning to Canada after the war she worked for the Manitoba Board of Health, Winnipeg. She relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia, and worked as a public health nurse. She married John Gibb and the couple lived in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

née Brown. Born May 28, 1873, Kings County, Nova Scotia. Died September 25, 1915, Dardanelles. Jessie enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) as a Nursing Matron on May 11, 1915 in London, England. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was married to Herbert A. Jaggard of Elmira, New York. Although usually only unmarried women were accepted in the R C M C Jessie was one of the exceptions. She served at the No.3 Canadian General Stationary Hospital, Dardanelles,  where she died of dysentery following a break-down from overwork. Source: Two Canadian Nurses die at Dardanelles, The Toronto Globe,, October 16, 1915 online (accessed 2023) ; Nursing Sisters who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars online (accessed 2023)

née James. Born May 14, 1895, Devonshire, England. Died 1976, Winnipeg, Manitoba. After immigrating to Canada, Hilda attended and graduated from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1915. She began her working career as a staff nurse at the King George Hospital in Winnipeg. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918), in the spring of 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Hilda was posted to the No.10 Manitoba Military Hospital at Tuxedo Park. After the war she married Forbes Asher Grassick and the couple settled in Winnipeg. Source: Hilda May James - Children's Hospital Graduates - World War One Nursing Sisters. Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023)

Born 1925, Brussels, Ontario. Died 1997.  Winnifred earned her nursing degree from Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario. She would continue her education studying for her Canadian Public Health Nurse Certificate at the University of Western Ontario in London. She joined the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and became V O N Nurse in charge in Truro, Nova Scotia. Moving back to Ontario she worked at various senior positions with the V O N in Kent County and in North York. By 1958 she was Nurse in Charge of the Sarnia Branch of the V O N. Here she expanded the care to include seniors. She became V O N Director in the Prairies where she remained until retirement. Source: The Story of Winnifred James, Canuckhistorian Project: Canadian History for Kids by Kids! online (accessed 2022)

née Jamieson. Born February 9, 1886, Dumbarton, Scotland. Died October 17, 1982, Victoria, British Columbia. In 1913 Mary graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She returned to Scotland and worked in a hospital in Glasgow for two years prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in  spring of 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became affectionately known by the nick name "Bluebirds'. She was posted to No.12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, England. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as a nurse in Victoria, British Columbia for a couple of years and then relocated to work at the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium in Saskatchewan. She married T. W. Pepper and the couple settled in Victoria, British Columbia in the 1940's.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Born November 20, 1881, Belleville, Ontario. Died March 23, 1954, Utica, New York, U.S.A. Stella May graduated in 1906 from the St. Luke's Hospital, School of Nursing, Utica, New York. U.S.A. January 6, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each nurse was granted the rank of lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and earned the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Stella sailed overseas in the spring of 1916 with the Queen's University Unit of Nursing Sisters. She served at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital in England before leaving for France to serve at the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Treport. From there she was posted to Etaples near Boulogne. She was commended for conspicuous bravery and honour and was awarded England's Laurel Leaf along with the Royal Red Cross First Class Medal and the Victory Medal. Back in Canada she was posted to the Queen's Military Hospital, Kingston before being discharged in the fall of 1919. Returning to Utica, New York she worked as Director of the Utica Red Cross and in 1942 she was presented with the Business and Professional Club of Utica's Scroll of Achievement. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born November 17, 1889, Brookfields, Nova Scotia. Died December 12, 1918, North Finchley, Great Britain. In 1901 Lenna and her family moved to Halifax when her father was hired on as minister at North Baptist Church. in 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing  School. Lenna joined the Volunteer Aid Detachment (V A D) for service in World War l (1914-1918). These units were formed to provide medical assistance in time of war. By April 1917 Lenna was working at a military Hospital in Kentville, Nova Scotia, where nurses were known to work 12 hour days. She went on to work at the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkstone, Great Britain. In October 1918 she complained of lack of strength and was diagnosed with tubercular peritonitis and she was sent to Clarence House, North Finchley, for an operation where she died of septicaemia. Source: Debbie Marshall, War Changes Everything. Online (accessed July 2015) (2021);: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born 1879, England. Died September 2, 1968, Vancouver, British Columbia. Ethel's family emigrated to Canada and family friend, journalist Cora Hind (1861-1942) encouraged the girl to graduate in 1902 from the Winnipeg General Hospital  (W G H) Training School for Nurses. After working in several provinces and in the U.S. she attended Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City before returning to Canada in 1915 as superintendent of the Children's Hospital, Winnipeg. In 1919 she was appointed to the dual position of director of nursing service and education of the Vancouver General Hospital and coordinator of the newly established  program in Nursing at the University of British Columbia. In 1925 she left for Europe to work for the Rockefeller Foundation, establishing training programs and schools of nursing. In 1933 to 1944 she worked as editor and business manager of the Canadian Nurse magazine. After retirement, she collaborated in writing a history of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, a series of health pamphlet and the history of the W G H School of Nursing. In 2009 was declared a Person of National Historic Significance and an historic plaque was placed in the garden adjacent to the University of British Columbia Hospital in 2019 (2020)

Born 1910? Moosomin, Saskatchewan. Died July 1, 1997, Bradenton, Florida, U.S.A. Grace moved with her family to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1918. Grace attended and graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1933. she began her career as head nurse in the Maternity Department at the W G H. In 1940 she enlisted with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as a Nursing Sister to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. She served in Canada and overseas with the neurological and plastic surgery units. Discharged after the war she worked as assistant Superintendent of Nurses at the W G H before continuing her education at the McGill School for Graduate Nurses in Montreal where she obtained her Bachelor of Nursing in 1949. Grace was the first Director of the Maternity Pavilion in Winnipeg when it opened in 1950. By 1954 she was working in Fort William, (Thunder Bay) , Ontario as Director of Nursing at McKellar Hospital. In the early 1960's she became a consulting nurse with Veteran Affairs in Ottawa. She married Cyril Binder and in retirement the couple lived in Florida.  Source: Grace E. Johnson Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023); Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2024)

Born October 17, 1881, Gimili Manitoba. Died January 3,1948, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Inga graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1907. For two years after graduation she served as a staff nurse at the W G H. She took a leave of absence in 1909. In 1910 she was appointed Lady Superintendent in charge of Social Service Department at W G H. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918)  on August 10, 1916 she enlisted, in Kingston, Ontario, as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse received the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and became known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds.' Inga was posted overseas to the No.1 Canadian General Hospital in France. By 1917 she was serving at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France and then at the hospital in Mons, France. After the war in 1919 she completed post graduate course in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. and then resumed duties as head of the Social Services Department at W G H in 1921. She forced by ill health to resign in December of that year. In 1926 she joined the staff of Ninette Sanatorium (now Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes) Manitoba. She relocated to Victoria, British Columbia in the early 1930's  but soon returned to be Matron of the Icelandic Old Folks' Home in Gimili, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online. (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

née Johnson. Born November 19, 1887, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Died December 14, 1973, St. John’s, Newfoundland. In 1920 Sybil traveled to Liverpool England to visit with family and attend Cheltenham Girls School for two years. At 16 she traveled to Germany and studied the violin at the Leipzig Music Academy. By 1909 she was back Newfoundland where she performed at various concerts and charity events. By December 1916 she was back in England where she joined and trained with the Volunteer Aid Detachment (V A D) which was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel during World War l (1914-1918). She nursed at the Western Military Hospital Fozakerley in Liverpool, England, until 1918. Her sister Jill also served at this hospital. Returning to Newfoundland Sybil married a lawyer, Brian Dunfield on August 8, 1918. The couple had three children. She continued to play violin at various charity events. In 1949 her husband was knighted and she became Lady Dunfield. Her wartime correspondence and description of wartime life in England is on Deposit with the Newfoundland Archives. Source: Bert Riggs. The Gazette November 13, 1997. Online (accessed March 2016). Suggestion submitted by Nora Phillips, Newfoundland. (2021)

née Johnston. Born March 9, 1879, Glencross, Manitoba. Died January 17, 1965, Toronto, Ontario. Annie attended the Winnipeg Normal School (teacher's college) to earn her teaching certificate. She taught High School for four years but decided that she wanted something more in life. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1907. She worked as a school nurse with the Winnipeg School Board and was involved with the Medical inspection of schools. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in 1915 she went overseas and served with the Red Cross in Malta. She was posted to Nor 5, Canadian General Hospital, France. In 1918 she married Captain (Dr.) R. Fletcher Argue. The couple returned to Canada in 1919 and she once again took up her position Editor of the W G H Nurses' Alumnae Journal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

née Johnson. Born November 29, 1899, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died July 18, 1992, Vancouver, British Columbia. Beatrice enrolled in the new University of British Columbia Bachelor of Nursing degree program talking a few courses when she attended the Vancouver General Hospital (V G H)  School of Nursing and graduated in 1922. She earned the McKechnie Medal for general proficiency and had the highest marks in her class. After graduation she worked as the head nurse of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Operating room at the hospital. Shortly after she worked as a district nurse with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) in Montreal, Quebec. She worked on the docks giving health lectures and providing pre and post natal care. Returning to Vancouver in 1924 she became head nurse at the V G H emergency department. In August 1925 she married Professor Frederic Wood. After her marriage she no longer worked in nursing but kept in touch through the V G H Women's Auxiliary. During World War ll (1939-1945) she worked with the local Red Cross. She was also active in theatre and encouraged the University of British Columbia Player's Club activities. She was also a patron of the Freddy Wood Theatre which had been build in 1963. Source: Early U B C Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' years online (accessed 2023)

Born Cape Croker, Ontario. Died 1983, Cape Croker, Ontario. Mabel's father, Chief Charles Kegedonce Jones, petitioned the Indian Agent to allow his daughters could go to Nursing School. Mabel traveled by horse and then took a steam train from Owen Sound to Toronto. In 1928 she was the first Indigenous woman to graduate from the Women's College Hospital School of Nursing in Toronto. Her graduation causes a legal stir when her status as an Indian was put on the line as once one became a professional they were no longer a 'Status' person according to the Indian Act. She maintained her status when she married George Douglas Charles, a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, Ontario. Mabel settled with her husband on Georgina Island and worked for the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) for 40 years. She also served as the local midwife. When her husband became ill they moved to the Sutton area and she volunteered at a local hospital. After the death of her husband she moved back to her home at Cape Croker and she she continued to care for the community combining her nursing training and Indigenous practices of healing. She became an reputed expert in the medical use of native plants and she even helped professors from the University of Toronto by sharing her knowledge. Source: Katie Daubs, They Said I was too tall, too big...how three nurses broke through the nursing's starched white world The Toronto Star May 5, 2019. (accessed 2023)

née Jones. Born December 21, 1886, Shropshire, England. Died January 17, 1970, West Kootenay, British Columbia. After the death of her mother Alice, along with her father and brother, immigrated to Canada and settled Shackleton, Saskatchewan. Alice graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on staff at the W G H.  By 1917 she was working at the Brett Hospital, Banff, Alberta. In February 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she contracted influenza in England and was in hospital at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and when she suffered from pneumonia she was sent to the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital. Once recovered she was posted to King's Canadian Red Cross Convalescent Hospital, Bushey Park, Hampton Hill, England. After she returned to Canada in 1919 she was posted to the Saskatchewan Military Hospital, No. 12 District Depot Moose Jaw. In March 1920 she was working at Balfour Tuberculosis Sanatorium, West Kootenay, British Columbia. She married war veteran Charles Holt who operated the local country store and post office. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born November 11, 1890, East India Docks, England. Died June 3, 1983, Gravenhurst, Ontario. . When Cecilia was just three her family broke up. She was placed in one of the English Dr. Barnardo Homes along with her sister Ethel and brother Ernest. In 1901 Cecilia was sent to Canada to the Hazel Brae home, Peterborough, Ontario. She was taken in by the Partridge family of Shanty Bay (near Barrie), Ontario, a good Methodist home and a good farm life. She was teased at school because she was a 'Home Child'. and felt a deep loneliness for her family. Studying at night and working during the day Cecilia put herself through nursing school at the Orillia General Hospital. She went on to nurse at Mount Sinai, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Sick Kids and the Hamilton General Hospital.  In 1930 she went to Northern Ontario as a Missionary Nurse. Cecilia spent seven years nursing her brother Ernest who had served a World War l (1914-1918) and suffered from pleurisy and was living in Hunta, a small Northern Ontario area. She enjoyed life in the north and had a cabin build to live in. She skied, walked, paddled or rode a bicycle to visit patients who often paid for her services with a loaf of bread or a chicken or ham. It was during the long northern evenings that she began to write enjoying correspondence with various people. She wrote to England and eventually connected with her father. Selling her home, Journey's End, in Northern Ontario and went to England meeting her father and an aunt. In 1934, feeling disconnected in England she returned to Canada and settled in Langford Mills on Lake Simcoe and nursed the Ojibwa peoples at Rama.  Here she also worked in Orillia caring for the wife of the author Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) and he encouraged her to write. In 1948 she published the history of Geneva Park , the Young Men's Christian Association (Y M C A) in Langford Mills. In 1954 published her autobiography called No Thought for Tomorrow - The Story of a Northern Nurse. Source: Cecelia Jowett, Her sisters Ethel & Annie, Rose, Violet .... British Home Children in Canada. Online Accessed 2022)

Born November 29, 1892, Sydney, Nova Scotia. Died 1982, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Helen studied nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, graduating in 1916. Helen joined the Canadian Army Military Medical Corps (C M A C) as a Nursing Sister to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Helen went overseas in March 1917 but almost did not make it as the ship she sailed on, S. S. Essequibo,  was stopped by an enemy submarine. The next day the ship arrived safely in Liverpool, England. She was posted at the Canadian Hospital, Orpington, England and by September 1917 she was serving in France. She often worked as an Anaesthetist because doctors were too busy. By May 1918 she was posted to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France, where on May 31 the hospital was attacked by enemy bombers intent on destroying a nearby bridge. She earned the Royal Red Cross Class 2 medal for her exceptional acts of bravery while on duty. Later in 1918 she contracted the Spanish Flu but did survive. Helen served in England until 1919 before returning to Canada. During World War 11 (1939-1945) she served once more working at No. 1 Neurological Hospital, Basingstoke, England from 1940 through 1942.  Source: Nasty Work: The forgotten role of Canada's Nursing Sisters during WW 1 CBC News Nova Scotia November 11, 2021.

Born August 2, 1902, Caernarvon, North Wales, United Kingdom. Died, 1994, Quebec. Nancy seems to have globe trotted for several years going to Bangkok, and Siam (now Thailand). In 1926 Nancy immigrated to Canada and trained as a nurse at the Montreal General Hospital in 1929 in Quebec. With the onslaught of the Second World War (1939-1945) she travelled with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada to England in December 1940. Enlisting with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) she worked as an Assistant Matron at No. 1 Canadian Hospital, Marston Green, England. In June 1942 she was promoted to Major and served as a Matron. The following year was serving at No. 1 General Hospital, Andria, Italy and later moving to Rome. Back in England in August 1944 she served at No. 23 Canadian General Hospital, Leavesden. Returning to Canada on January 1, 1946 she took the position of Director of Nursing at St. Anne's Hospital at St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec. She retired in 1967 and the following year served as president of the Canadian Nurses Association. Nancy is buried at the National Field of Honour Cemetery, Pointe Claire, Quebec. Some of her war time mementoes are maintained at the Archives, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Source: Angels of Mercy: Canada's Nursing Sisters in world war l and ll. McMaster University. Online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

Born April 22, 1889, Beckwith Township, Ontario. Died 1988, British Columbia. A trained nurse Jean served with the Dr. Depage unit in Belgium which was the firs exclusively military hospital established during the Balkan Wars (1912-1914). She Enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as part of the first 107 Canadian Nursing Sisters to serve in World War 1 (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was granted the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were affectionately known by the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Jean served at the first Station Hospital and then the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Buxton, England. She was also posted to The Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke, England and served in Salonika, Greece. After the war she settled in Ducks, British Columbia and married Kenneth Alan Ramsay (Died 1949)  in Grimsby, Ontario. The couple lived in Cariboo, British Columbia. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. online (accessed 2021)

née Hastey. Born April 8, 1888, Wakefield, Quebec. Died October 26, 1941, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1911 Lulu moved to Kingston, Ontario, and started nursing at a nursing home. On August 14, 1913 she married George Edward Kidd (died 1948) when he was studying medicine at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. Lulu enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on May 5,1915 and began serving beside her husband. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Lulu was one of the few married women who was allowed to enlist. While married women were not usually accepted in the C A M C, Mrs. Kidd was most likely accepted to serve with her physician husband. She was posted to N0. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital and later at No. 7 Canadian General Hospital. After the war the couple settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba and later to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. on line (accessed 2021)

née Kier. Born August 8, 1890, British Columbia. Died December 7, 1982, Senora, California, U.S.A. Lillian graduated from St. Paul's Hospital School of Nursing, Vancouver in 1913. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Lillian served overseas in France until August 1919. She received the French Medal of Honour for her service. After the war she returned to Canada and took the Public Health Nursing Diploma program offered by the University of British Columbia. She worked as a school nurse for Duncan and Genoa Bay, British Columbia. In February 1927 she married Henry Roberts in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. After her marriage she worked as a private nurse in Senor, California, where the couple settled. Source: Early U B C Nursing Graduates: The Ethel Johns' Years online (accessed 2023)

Born 1924, Chengdu, China. May studied nursing in Canada at the Women's College in Toronto, Ontario. She went on to do some postgraduate studies in Montreal prior to accompanying her father Leslie Kilborn (1895-1967) back to Chengdu China in October 1949,  May worked at the University Hospital at West China Union University (W C U U) making her the third generation of the Kilborn family to do medical work in China.  May returned to Canada in 1951. Source: Offspring of Founder (O. L. Kilborn, Canada) of Modern Medical Science in West China Visited Sichuan. online (accessed 2022)

Born June 21, 1890, Scott's Settlement, New Brunswick. Died July 6, 1991, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A. Annie would train as a nurse. During World War l (1914-1918) she served with the United  States Nurse Corps. After the War she married Harrison Wadsworth Hill (1894-1952), a civil engineer. , On September 1926. Source Wartime Heritage Association Remembering World War l online (accessed 2024)

Born September 14, 1880, Kemptville, Ontario. Died November 10, 1943, Manitoba. Susan graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on March 27, 1917 to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Susan was posted to No. 16, Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England . She suffered poor health and spent several months in hospital.  She returned to Winnipeg in the spring of 1919 and later in 1923 she relocated to Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. She eventually returned to Manitoba and worked at the Ninette Sanatorium. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

née Palmquist. Died February 28, 2008, Toronto, Ontario., Alice was a nurse and teacher of Nursing with the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. She served as a nursing sister and sub-lieutenant with the Canadian Navy during World War ll (1939-1945) She was stationed at Greenock, Scotland, on the Hospital Ship H M S Naiobe, and Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. After the war she returned to school earning a Bachelor of Nursing from McGill University, Montreal in 1947. After graduation she joined the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and later became director of nursing at Imperial Oil. Alice married Curtis E. King in 1950 and the couple had one child. She returned to school once again to earn a degree in Public Health at the University of Toronto (U of T) in 1967 and worked as a public health nurse for the Region of Peel, Ontario, until her retirement in 1986. Source: Obituary, Toronto Star online (accessed 2024)

Born June 8, 1892, North Vancouver, British Columbia. Died April 4, 1919, Boulogne, France. Jessie graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia, in 1916. By the spring of 1917 she had enlisted to serve in the Canadian Medical Corps (C A M C) in response to the call to service in World War l (1914-1918) Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. By June of 1917 she was serving at the 9th Canadian Stationary Hospital. She went on to serve with the 12th Canadian General Hospital and the 1st Canadian General Hospital and the 14th General Hospital at Wimereux, France. It was here she was hospitalized in November 1918 with influenza. She was in hospital as a patient again in the spring of 1919 . She is buried in the British Cemetery in Terlincthun, Boulogne,  France. Source: A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts Online; Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) Veteran Affairs Canada Online. (2020)

Born 1923. Died April 16, 1987, Laval, Quebec. Cécile studied to be a nurse and graduating from L'Ecole des gardes-malades.  in 1947. Her first job was in the operating room at the hospital in Laval, Quebec. By November 10, 1957 she and a few partners created the first general hospital in Sainte-Rose, Quebec. The hospital was at first located in a family home but soon moved to larger quarters housing 30 beds that was run by Cécile. Throughout the 1960's she remained a major player in the development of health care in Laval. With a diploma in hospital administration she had earned in 1963 and additional studies at the University of Montreal in 1967, she was the only woman to be a member on the Commission Paiement dont les travaux meneront à la Creation de la Santee, Laval, Quebec. Cécile's son Raymond would study to become a doctor. (2023)

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née Flach. Born January 30, 1894, Sweden. Died April 27, 1992, Pimisi Lake, Ontario. Louise was named for her godmother, Princess Louise of Denmark. Her possible life as a rich socialite was cut off when she became a nurse during World War l (1914-1918) serving with the Red Cross. At the end of the war in 1918 she married a young lieutenant from the Russian Imperial Army, Greb de Kiriline who died in revolutionary Russia. While in Russia and with her husband incarcerated she ran an Red Cross orphanage. In 1927 she immigrated to Canada taking a position as a solitary nursing outpost in Bonfield, northern Ontario. Having gained a strong reputation for her nursing skills she became the head nurse for the famous Dionne Quintuplets in May 1934. Upset with the Ontario Government treatment of the five babies she retired from nursing in 1935. The following year she published the book; The Quintuplets' First Year. She married a carpenter, Len Lawrence, in 1939 and the couple had a cabin on Pimisi Lake. Retirement allowed her more time to pursue her lifetime interest in nature. She became interested in the wild birds about her home and earned herself the title of Bird Lady of Pimisi Lake. She went on to write scientific articles and five books about birds becoming an international accredited ornithologist. She was the first Canadian women to be elected to the American Union of Ornithologists. In 1969 she earned the John Burroughs medal, and the Sir Charles G. D. Roberts Special Award. In 1980 she earned the Frances H. Kortright Outdoor Writing Award for her autobiography To Whom the Wilderness Speaks. Sources: Ontario Historical Plaque; the Canadian Encyclopedia.

née Lazier. Born July 2, 1891, Belleville, Ontario. Died December 12, 1975, Chatham, Ontario. Marguerite Merle studied nursing around 1914.  She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on August 10, 1916 to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was commission in the fall of 1917. She married Captain Dr. Wilfred Tyrer (died 1940). Marguerite retired to Chatham, Ontario living with her daughter.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born 1924. Died 1994. Mary Gabriel graduated from the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing. In 1948 after her graduation she entered the Sister of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island. She went on to study Pediatrics at the  Toronto Sick Children's Hospital in Ontario. Returning to Charlottetown she became Supervisor of Pediatrics at the Charlottetown Hospital in 1954 through to 1964. She then became a clinical supervisor at the Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island Schools of Nursing. In 1973 she was appointed Director of the Prince Edward Island School of Nursing, a position she held until retirement in 1993. Sister Mary Gabriel also enjoyed painting and many of her works are hung at Mount St. Mary's. The University of Prince Edward Island created an Memorial Award in nursing in her honour. Source: Prince Edward Island University. online (accessed 2022)

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Born May 17, 1848, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, U.S.A. Died July 24, 1927, Val-Morin, Quebec. When her father retired from the British Army the family settled on Lac des Deux Montagnes in Quebec. Nora graduated from the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses in the U.S.A. and worked on staff at the hospital after graduation. February 20, 1890 she began working at the Montreal General Hospital in Quebec as hospital Superintendent. By April 1890 the Montreal General Hospital had accepted its first students at the School of Nursing. She imposed draconian rules of conduct on students and nurses hired at the hospital. April 17, 1905 she was instrumental in establishing the Club of Graduated Nurses of the Montreal General Hospital known as the Livingston Club. In 1940 the Nora Livingston Scholarship Fund was established. Nora Livingston established the model and standards for other nursing schools to follow where nurses were relieved of domestic housekeeping duties and were centered on patient care. In 1954 the Livingston Hall nurses residence was opened at the Montreal General Hospital. Source: D C B (accessed 2021); Famous Women in M U H C History McGill University online (accessed 2021)

Died 1971, Edmonton, Alberta. Jessie graduated in 1914 from the Renfrew Victoria Hospital School of Nursing in Ontario. Jessie and her classmate Margaret McMahon of Horton enlisted as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. The two friends were overseas to the same Ontario Government Military Hospital, Orpington, England. After the was the family relocated to Edmonton, Alberta. Source: The Six Nursing Sisters of W W l online (accessed 2024)

née McKenzie. Born January 12, 1895, Loggieville, New Brunswick. Died June 4, 1972, Kamloops, British Columbia. Wilhelmina took her nursing studies in Boston in the United States. After graduation she joined the United States Army Nursing Corps and was stationed in Kentucky, U.S.A., and Puerto Rico. Returning to Canada after her military service she first settled in Dauphin, Manitoba, prior to continuing to settling in British Columbia.  In 1920 she took the graduate Public Health Diploma program offered by the University of British Columbia.  She worked as a public health nurse in Kamloops, British Columbia. She is considered the first public health nurse to serve North Thompson Valley arriving in January 1921. She married a local rancher, Roy Livingstone (died 1964) and raised five children. After her marriage she worked as the Postmistress in Little Fort, British Columbia while also working as a volunteer nurse in the Little Fort Community. She assisted in industrial accidents at local mills and mines and during an epidemic of scarlet fever. Wilhelmina was a life member of the local Women's Institute and an honorary life member of the North Thompson Fall Fair Association. Source: Valley Voices From the Past in Clearwater Times November 28, 2021 online (accessed 2023)

Born September 28, 1884* Gladstone, Manitoba. Died January 3, 1939**, Manitoba. Isabel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1908. After training she relocated to Fernie, British Columbia, working at the general hospital. Within the year  resigned and accepted a position as nurse with the T. Eaton, Company. In June 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Isabel was posted to the Kitchener Military Hospital Brighton, England and then to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, England. She suffered bronchitis and was diagnosed with epilepsy and deemed unfit of service and was discharged to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg, in 1918. After the War she once again took her nursing Position at the T. E Eaton Company. She also worked at the Selkirk Mental Hospital in Manitoba. * Tombstone states birth date as 1882 but CAMC record says 1884. ** death sometimes reported as December 1938. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Class of 1908. online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Helen studied nursing at the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A.  She worked as a private duty nurse until she was asked by Jean Gunn (1882-1941) to become Assistant Superintendent and Director of Nurses at Toronto General Hospital. She served a Assistant until the deal of Jean Lock in 1941 and she worked for a year as acting Superintendent and Directoer of the School of Nursing before retiring in 1942. (The last years of her life were spent at the Altamont Nursing Home, Scarborough, Ontario.  Source: That I may be of service - guiding hands part 2. Toronto (accessed 2023); Personal knowledge

née Long. Born 1889, Devonshire, England. Died 1992. Rosalind immigrated to Canada to join her brother in Elkhorn, Manitoba in 1906. In 1910 she entered the Winnipeg Children's Hospital School of Nursing and became the first graduate of the course in 1913.  She began her career as Director of Nursing at the Columbia General Hospital in South Carolina, U.S.A. for one year. Back in Winnipeg she worked as Head Nurse of the Infant's Department. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918)  she volunteered to serve with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve in 1916. Posted to England she served at the Royal Victoria Hospital. Her brother, Wilfrid, an Anglican minister, was in action October 1917. After the war Rosalind returned to work as a public health nurse in The Pas, Manitoba and then volunteered for missionary service with the Anglican Church of Canada. For 22 years she served in Anglican missions in many northern reserves throughout the province of Alberta, British Columbia and British Columbia. Working as a nurse for the Manitoba Department of Indian Affairs she became the first northern Health Nurse in the province. In 1941 Rosalind married a Dr. Simpson  and the couple worked at St. Michael's School Preventorium in Alert Bay, British Columbia. The couple later settled in Victoria, British Columbia where Dr. Simpson opened a medical practice. The couple retired in 1946. Source: Rosalind Long, Class of 1913, Children's Hospital Graduates - World War one Nursing Sisters. Heal Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2023)

née Scott. Born September 26, 1926, Owen Sound, Ontario. Died December 17, 2023, Marisse graduated from high school in Owen Sound, Ontario with honours. In 1947, wanting to became a nurse she took preliminary training in a Red Cross course in home nursing. She applied to various Ontario nursing programs but was always refused. At last she applied to the Own Sound General and Marine Hospital to enroll in the nursing program. She was refused entry into the course because of the fact that she was Black. Evidently the hospital feared patients would be traumatized by a Black nurse. Her minister, Rev. Allan Ferry, spoke out on Marisse's behalf and sparked a national outcry. Even the town mayor went to the provincial government on her behalf. St. Joseph's Hospital, Guelph, Ontario, offered Marisse a place in their training program. While attending school she took the position of chair of the nurses' social committee. She graduated in 1950 becoming the first Black woman to become a Registered Nurse in the Province of Ontario. Marisse married Greaham Eric Louisy, a veterinary student she had met while at school, and the couple had at six children and an adopted son. They moved to St. Lucia in the Caribbean where she worked as a nutrition specialist for the Island government. Later in life she returned to Canada and settled in Barrie, Ontario.  Source: September 26 Marisse Scott Louisy, September Black Canadian Calendar online (accessed 2024);Marise Louisy, by Roberta Avery, The Toronto Star, August 6, 2002 online (accessed 2024): Tribute to Marisse (Scott) Louisy February 4. 2021, Owensound hub, online (accessed 2024); Obituary , Arbor Memorial, Barrie, Ontario, online (accessed 2024);Negro Girl Popular Nurse February 281950, Toronto Telegram, online (accessed 2024);

Born March 2, 1884, Seaforth, Ontario. Died May 30, 1963, Ariss, Ontario. In 1915 Ellie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wishing to answer the call to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in May 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Ellie was posted in Canada to the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg, also known as Deer Lodge Convalescent Hospital. She was discharged in August 1919. After the was she relocated to Saskatchewan where she worked at the Sanatorium in Fort Qu'Appelle. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 26,1886, Morayshire, Scotland. Died May 28, 1918, Etaples, France. Margaret's father brought her and sister to Canada settling in Binscarth, Manitoba where thy had relatives. In 1916 Margaret graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing and enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in March 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Margaret was posted to No.16 Canada General Hospital, No.10 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 4 Canadian General Hospital in England. By 1918 she was in France at the No.10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Calais and then No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. May 19, 1918 German aircraft attached Etaples with 116 bombs, one of which fell near the nursing sisters' quarters. Nursing Sister Katherine Macdonald (1893-1918) was killed outright, and Margaret  was one of seven nurses wounded. Her name appears on a plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto, dedicated to the Ontario Nurse Sisters who died in World War 1.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 2, 1875, Brooklin, Ontario. Died December 23, 1954, British Columbia. Effie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1900. She relocated to British Columbia and on September 13, 1915, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918).  Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Effie served at the No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing station, No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece, serving as Acting Matron, and at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. Back home in British Columbia she was posted to the Esquimalt Military Hospital until being discharged in April 1919. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899/1900. online (accessed 2021)

Born June 10, 1889, Westbourne, Manitoba. Died March 30, 1965, Regina, Saskatchewan. Lilian graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Answering the call to service during World War l (1914-1918)  on February 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Lilian served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, France and No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. After the was she lived in the United States working as a private nurse in California and Arizona. In 1923 she returned to Canada to work with the Saskatchewan Department of Education in the Regina public school system. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Born July 21, 1880, Sarnia, Ontario. Died December 16, 1959, Calgary, Alberta. Roberta was a graduate from Macdonald Institute of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario (Now University of Guelph.) In 1912 she was hired by the Alberta Government to offer “institute” courses for rural women across the province. As well the Alberta Department of Agriculture had her conduct a survey to determine the viability of a provincial Women’s Institute. Roberta was what was called a new woman participating in society out of the home in non-traditional ways through education, employment and civic engagement. In 1914-1916 she worked for the Edmonton Public School Board creating the 1st Department of Domestic Economy (Home economics) in Alberta. In 1916 she left her job to serve as a lieutenant during World War l. She served as a dietitian in the Canadian Military Hospital in Orpington, England. In 1917 the Alberta Military Representation Act allowed the 38,000 Alberta soldiers and 75 nurses overseas to elect 2 representative to the Provincial legislature. On September 17, 1917 Robert Pearson and Roberta MacAdams were elected. Roberta was the second woman in the Empire after fellow Albertan Louise McKinney to be elected to office. In 1918 she became the 1st woman in the British Empire to introduce legislation when she brought forward a bill to incorporate the War Veterans Next of Kin Association Bill. After the 1st legislative session she was back in Britain with the Khaki University which provided women’s staff for continuing education for overseas Canadian forces. Back in Alberta in 1919 she served as district Director of the Soldiers Land Settlement Board. After this position Roberts married lawyer Harvey Price and was less prominent in the public eye. Source: Our Future, Our Heritage. The Alberta Heritage Digitization Project. Online (accessed May 2014) ; Roberta MacAdams and the New Woman. Alberta’s Women’s Institute. Online (accessed May 2014). (2020)

Born 1881, North Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. Died 1969, New York City, New York, U.S.A. After graduating from the Notre Dame Academy, Charlottetown she went to the New York City Training School for Nurses and graduated in 1905. She worked in new yor becoming surgical assistant and office manager for a Dr. George Brewer. When World War 1 (1914-1918) broke out she served with Dr. Brewer. The doctor and his team signed up twice for service. They served at the British Casualty Clearing Station No. 61 at Poperinghe, Belgium they were only four miles from front lines. The medical encampment was bombed and Beatrice was wounded becoming blind in her right eye. She was the first seriously injured person from the American Army during the war. She returned to her unit in Etretat. She went on to serve as Chief Nurse at the American base at Baccarat in the spring of 1918. She also served in Coblentz, Germany, before returning home in time for Christmas that year. She received the American Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Purple Heart. She was also presented the British Military Medal for bravery in the battlefield and the the Associate Red Cross Medal which was given to nurses for exceptional duty. From France she received the Croix de Guerre. This accumulation of medals made her the most decorated nurse of World War 1. In 1924 she became an an American Citizen. Source: Bedeque Area Historical Museum Facebook. online (accessed 2021)

Born March 11, 1888, Canon Bridge, Scotland. Died November 23, 1969, Roblin, Manitoba. Jean immigrated to Canada in 1908. She graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg and then relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, to work in the operating room of the hospital. In January 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as part of the Queen's University Unit from Kingston, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms which earned the nickname of 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted at the Granville Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, England before being transferred to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, France. In the spring of 1919 she was presented with the Médaille des Epidemies 'en argent' , an award from France given to Nursing Sisters for attending wounded civilians under fire.  By June 1919 she was back in Canada posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1922 she was working on staff a city hospital in Mexico. By 1933 she was working special duty in New York, U.S.A. She returned to live in Roblin, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born June 20, 1880, Copper Lake, Nova Scotia. Jessie graduated in 1915 from the Victoria General Hospital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Jessie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on April 3, 1916. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Jessie served overseas at Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Uxbridge, Moore Barracks Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She resigned August 20, 1917 and returned to Halifax.  Jessie was also part of the head nurse of operating staff at the Victoria General Hospital during the aftermath of the Halifax explosion in 1917 when staff worked straight for two-three days and nights. Source: History of Victoria General Hospital online (accessed 2021)

Born July 25, 1893, Brandon, Manitoba. Died April 14, 1992, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jessie enlisted to serve in World War l (1914-1918) on May 18, 1917 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe and Granville Canadian Special Hospital. In France she served at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport where she herself was in hospital with influenza. She also spent some time in England with influenza. She returned home to Canada in 1919. Jessie married Nathanial Macdonald and the couple raised two children together. Source: Great War Project Nursing Sisters, Online (accessed 2021)

Born October 31, 1878, Brantford, Ontario. Died ???? Josie moved with her family first to Emerson, and then to Portage, Manitoba in 1906. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1910. Her first job was as Nurse Superintendent at the Lashburn Hospital in Saskatchewan. A year later she was employed as a private nurse in Portage la Prairie. Josie enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) July 21, 1916 at Camp Hughes, Manitoba. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital/No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England, and then in 1917 to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She was also posted to No.  Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France, surviving several enemy air raids. After the war she spent two years nursing in La Jolla, California, U.S.A. Returning to Canada she nursed at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1926 she joined the staff of Deer Lodge Hospital where she worked until her retirement in 1940. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 18, 1893*, Brantford, Ontario. Died May 19, 1918, Etaples, France. Katherine studied nursing at Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario, graduating in the spring of 1915. Katherine enlisted to serve in World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C)  on April 16, 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No.10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Eastbourne, England, and then in January 1918 she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. On May 20 1918 the hospital was bombed in an enemy air strike. 66 patients and staff were killed during the bombing. Katherine became the first Canadian Nursing Sister casualty of World War 1. Nursing Sisters Margaret Lowe and Gladys Maude Mary Wake also died of injuries sustained in this attack. Katherine is buried at the Etaples Military Cemetery, France. She is commemorated in the  Canadian Book of Remembrance, The Canadian War Memorial, Halifax, and with a memorial plaque at Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario. Source: We Remember, G W C A; Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada, online, (accessed 2021)  **find a grave Canada  lists birth date as January 18, 1886

Born February 26, 1873, Bailey's Brook, Nova Scotia. Died September 7, Bailey's Brook, Nova Scotia. Deciding to go to the United States Margaret graduated from the New York City Hospital School of Nursing in 1895. After graduation she worked for three years as a private nurse in New York. In 1898 Margaret served as a Nursing Sister during the Spanish American War in Cuba. In 1900 through 1902, Margaret was  one of the first Nursing Sisters from Canada to serve internationally when she served in the Boer War in South Africa with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. By 1904 she was tending to yellow fever and malaria patients in the Panama Canal Zone. In August 1914, Major-General Dr. Guy Carleton Jones, Director of Medical Services for the Canadian Army invited Margaret to Ottawa to ask here to mobilize Canada's Nursing Sisters. She became Matron-in-Chief of Canadian Nursing Sisters in Europe durint World War l (1914-1918) with the rank of Major. At the time of her appointment there were five Nursing Sisters in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and by the end of the war there were 1,201. She was the most decorated Nursing Sister among the Allied Forces. After the war she returned to retire in Bailey's Brook, Nova Scotia. Source: Vignettes Medical History of Nova Scotia online (accessed 2024)

                                      
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Born January 15, 1886, Saskatchewan. Died 1951. U.S.A. Edith graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1908. After her training she worked for a short time in Fernie, British Columbia, before returning to her home province and working in Maple Creek. She then returned west taking a position as Lady Superintendent, Kamloops Hospital. By 1916 she was working as a private nurse when she joined the Queen's Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. She was stationed at first for a year in Malta and then in late 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at the No.10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England prior to being posted in France. While in France she suffered from appendicitis and required an operation at No. 24 General Hospital, Etaples.  Once recuperated she was sent to No. 12 Canadian General Hospital. Back home in Canada in 1919 she worked as a Public Health Nurse for the Manitoba Provincial Board of Health in 1920. Later, relocating to Prince Albert , Saskatchewan working at the Victoria Hospital. She then left to work at Iverson Memorial Hospital, Wyoming, U.S.A. and eventually nursed in San Diego, California. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1908.

Born November 18, 1891, Saskatchewan. Died November 1967, Ontario. Jessie graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She enlisted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in the spring of 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate and No.16, Canadian General Hospital known as Ontario Military Hospital, England. In France she was stationed at No. 7 and No. 2 Canadian General Hospitals, Le Treport. Going back to England she served at No.11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks. After the war she worked in the United States as an anaesthetist at St. Mark's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio and then as a private nursed in California and Hawaii. She also worked as Nurse Superintendent at one of the Mayo Clinic Hospitals. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg School of Nursing 1916. Online (accessed 2021)

Born June 30, 1880, North Gower, Ontario. Died 1947, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1909 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she relocated to Vancouver British Columbia where she worked as a private nurse. In August 1916 she enlisted to service in World War l (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in Kingston, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital  No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow. In France she served at No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and then to N0. 7 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport.  Back home in Canada after the war she worked with the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N) in Ontario. IN 1921 she took a course in Public Health in Toronto and then returned to British Columbia where she worked at Kamloops Hospital.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg Online (accessed 2021)

Born July 19, 1910, New Lowell, Ontario. Died July 12, 2002, Toronto, Ontario. In 1932 she graduated from the Toronto Women's College Hospital School of Nursing. She then did post graduate work in psychiatric nursing and nursing administration at the Whitby Mental Hospital. She retuned to work as an operating room supervisor at the Women's College Hospital in 1936. On September 10, 1939, one day after Canada entered World War 11, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She was posted to No.15 Canadian General Hospital organized as the Toronto Military Hospital. In June 1940 she went overseas to England. She was posted to No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott Chase, England and then to a plastic surgery unit in Basingstoke, England, where she was promoted to Nursing Sister in Charge. In 1943 she was serving at No. 5 Casualty Clearing Station. She was promoted to Matron with the rank of Captain. In 1944 she was posted to No. 8 Canadian General Hospital in England, Holland, France and Belgium. In December 1944 she was promoted to Principal Matron with the rank of Major. At the end of the war she took on the task of closing several Canadian General Hospitals. Dorothy returned to Canada after the war and was appointed as Women's College Hospital's Superintendent. She served at the hospital for 30 years retiring as Executive Director in 1975. After her retirement she joined the staff or West Park Hospital as Executive Director for four years. In 1976 the City of Toronto presented her with the Toronto City Award of Merit. In 1981 she was inducted into the Order of Canada.

Born February 22, 1881, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died February 12, 1969, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Florence's Father died when she was just five years old leaving her mother with five young children. Florence suffer many of the childhood diseases of the day such as measles, scarlet fever and others, any of which were considered deadly at the time. She also had to have her appendix removed. Nothing stopped Florence. She entered the Victoria General Hospital (V G H) School of Nursing where she endured 12 hour work days seven days a week. She graduated in 1909 and became a Night Supervisor at the V G H prior to being Assistant Superintendent of Nurses. At the beginning of World War l (1914-1918) Florence worked at the Military Hospital in Halifax. May 12, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She sailed to to serve in England and then in France at the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and also in Rouen and Etaples. After an air raid in Etaples in November 1916 she began having dizzy spells and at one point was confined to bed. She also suffered from extreme nervousness, an inability to sleep, poor memory, balance problems, and depression. She was sent back to England for treatment staying in a convalescent home in London. She was soon invalided to Canada and diagnosed with 'Shell Shock' (now P T S D). She spent some time in care in Montreal but eventually returned to Halifax and was discharged in July of 1919. After the War Florence worked a a clerk in local stores until she retired in the 1940's. Source: Gone but not forgotten - part 2: Sister Florence Louisa MacInnes and the Great War, Halifax Public Library,  online  (accessed 2024)

Catherine graduated from the Victoria General Hospital School of Nursing in 1918. In December 1917 when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. Eveline Pemberton, a night supervisor at the hospital, lead the first contingent of eight nurses, including Christine, to help Boston. Christine earned the name of 'The Nightengale of Nova Scotia' for her care and devotion to her patients in Boston. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12 making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)

SEE - Physicians

Born 1917. Died 2002. Mary was a Sister of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island. Sister Mary worked in nursing a Charlottetown Hospital. She became supervisor and an instructor in the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing (C H S N). In 1969 she became the first Director of the Prince Edward Island School of Nursing. She served on the executive of the Canadian Nurses Association. From 1973 through 1981 she was the Congregation Leader of the Sisters of St. Martha. The University of Prince Edward Island presents a memorial Award in Nursing in her honour. Source: Prince Edward Island University online (accessed 2022)

née Thompson. Born October 16, 1881, Whitby, Ontario. Died October 31, 1976, Wiarton, Ontario. Edna became a young orphan and was raised in Clarenceville, Quebec by her aunt Edna Mary Caldwell,. Edna graduated in 1903 from the Nursing School in Belleville, Ontario earning the Gold Medal for her studies. In September 1904 she married Donald MacLachlan in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. She worked at the Manhattan Hospital in New York and raised her family She relocated to work in Montreal, Quebec, when she became estranged from her husband. In 1915 she graduated from the Divisional School of Military Instruction, Quebec City and within a few months enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse in World War l (1914-1918) was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at a Canadian Clearing Station in France. While posted in France her post came under enemy fire several times and for her bravery was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms by the French government. After the war she reunited with her veteran husband and the couple settled in Toronto. In 1973 the couple retired to Wiarton, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Born February 15, 1874, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. Died 1969, Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. Kate was the niece of Prime Minister Robert Bordon (1854-1937). She graduated from the McGill University nursing program in Montreal. When the university set up a war unit during World War l (1914-1918) Kate was appointed as Matron serving at the McGill Canadian General Hospital No 3 in Boulogne, France. She was in charge in January 1918 when Lieutenant Colonel Dr. John Macrae, (1872-1918) became ill and died. John Macrae was the author of In Flanders Fields. For her war Service Kate earned the Royal Red Cross which was presented to her by the king. Source: Lives of the First World War, Imperial War Museum online (accessed 2024);Heroes of the First World War, Saltwire, online, (accessed 2024)

née Black. Born June 24, 1913, Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. Died October 19. 2019, Ottawa, Ontario. Isobel relocated, with her family, to Edmonton, Alberta in the 1920’s. After high school she courageously enrolled in a five year degree program at the University of Alberta. Isobel was one of just three graduates in 1936. For awhile she was assistant Supervisor for the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N). From 1944 through 1949 she earned her Master’s degree in Nursing Administration from Columbia University in New York City, U.S.A. After graduating she took a position of Director of Nursing and Principal at the School of Nursing at the Montreal General Hospital in 1953 and remained until retirement in 1975. At first some were skeptical, since she was not a graduate of the School of Nursing. She was the first director who was not a graduate. Sometime later she was presented with a nursing cap of the Montreal General Hospital and she wore it with pride. The School of Nursing now provides an annual Isobel MacLeod Award for nursing assistants. She would oversee 1,852 graduates during her tenure. In 1953 she also married. Alistair William Thompson MacLeod (died 2004) psychiatrist and after her retirement from the School of Nursing she worked with him as his Montreal practice. In the mid 1990’s the couple retired and moved to retirement living in Ottawa. In 2003 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  Source: Sonia Mendes, ‘Nursing Pioneer’s reflections at 101’. The Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.(2020)

Born 1934, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died April 2, 2021. In 1955 JoAnn graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing. Ten years later she had returned to school and graduated from the university of Manitoba. Her nursing career took her to Los Angles and San Francisco in California, U.S.A, to England and finally back in Canada to Calgary, Alberta.  She eventually settled in Winnipeg and worked with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), the Manitoba Public Heal Department , and the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. In 1971 she had worked as a nurse consultant i the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) and chronic pulmonary disease giving workshops around the world. In 2001 she retired and joined the Canadian International Development Agency on a project in Guyana. In 2021 she was named a Manitoba Woman Trailblazer by the Nellie McClung Foundation. Source: Memorable Manitobans (accessed 2022); Obituary online (accessed 2022)

Born November 12, 1882, Scotland. Died 1962. Mary Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1911. She worked as a staff nurse at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan in 1915. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in May 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Margaret was posted to the Kitchener Military Hospital (No. 10 Canadian General Hospital), Brighton, England. Returning to Canada she was appointed to the Winnipeg city Bureau of Child Hygiene in 1920.  In the early 1930's she relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. working as a private nurse. She eventually moved to Victoria British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

née MacNutt. Born March 10. 1912, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Died August 1990, Prince Edward Island. In 1938 she graduated from the P.E.I. Hospital School of Nursing. As a youth she had been part of the Girl Guides and she continued her services as an adult for over 50 years. In 1935 she received Their Majesties Silver Jubilee Medal for her work with the Girl Guides. Wanting to serve during World War ll (1939-1945) in 1941 she enlisted with the Royal Canadian Medical Corps and was sent overseas in 1943 to work in England and Italy. While working in Newfoundland she received the Royal Red Cross First Class for deeds during a dynamite explosion in Lewisport. She was the first Canadian nurse in World War ll to be so honoured. She also received the Italian Star for her services in that country. Returning to civilian life she worked in the North West Territories before taking additional nursing courses at McGill University, Montreal. In 1949 she married Norman MacRae of P.E.I. She would continue her nursing career through to 1969 also continuing community service with the Women’s Institute, her church and other community projects. Source: Outstanding women of Prince Edward Island Compiled by the Zonta Club of Charlottetown, 1981. (2020)

Born March 2, 1891, Brandon, Manitoba. Died May 30, 1918, Doullens, France. Agnes studied nursing in Winnipeg. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on May 30, 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'.  Agnes was killed during an enemy bomb while in the operating room at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital Etaples, France. Two other nurses were also killed in the same bombing, Dorothy Mary Yardwood Baldwin (1891-1918) and Eden Lyal Pringle (1893-1918). 

Born 1889, Moosehead, Nova Scotia. Died April 10, 1963, Prince Edward Island. When she was a child her family moved to Prince Edward Island where Anna grew up. She attended Prince of Wales College and became a teacher. After several years teaching she switched careers and in 1923 she graduated from the P.E.I. School of Nursing. She took additional courses at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, and in 1926 became Superintendent at the P.E.I. Hospital. This new position allowed her to use her teaching skills with student nurses. Later she took courses in Medical Records in Toronto, returning, as always, to P.E.I. she retired from nursing in 1952. Anna held various positions in the Registered Nurses’ Association and in 1931 established and was the first president of the Nurse’s Alumnae. She received the King George V Medal at the Jubilee celebration in recognition of services, loyalty and professional nursing skills.   Source: Outstanding Women of Prince Edward Island Compiled by the Zonta Club of Charlottetown, 1981 (2020)

Baptised November 12, 1606, Langres, France. Died June 18, 1673 Montreal Lower Canada.. As a young reader she had enjoyed the Jesuit Relations, published reports of priests in the new world and thus she became interested in foreign missions. Jeanne joined the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. She sailed as the first lay nurse for New France May 9, 1641 with financial support from some wealthy patronesses and landed in Quebec in August. She founded Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Montreal in the fall of 1642 with construction taking place in1645. In 1651 Iroquois attacks on Ile de Montreal forced her to close the hospital and take refuge in the fort. in the Winter of 1657 she was inured as the result of a fall and lost the use of her right arm and she sailed to France in 1658.to seek help to run the hospital. While in France she recovered the use of her arm and returned to New France within the year. In 1998 Jeanne Mance was declared a National Historic Person. Sources: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Online; The Canadian Encyclopedia, Online. (2020)

Born March 12, 1934, Melville, Saskatchewan. Died December 17, 2019, Regina, Saskatchewan. At elementary school Dorothy enjoyed sports including track and field, Hockey and curling. She trained as a nurse at the Saskatoon City Hospital Student Nurse's Program graduating in 1955. She worked for a year and then using a scholarship she attended the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan earning a diploma in Teaching and Supervision. In 1957 Dorothy married Elton Marshall and the couple had one son who survived infancy. She taught at the Regina General Hospital, Provident Hospital, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Nurse supervisor at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, Admissions Nurse at the Ontario Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, and Student Nurse Teacher, Stratford General Hospital, Teaching Master, Humber College, Toronto and Teaching Master at Sir Sanford Flemming College, Peterborough, Ontario. She was also a board member of the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N) in Peterborough and Regina, Saskatchewan.. While in Kingston, Ontario, she was a member of the Elizabeth Fry Society visiting female inmates at the Prison for Women (P 4 W). Source: Obituary. online (accessed 2022)

Born November 26, 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died 1955, Whonnock, British Columbia. Katherine graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. By that fall she answered the call to service for World War l (1914-1918) and had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Granville, Canadian Special hospital, Ramsgate, Canadian Convalescent Officers Hospital Kent, and West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England. In France she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. After the was she returned to Canada settling in Whonnock, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

née Matheson. Born September 27, 1892, Onion Lake, Saskatchewan. Died July 22, 1991, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gladys graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked at No.10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg.  By November 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each World War l (1914-1918) enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Serving overseas Gladys was posted to No.14 Canadian General Hospital. Eastbourne, No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England, and was transferred to France serving at No.3. Canadian General Hospital. After the war she married Colonel S. M. Crim and the couple lived in several cities in the United States. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021)

Born April 23, 1874, Clinton, Ontario. Died April 22, 1938, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1899 she and her family relocated to Manitoba. Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1899. After graduation Jean did some private nursing and  worked as the Superintendent of Nurses at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan- From 1901 through 1906 she was Matron of the Royal Island Hospital, Kamloops, British Columbia. The following year she took a position as first Lady Superintendent of the new provincial Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Tranquille, British Columbia. By 1912 she was home in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, for a short  time prior to becoming Superintendent of Nurses at the Queen Victoria Hospital  Revelstoke, British Columbia where she opened a school of nursing in 1914. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on September 14, 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and was assigned as Matron with No. 5, Canadian General Hospital Salonika, Greece, for two years. Later she took charge of the clearing hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, England. She also served at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital in England. She received the Mons Medal, the Royal Red Cross Medal, the Victory Medal and later the King George Jubilee Medal in recognition of her war time service. Returning to Canada in 1919 she was posted as the second Matron of the Shaughnessy Military Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia where she worked until retirement in August 1937 when she returned to Winnipeg. In 1946 the Jean Matheson Pavilion was built at Shaughnessy Hospital. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021); B C Nursing History. Jean Matheson Memorial Pavilion. online (accessed 2021)

 Military Nursing Sister Riel Rebellion

Born May 20,1842, Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scotland. Died June 11, 1916, Perth, Ontario. Joan was born while he mother was visiting family in Scotland. She was brought up in Perth, Upper Canada (now Ontario). In 1881 she entered training at Bellevue Hospital Training School for nurses in New York, City, U.S.A. After graduation she worked at New York's St Luke Hospital. In 1885 she was one of 12 nursing sisters who joined the military expedition to the Canadian Northwest Rebellion. This was the 1st time the Canadian Military included Nursing Sisters for service. The call went out in April 1885 by Dr. James Bell (1852-1911), Surgeon Major in charge of Base Hospitals, for trained nurses only. The group served under Matron Mother Sarah Hannah Roberta Grier-Coome of the order of the Sisters of St John the Devine, An Anglican Order of nuns out of Toronto. The group of Nursing Sisters reached Moose Jaw on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle were waiting for them. The Nursing Sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days not loosing one patient. The Rebellion ended on June 26, 1885 and the women were discharged from the military. Joan returned to New York City to St Luke's Hospital. In 1889 she was Head Nurse at the Bellevue Training School for Male Nurses. Joan retired in 1891 and returned to her home in Perth. She would receive the North West Red Cross silver medal for her services during the Northwest Rebellion. While the Nursing Sisters term of service was short it laid the basis for using trained female nurses in future military conflicts such as the Boer War in South Africa. Source: Joan of the Northwest. Online (accessed 2020)

née McBean. Born August 3, 1895, Emerson, Manitoba. Died April 5, 1987, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Margaret attended and graduated from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital School of Nursing in 1916.  She began her working career at the King George Hospital in Winnipeg and after a year worked in private duty nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in April 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Margaret served at the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital at Tuxedo Park until June 1919. November 19, 1921 she married Robert Hayward (1862-1985)and the couple settled in Medicine Hat and raised two children. In 1932 the resettled in Winnipeg where Margaret was active with the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E). Source: Margaret Grace McBean - Children's Hospital Graduates - World War One Nursing Sisters. Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023)

née McClelland. Born September 23, 1884, Letellier, Manitoba. Died February 24, 1966, Morris, Manitoba. Ruth graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. After graduation she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and then to Skagway, Alaska, U.S.A. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Ruth was posted to No.10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, No.14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne, Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton, No 15, Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, and No, 16, Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. Returning to Canada at the end of the war she married Robert Moody and the couple lived in Morris, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1914.. online (accessed 2021);

Born July 29, 1885, Ripley, Ontario. Died March 24, 1962, Vancouver, British Columbia. Janet graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba.  She worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1915. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted as Assistant Matron tat the Canadian Military Training Camp Sewell Camp, near Carberry, Manitoba. In 1916 she was discharged from the C A M C and joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service serving for a year before she once again enlisted with the C A M C. Overseas she was posted to No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England. She returned to Canada in 1919 . By 1922 she was working as a private duty nurse in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Returning to Manitoba she worked on staff at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg. The following year she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born April 10, 1895, Staffordshire, England. Vera immigrated with her family to Canada when she was a youngster. She attended and in 1916 graduated from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital School of Nursing. After graduation she worked as a staff nurse at King George Hospital in Winnipeg. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in April 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Vera served at the No.10 Manitoba Military Hospital (Tuxedo Park). In November 1919 she married John Hugh Vincent Clayton and the couple settled in Winnipeg. She is known to have worked as a shop clerk from 1946 to 1951.Source: Vera Cynthia McCluskie, Children's Hospital Graduates - World War One Nursing Sisters. Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2023)

Born August 14, 1880, Ashton, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Mabel trained at the Royal Jubilee Nursing Schoo in Victoria, British Columbia. For a number of years she worked in the United States and was living in San Francisco, California when World War l (1914-1918) broke out. She returned to Canada that year and enilsted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each nurse was accorded the rank of Lieutenant. The women wor blue uniforms and were given the affectionate name of "Bluebirds". Mabel was assigned to No. 5 General Hospital, London England. She als served at the Red Cross Hospital at Taplow, England and went with the No. 5 hospital to Salonika, Greece.  By 1917 the No. 5 was re-established in Liverpool, England. In June 1918 she was aboard the H M H S Llandovery Castle headed back to Canada. On June 27, 1918 the ship was torpedoed by a German Submarine whos captain felt that the red cross marked ship was actually carrying munitions. Some of the members on board were able to get to life boats but the German Captain , not seeing an explosion from munitions on the ship began firing at the survivors in lifeboats so that there would be no witnesses to his mistake. Mabel was killed in one of the lifeboats. She is memorialized on a Halifax Memorial to those who died at seae during World War l. She is alo named on memorials at Strathcona Hospital, Halifax, at Elizabeth Anderson Hospital, London , England, and the Beckwith, Ontario, War Memorial. Although her body was never recovered her name appears on the family headstone in the local cemetery.  Source: Perth District Historical Society, Born at Perth; Making their Mark online (accessed 2024)

Born May 7, 1889, Drummond Township, Ontario. Died November 16, 1918, Cobourg, Ontario. Rebecca  wanted to serve during World War l (1914-1918) and she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in June 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Rebecca developed middle ear disease while on duty at the Ontario Military Hospital, Cobourg, Ontario. She was transferred to Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston, for treatment. She recovered only to have a recurrence of the problem that developed into meningitis. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)  .

Born March 10, 1895, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died ???? In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked on staff at the W G H. Travelling overseas in 1915 to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Margaret enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in France. She was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Touquet, and then at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. After the war she worked as a private nurse for two years in Santiago, California, U.S.A. In 1922 she relocated to Arizona, U.S.A. where she worked in public health nursing before taking a position in Saskatchewan with the Public Health Department. From 1925 through 1943 she was a nurse at the Saskatchewan Normal School (Teacher's College). She would retire to Vancouver British Columbia when she retired in 1943. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Agnes  Buchanan McIntyre-Whiddon 4260

Born March 22, 1858*, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died December 8, 1912, Toronto, Ontario. Agnes immigrated to Canada in 1882 originally settling in Montreal, Quebec, before moving to Toronto in the mid 1980's. For work as a nurse at the Toronto Smallpox Hospital in 1888 she received $100.00 and a gold medal from city council. By the 1890's she was provided a haven for girls and street children in her home. In 1892-1893 she was superintendent of the Night Shelter for Woman  and in 1895 and of the Gospel Mission Rooms in 1894. In 1897 she was matron of the Shelter for Girls. On January 27,1898 she married Edward Gauthier Whiddon, a widower and became step mother to his four children. At one point just prior to her marriage she had worked as a part-time police Matron. January 1899 she became Matron fond for 13 years and her office was set up to accommodate her living on site at Police Court Station No. 1. While she was tough enough to handle tough female inmates she was also known on occasion  to pay legal expenses of needy women. In March 1910 an assistant matron was hired and Agnes was transferred to police headquarters so she could attend Police court.   *this date appears on her gravestone however Mach 22, 1863  Source D C B (accessed 2002 (2023)

Born November 23, 1891, Moncton, New Brunswick. Died August 5, 1920, Albany, New York, U.S.A. Ruth graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) by March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Uxbridge and then the No.10 Canadian General Hospital known as the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England. Transferred to serve in France she contracted influenza. She returned to Canada February 1919. After the war, Ruth worked as a special duty nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

Born Toronto, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Mary graduated the nursing school at the Rochester General Hospital, New York, U.S.A. in 1903. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Mary enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Her name appears in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa, the War Memorial, Halifax and on a memorial Plaque dedicated to the Nurses who died during World War l at Queen's Park, Toronto.

Born November 14, 1869*, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 6, 1948, Victoria, British Columbia. Ard earned her Bachelor of Arts followed by a teaching certificate from the University of Toronto. She worked for several years as a Visiting Nurse in Washington, D. C. and Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. before returning to Canadian in 1908 as Chief Superintendent of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), Ottawa.  She served as president of the Canadian National Association for Trained Nursed 1912-1914. She worked once again in the U. S. A.  in consulting positions before being appointed to teach Public Health Nursing at the University of British Columbia (U B C)  The U B C offered the first Short Course of six weeks  in Public Health Nursing  for graduate nurses starting November 15, 1920. The course also required a follow-up of eight weeks field work and a comprehensive examination. Ard retired in 1923.  Birth sometime reported at 1870. Source: B C History of Nursing Society MacKenzie, Mary Ardcronie online (accessed 2023); Family Search online (accessed 2023)

Born October 14, 1854, Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Died October October 31,1943, Vankleek Hill, Ontario. Janet attended the Farrand Training School of Nurses, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.  By 1888 she had arrived in China appointed to the North China Mission by the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church.  In her second year, after a year of nursing, she took up evangelistic work for women. She taught at the Union Bible School for Women in Peking and worked in mission stations in Paotingfu and Shunteh. She also taught at the Union Training School for Nurses. During the Boxer Rebellion she worked in the International Hospital in Peking.  She returned to live in Vankleek Hill, Ontario after 38 years in China. Some of her papers  are retained by the Presbyterian Historical Society, The National Archives of the PC (U.S.A.). Source: Western Medicine in China, Presbyterian Historical Society (U.S.A.) online (accessed 2024); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2024) 

Born July 31, 1888, Deseronto, Ontario. Died January 2, 1968, Oshawa, Ontario. In 1908 she and her family relocated to Belleville, Ontario. She worked as a clerk at a local store. By 1915 she had graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in January 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Hattie first served at the military hospital in Belleville and then overseas was posted at No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, France. She was admitted to a convalescent home in the fall of 1916 suffering from pleurodynia. She returned to service in England. Back home in Belleville she worked as a private nurse and then at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A. Returning to private nursing she lived California. She became a widow with the death of her husband Bruce Gould in 1945 and in 1953 she married a second time to Byrne McLennan. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

née Matheson. Born September 27, 1892, St. Barnabas Mission, Onion Lake. Died 1968, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gladys was the daughter of Dr. Elizabeth Scott Matheson (1866-1958) who was the first woman licensed doctor in the area. From 1906 through 1909 she attended Kilborn Sister’s School at Dunham Ladies College, Ottawa, Ontario. She returned home to work at her parent’s mission for two years before she began training as a nurse at Memorial Hospital in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Again she returned home to work. She taught at the mission school for three years while helping in her mother’s hospital. In 1914 she went to Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) to complete her nurse training. During World War l (1914-1918) in 1916, both her father and her fiancé died but she continued her studies graduating in 1917. She worked at Tuxedo Military Hospital in Winnipeg prior to enlisting on May 25, 1917 for overseas war service as a lieutenant Nursing Sister at the Eastborne, England, Hospital for Canadian soldiers. On May 6, 1918 she was ordered to serve at no three Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne, France, which was a series of huts near the front line of the war. In May 1919 she was back serving at the Winnipeg Tuxedo Military Hospital. In 1920 she was worn out and went to Vancouver, British Columbia, for three months. In 1926 she married U.S. Infantry officer Stirling Crim (1891-1980) in Hawaii. The couple settled in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.. After the death of her husband she returned to live in Winnipeg. Source: The Story behind the Statue, Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association. Online (Accessed June 2014) (2021)

Died April 4, 1927, Montreal, Quebec. Elizabeth serves during World War 1 (1914-1918) as a Nursing Sister with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Nursing Service and served overseas. [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021).

née McBride. Born February 18, 1891, Selby, Ontario. Died September 12, 1985, Belleville, Ontario. Minnie moved to Humboldt, Saskatchewan, in 1907. In 1914 she returned to Ontario to graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, in 1914. May 5, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) to serve during World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to Canadian military hospitals in Etaples and Etretat, France. She became disabled and invalided to England in September 1915. In early 1916 she returned to Canada. She married Frederick Neelin (died 1937) October 1, 1916. The couple settled in Toronto. Minnie  retired from nursing and relocated back to Belleville.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

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World War 1 Nursing Sister  

née  McCullough. Born April 18, 1893, Saanich, British Columbia. In 1912 the family relocated to a house on West Saanich Rd. Maggie graduated from the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing in 1915. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on June 1, 1918. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Maggie served in Canada and in England at the Drummond Military Convalescent Hospital, Montreal, the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Buxton, England and the the C A M C training Depot, No 16 Canadian General Hospital, Ontario, the Canadian Convalescent Officers Hospital and on transport duty for wounded returning to Canada. She was discharged  on February 26, 1919 and returned to Canada. On March 11, 1919 she married Lieutenant Colonel Colin Stone MacDonald in Ottawa, Ontario. Source: Saanich ...Residents who served, online (accessed 2023)

Born August 14, 1880, Aston, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918. at sea. Wanting to serve after her nurses' training during World War l (1914-1918) Jessie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on September 16, 1915 in London, England. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Jessie had served at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, England, prior to enlisting. She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England, and was then sent to Salonika, Greece.  She was then posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England, in 1917 and then to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool England. On June 5, 1918 she was posted to the H M C S Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Born March 3, 1895, Alexandria, Ontario. Died December 16, 1973, Ottawa, Ontario. Berth was a trained nurse. For a month in the spring of 1918 she was in hospital at Laurentide Sanatorium, Sainte Agathe, Quebec.  On September 18, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in Montreal, Quebec to serve in World War l (1914-1918). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Declared medically unfit in January 1919 she was hospitalized in April 1919 with influenza at Montreal General Hospital. She was then at Sainte Anne de Bellevue Hospital until June and was demobilized in July 1919. Source: [Canada} A Tribute to Some Women and Men Who Have Served in Armed Conflict. online (accessed 2021)

Born October 8,1872, Westminster Township, Ontario. Died July 18, 1919, London Ontario. .Agnes graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) In 1916 Agnes enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No.10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, England.  Source: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021).

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Born June 26, 1878, Glasgow, Scotland. Died May 29, 1947, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Margaret came to Canada with her family in 1886. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in 1910. Her first post was as Lady Superintendent of the Tranquille Sanatorium, Kamloops, British Columbia. In 1912 she returned to Winnipeg working as a private nurse for several years. In 1916 she joined the staff at King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Shortly after she worked with the Public Health Unit on the prevention of tuberculosis. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings, and No.12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott in England. Back home in 1919 she worked as a staff nurse  and supervisor of Military Wards at the W G H.  She became Night Superintendent in 1923 and remained in this position until her retirement in 1939. In 1936 she was awarded the King' Jubilee Medal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

née McGregor. Born November 12, 1887, Waterdown, Ontario. Died November 23, 1987, Hamilton, Ontario. She trained as a nurse in Canada and then went to New York City  in August 1912 to do additional studies at Roosevelt Hospital, New  York, U.S.A.  Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) on March 31, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She is known to have served overseas. After the war she returned to Canada and on June 9, 1923 she married Orrin Hugh Baker in Waterdown. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born November 24, 1892, Galt, Ontario. Died November 4, 1918, Boulogne, France. Evelyn graduated from the Grace Memorial Hospital Training for Nurses, Toronto. She served for a year at the Toronto Base Hospital on Gerrard St.  Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) Evelyn enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in November 1916 in London, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to Exhibition Camp Hospital, Toronto, probability for final training, before going overseas. Overseas she arrived in London, England, in December 1916 and by August 1917 she was posted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne, France. She became dangerously ill October 30, 1918 and was admitted to hospital. She died of Bronchopneumonia. She is the only Nursing Sister to appear on the Galt, Ontario War Memorial. * birth date sometimes reported as September. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online 9accessed 2021) .

Born November 11, 1886, Ireland. Died August 13, 1964, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.  Agnes graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) by April 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No.15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool and No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. She returned to Canada in September 1919.  She relocated to California, U.S.A. where she work at the Angeles Hospital in Los Angeles. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Born April 28, 1880*, Toronto, Ontario. Mary was a graduate in May of 1903 of the Rochester City Hospital Training School for Nurses, New York, U.S.A. She returned to work in Toronto  and later worked at the Military Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wanting to serve overseas during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Mary was posted overseas at the Ontario Hospital, Orpington, and the Canadian War Hospital, Kent, England. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. * some record indicate 1877. Source: Illuminated History, Shining a Light on the Shadows of the Past, Mary Agnes McKenzie, Lost on the Llandovery Castle. online (accessed 2021)

Born August 24, 1882, Inverness, Quebec. Died 1961, Victoria, British Columbia. Isabel graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She worked for several years in Calgary, Alberta, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, British Columbia as a private nurse. In 1915 she was on staff at the Firland Sanitorium, Washington, U.S.A. Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1915) in July 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served in England at No.10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton and No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. She returned in the spring of 1919 to Canada.  By 1922 she worked on staff at the Seattle State County Hospital Health Department before returning to Canada to settle in Dauphin, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Born June 14, 1879, Souris, Prince Edward Island. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Rena was mainly known by her nickname 'Bird" She studied at Mount Allison Ladies College, Sackville, New Brunswick, and then at Halifax Ladies College in Nova Scotia. Wanting to study nursing she attended Newport Hospital, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A. where she completed her training in 1908. She worked as Head Nurse at the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital, Gardner, Massauchetts, U.S.A. With the on slot of World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted and was appointed as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Corps (C A M C) in the fall of 1914. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Rena served in France  converting a luxurious hotel into a field hospital. Later she served at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. She also served a year at the No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital in Greece. She was serving on the ship the Llandovery Castle returning wounded to Halifax when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland June 27, 1918. Plaques in her memory were erected at St James United Church, Souris, P.E.I,  at Mount Allison Memorial Library, and in the X-ray laboratory at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown, P.E.I. A veterans hospital in Charlottetown was named in her honour but was closed within a couple of years.  Source D C B (2020)

Born November 29, 1880, Perth, Ontario. Died ???? Caroline was a member of the local militia. Wanting to serve with the regular service during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1916 in Kingston, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Caroline was posted to Moore Barracks Hospital, to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Faflow, and the Kitchener War Hospital, Brighton, England. She also served in France but suffered Gastro Enteritis (vomiting) and was sent back to England. She returned to duty at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, No.11 Canadian General Hospital. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. online (accessed 2021)

Born February 2, 1875, Belfast, Ireland. Died August 20, 1954, Vancouver, British Columbia. Clara graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba in 1899. In May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Treport, France and the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England. She returned to Canada April 1919. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

née Wyllie. Born December 27, 1847, Toronto, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 3, 1903, Chicago, Illinois. Elizabeth married June 1, 1865 Samuel Fenton McMaster a wealthy businessman. The couple had four children. She cared for the poor and December 10, 1874 she established a fund to set up a children's hospital in Toronto. The Hospital for Sick Children opened March 23, 1875 in a rented house with eleven rooms. It was the first hospital of its kind in Canada. 44 Child patients were cared for in the first year of operation. Until 1891 Elizabeth served various positions on the hospital's female management committee. In 1886 she helped found the Training School for Nurses. She even took a nursing course herself so that she would be better qualified in management. After the death of her husband in the fall of 1888 she studied at the Illinois Training School for Nurses graduating in 1891. Back in Toronto she became the first superintendent of the Hospital for Sick Children. She gave a course to untrained women of the Young Women's Christian Guild which is considered the 1st First Aid course given in Toronto. After the opening of the new Hospital building on May 6, 1892 Elizabeth left Toronto to live in the U.S.A. She is credited with founding the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles, California and a children's home in Schenectady, New York, U.S.A. Sources D C B; Sick Kid's Online. (2021)

née McMillan. Born June 22, 1891, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died ???? In 1913 Olive graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She went on to do post graduated studies at the Neurologic Institute, New York, U.S.A. in 1917. Returning to Winnipeg in 1918 joined the staff of the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg, and enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Military Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. By July 1918 she was serving overseas at the No. 15 Canadian General Hospital , the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, England.  After the war she returned to the hospital at Tuxedo Park.  She later married R. F. Butler and the couple settled in California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Born September 9, 1887, Crawbrook, Ontario. Died ????  In 1911 Beatrice graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital (V G H) School of Nursing, British Columbia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1917. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. During an enemy air raid at Etaples, France May 19, 1918, she carried on her duties throughout the night without interruptions unmindful of person safety . She was the first of only a few Canadian Nursing Sisters rewarded with the Military Medal for Bravery. In 1943, during World War ll (1939-1945), she became the first Matron of Hycroft Hospital 1950. In 2018 the University Women's Club of Vancouver commemorated her at the 75th anniversary of the opening of Hycroft Hospital, Vancouver. Hycroft Veterans Hospital is now owned by the University Women's Club and us used for special gatherings. It is said to be haunted by several forms including a woman in a nurse's uniform who is thought to be Beatrice. These spirits open and close doors and cause lights to flicker. Sources: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2021); Ghosts of Vancouver, online, (accessed 2021)

Born April 1, 1876, Quebec City, Quebec. Died April 9, 1952, Toronto, Ontario. In 1906 she graduated in nursing from the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A. She worked as superintendent of Nurses in Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.A. During World War 1 (1914-1918), when she was 40 years old, she traveled to England and on October 16, 1916 she enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as a Nursing Sister. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. On June 3, 1919, she was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her distinguished services for showing special devotion in performing her duties. After the war she returned home to Canada where she took a course in Public Health at the University of Toronto. Relocating to St. John, New Brunswick she established the health centre, public clinics and a branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses. In 1925 she was Superintendent of Nursing at St. Catherines General Hospital in Ontario. In 1927 she took a position as Superintendent at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, a position she retained until retirement in 1943. The Canadian Nurses Association established an annual scholarship in her memory. Source: Women’s College Hospital online (Accessed March 2014) ; Canadian Nurses Association Memorial Book, Online (Accessed March 2014) (2021)

Helen graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1899. The W G H School of nursing Alumnae Honour Role lists Helen as a World War 1 (1914-1918) Nursing Sister but she did not serve with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1881, Ireland. Died 1958, Victoria, British Columbia In 1901 she immigrated to Canada serving as a nurse and missionary to Aboriginal communities in the Lethbridge region of Alberta.  She worked at first at St. Paul's School on the Blackfoot Reserve Hospital in Gleichen from 1914 through 1937. The hospital was aligned with the Anglican residential school program. She worked to learn the Blackfoot language to best serve the peoples on the reserve. She continued medical learning at the Sir Alexander Galt Hospital in Lethbridge and at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia. During the summer months she taught first aid at a camp in Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta. She became an honourary member of the Blackfoot tribe and given the name On-ataki which means Good Woman. She also received the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The Jane Megarry Chapter of the Lethbridge I O D E is named in her honour. The city of Lethbridge names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005;

Born October 21, 1883, Galway, Ireland. Died October 10, 1918, at sea. Henrietta would immigrate to Canada to join her sister in London, Ontario.  She graduated from London's Victoria Hospital Nursing School in 1912 and worked as an assistant matron in Nanaimo, British Columbia and Weyburn, Saskatchewan. She served with the Red Cross in France, Egypt, and England. On November 13, 1917 Henrietta enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as a Nursing Sister. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served with the 15th Canadian Field Hospital, Taplow, England. In 1918 she was granted a two week leave to visit relatives in Ireland. On October 10, 1918 she was drowned when the Royal Mail Steamer Leinster was sunk by the enemy. 500 passengers were lost on the ship when it was sunk by U Boat 123 in the Irish Sea. She is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland. She is commemorated on Canadian war memorials and on a commemorative Plaque at Victoria Hospital Nursing School. Source: Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021); Nursing Sister Henrietta Mellett Community Stories. Digital Museums Canada online (accessed 2021)

née Melvin. Born November 23, 1890, Teeswater, Ontario. Died August 30, 1967, St. Catherines, Ontario. In 1916 Elizabeth graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing and joined the staff of No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. By June 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 9 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, all in England. After the war she worked as a special duty nurse in Dauphin, Manitoba before returning to Winnipeg to work in public health nursing.  She later relocated to St. Catherines, Ontario with her husband Sydney Symondson. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

née Lee. Born December 12, 1916, Murrayville, British Columbia. Died May 22, 2019, British Columbia Jessie studied nursing at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia. After three years she graduated in September 1939 at the age of 22. She wanted to join the army to serve in World War ll (1939-1945) but women could not join until they were 25 years old so she worked at the Vancouver General Hospital. She enlisted in 1942 as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Army Nursing Corps. She 1st served at a military hospital in Prince Rupert, British Columbia and was sent overseas in March 1943 serving near London, England. In July 1944 she sailed to serve in Italy in field hospitals. By D-Day June 6, 1944 she was assigned to Nijmegen, Holland right on the front lines. Back in Canada after the war she attended nursing courses at McGill University. On December 26, 1947 she married Frederick Turner Middleton of British Columbia. The couple would have two children settling in Abbottsford, British Columbia. In July 2012 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to her country. Source: Eleanor Florence. Nursing Sisters Healed the Wounds of War. June 17, 2015 on Blog: Wartime Wednesdays (accessed June 2015); Obituary, The Abbotsford News May 22, 2019. (2020)

Born September 7, 1873, Belleville, Ontario. Died February 20, 1963, Belleville, Ontario. Nonie graduated from the Dr. John Lee Private Hospital School of Nursing, Rochester, New York, U.S.A. in 1909. After graduation she was on staff at the Dr. Lee hospital. On February 19, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served in England at Westenhanger, Brighton, Buxton and Shorncliffe. She also served at St. Claud, France.  She was treated for influenza at Kinmel Park Medical Hospital, England. Discharged in Canada in July 1919 she worked at the Belleville Hospital. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Born April 6, 1888, Truro, Nova Scotia. Died ???? Alice was a graduated of the Victoria General Hospital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) on February 4, 1915. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. It is known that she served at a Canadian General Hospital in France. In 1918 Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. was one of the hardest hit cities in America during the influenza pandemic. Boston had helped the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia after the December 6, 1917 explosion by sending medical help to the city. In 1918, when Boston was suffering nurses from Nova Scotia volunteered to return the favour of help to Boston. Alice was one of the nurses who volunteered to tend the influenza situation in Boston. Back in Truro she continued to care for influenza patients. (2021)

Born November 19, 1890, Dalhousie, New Brunswick. Died September 8, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Annie graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. In June 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, England, No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France. After the war she returned to Canada working on staff at the WGH and later with the Psychopathic Hospital. In 1923 she became Lady Superintendent of the Brandon Mental Hospital. In 1927 she left her position and took up private duty nursing in Winnipeg.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born November 24, 1892, Galt, Ontario. Died November 4, 1918, Base Hospital, Boulogne, France. Evelyn trained as a nurse as Grace Hospital. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in 1915. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She served at the Base Hospital for a years and at the Exhibition Camp, Toronto, before going overseas in 1916. She served firs in England for six months serving at the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, before leaving on August 25, 1917 for No 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne, France, where on October 25, 1918 she was evacuated to No 14 General Hospital for Officers, Wimereux, with Influenza which developed into pneumonia. 35 Nursing Sisters attended her funeral at Terlincthum Cemetery. Evelyn's British War Medal, Victory Medal, and Memorial Cross were sent to her mother. The memorial Plaque and Scroll were sent to her father.  Source: Nurse E. V. McKay Dies, Toronto Star November 8, 1918 online (accessed 2023); Nursing Sister Evelyn Verrall McKay, No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) For Evermore...Stories of the Fallen online (accessed 2023)

Born August 4, 1889, Prince Albert Saskatchewan. Died March 11, 1955, British Columbia. Kate graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1918. By October that year she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was posted to the No.10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she married Sinclair McKay and the couple settled in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1918. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1895, Totnes District, England. Died October 26, 1918, Coquitlam, British Columbia. Marjorie Beatrice was a graduated of the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Vernon, British Columbia. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Marjorie died at the Coquitlam Military Hospital of Influenza. Majorie was the first military nurse to die from the influenza epidemic. Sadly even though she was a member of the military as the time of her death she is not commemorated as a casualty of war on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission nor the Canadian Book of Remembrance. Her name can be found in the 23rd Infantry Brigade Canadian Army official documents. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

née Anderson. Born April 10, 1890, Six Nations Reserve (near Brantford), Ontario. Died April 3, 1996, Ohseweken, Ontario. At high school Edith was described as a 'gifted student' After she graduated high school Edith want to pursue studies in nursing but at that time in Canada the Indian Act did not allow indigenous peoples to attend post high school education. Edith went on to graduate first in her class from the New Rochelle Nursing School in New York State, U.S.A. In 1914 she became the first Indigenous Canadian woman to be a registered nurse. She worked in New York State until the United states entered World War l (1914-1918) and then she volunteered for the United States Army Nursing Corps and served in France often working grueling 14 hour shifts. She was one of fourteen Indigenous Canadian women to serve as a nurse during World War l. With the Canadian Military Service Act of 1917 Edith became the first status Indian and registered band member to earn the right to vote in Canadian federal elections. Returning to Canada after the war she married Clayban Monture in 1919 and the couple had four surviving children. In 1939 she was elected honourary President of the Ohseweken Red Cross. She worked as a nurse and midwife on her reserve until retirement in 1955. Edith Monture Avenue in Brantford, Ontario in named in her honour. (2020)

Born 1891, Tosoronito, Ontario. Died Toronto, Ontario? Edna trained as a nurse at the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing. In October 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Medical Army Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. She was assigned to No.1 Canadian General Hospital in France and then No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. In 1919 as the war efforts wound down due to the peace she was in hospital herself with the flu. She was home by July 1919. She went to New York to earn a certificate in Public Health Nursing. By 1931 she was working with the Ontario Department of Health. By 1944 she was the Director of Public Health Nursing in Ontario. She retired in 1957. (2022)

née Morden. Born September 20, 1890, West Flamborough, Ontario. Died February 11, 1976, Flamborough, Ontario. Lillias trained at the Hamilton General Hospital School of Nursing, Ontario. Prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) in July 1916 she had worked fro two years at the Toronto Base Hospital. Each enlisted nurse serving during World War l (1914-1918) was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Lillias served overseas in Europe until the end of the War. She returned home at the end of the war and on January 20, 1927 she married  Brigadier Ormond O. V. Cavanah in Peterborough, Ontario. After the death of her husband in 1933 she returned to Flamborough. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 7, 1886, Middlesex County, Ontario. Died 1975, California, U.S.A. Martha studied at the Saint Boniface Training School for Nurses in Manitoba in 1906. In 1915. With World War l (1914-1918) raging on the European front she joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as a Nursing Sister. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Martha was posted to a Canadian Casualty Station No. 3 near the front lines in Boulogne. The Station had 800 beds and was extremely busy. She watched her first patient die a horrible death from the effects of gas and she never forgot it. Another time, serving in the operating room, the surgeon was shot and died as he operated and she had to finish the operation. After the war Martha worked with refugees and Canadian soldiers. At home in Canada once again she became restless and relocated north to Dawson City to set up the first hospital in the Yukon Territory. She later worked at various executive positions for several tuberculosis societies in Canada and in the United States. She did not retire until she was 79 years old when she entered a retirement home in California. Susan Taylor Meehan penned an novel based on Martha’s life entitled Maggie’s Choice. Sources: Canada’s Great War Album. Canada’s History. Online (accessed July 2015); Library and Archives Canada LAC R G 150 Accession 1992-3/166 Box 6376-75. (2021)

Born September 24, 1870, Belleville, Ontario. Died June 18, 1949, Vancouver, British Columbia. Jessie studied nursing at the Toledo Ohio General Hospital, U.S.A. in 1905. She worked as head nurse in Bernie, British Columbia and by 1911 was Lady Superintendent in Melville, Saskatchewan. June 3, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France and later at the Canadian Military hospitals in Bearwood, Taplow, Shorncliffe and Brighton, England. In March 1917 she was in hospital herself with influenza. After the war she was a specialist in treatment of Tuberculosis and served as Matron at the British Columbia Sanatorium, Tranquille in 1920. By 1923 she was Superintendent of Nurses at Chilliwack General Hospital. She retired to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

née Mortimer. Born June 9, 1888, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1974, California, U.S.A. In 1916 Isabel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, England. In France she was posted to France but became hill and had to be admitted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport. Returning home to Canada she worked at Dr. Galloway's private hospital, Winnipeg and then in 1921 joined the staff of King George Hospital, Winnipeg. By 1929 she was on staff at Cowdray Sanatorium, Mexico. In 1930 she became Lady Superintendent of the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium in Saskatchewan. She married George Green and the couple settled in California, U.S.A.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

Born January 1, 1866, Wardsville, Canada West (now Ontario). Died September 7, 1915, Dardanelles. Mary enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) May 12, 1915 in London, England. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Mary would serve at Shorncliffe, England and  Rouen, France. She also served at the No 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Dardanelles. She died of dysentery. Source: Two Canadian Nurses Die at Dardanelles. The Toronto Globe, October 16, 1915, online (accessed 2023); Nursing Sisters who lost heir lives in the first and Second World War online (accessed  2023).

Born April 15, 1878, Guelph, Ontario. Died December 13, 1960, Manitoba. Emma graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1899. June 3, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (C A M C) in Montreal, Quebec. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Emma served on the war front at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, LeTreport, France. In April 1916 she had to be admitted to a Paris convalescent home recovering from exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. Having recovered by April 1916 she was posted to the Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe, and Granville Canadian Special Hospital in England. Emma returned to Canada in the spring of 1919.  After the war she settled in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

Born January 7, 1915, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Died November 9, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario. Helen graduated from the School of Nursing, Vancouver General Hospital in 1937. She served as a Lieutenant nursing officer with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) during World War ll (1939-1945). Her post war career began at the Vancouver Hospital and would take her on some 30 international assignments with the World Health Organization (W H O) of the United Nations and the International Council of Nurses. She was also  executive Director of the Canadian Nurse's Association and president of the Victoria Order of Nurses. She is author of numerous major publications relating to nursing and health and the library at the Canadian Nurse's Association is named in her honour. In 1969 she received the Order of Canada and in 1981 she received one of the highest awards of the International Red Cross, the Florence Nightingale Award. At that time she was referred to a "Canada's most distinguished nurse in her time and generation." (2019) Canadian Encyclopedia online; Dr. Helen K. Mussallem Biography Project online. (2020)

Born January 1, 1889, Victoria, Prince Edward Island. Died ???? Olga graduated from the Prince Edward Island Hospital of Nursing. During World War l (1914-1918)  she went to England and served with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service at the Queen Mary's Hospital in London. On October 11, 1917 she enlisted in England as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C M A C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Not much is known about Olga's life after 1918 but it is known that she married a man named Finlay.

Born 1873, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Trained as a nurse, probably in Toronto, Janet was a trailblazer who took care of tuberculosis patients. She also was a visiting home nurse in her homme area in Toronto called Cabbagetown. The Neilson family home, build by her father Hugh Neilson, has a Cabbagetown Historic designation. Source: Cabbagetown People. online (accessed 2022) .

Born February 5, 1882, Deloraine, Manitoba.  Died March 17, 1972, Vacaville, California, U.S.A. Louise graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing, She became involved with anti-tuberculosis work in Winnipeg after her graduation. By 1914 she was on staff at the W G H.  In 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Louise served at No.10 Canadian General Hospital known as  the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England. From England she was posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Touquet, France. Returning to Canada she worked at the Dauphin Hospital, Manitoba for the summer of 1919. In 1920 she took a post-graduate course in the Supervision of Hospitals and Training Schools at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. after which she worked as an instructor of nurses at the Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia. By 1922 she was working on staff at Miller Memorial Hospital, St. Paul. Minnesota, U.S.A. where she became Lady Superintendent. Later she was hired as Director of Nursing at St. Luke's Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A. where she worked until her retirement in 1941. In retirement she lived in Vacaville, California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Born 1860, England. Died Alberta. Mary arrived from England in 1886 to live with her Anglican Missionary Brother William. Mary had her nursing training through St John’s House which was affiliated with the Anglican Church of England. Her training predated the formal education that was established by Florence Nightingale. In fact St John’s House provided six nursing sisters for Nightingale when she left to serve in the Crimean War (1953-1956). Mary had been a professor at Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital in London, England, prior to immigrating. She arrived at Hermitage, near Edmonton in the summer of 1886, is considered the first lay nurse in Edmonton. She had suffered ill health in England and she came to Hermitage to recuperate at her brother's mission. There was already a small log hospital there and Mary recovered her health and went quickly to work. In 1891, she put an advertisement in the paper saying that she would do nursing and midwifery in private homes--for ten dollars a week. She is also credited with introducing lilacs to Alberta. Source; Kay Saunderson, 200 Remarkable Alberta Women, (Famous Five Foundation, 1999); (2020)

née Prowse. Born 1924, Brandon Hills, Manitoba. Died 2005. Margaret began her career in Brandon, Manitoba, and included work in Montreal, Quebec, White Plains, New York, U.S.A. and Vancouver, British Columbia. She married Craig Neylan and the couple had three children together. She pioneered the development of numerous nursing programs. She served as president of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia in 1971-73 and again in 1989-91. She served as Vice president of the Canadian Nurses Association from 1992-94. When she retired she worked to improve care for seniors. Source: B C Nursing History Group, Nursing Dolls online (accessed 2021)

Born May 27, 1878, Kingston, Ontario. Died February 3, 1916 Kingston, Ontario. Grace enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) January 14, 1916 in Kingston, Ontario. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Grace was in hospital with complications of influenza and died only 20 days after she had volunteered to serve in World War l (1914-1918) Source: Nursing Sisters who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars online (accessed 2023); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2023) 

Born 1799, Waterford, Ireland. Died June 17, 1847, St. John's, Newfoundland. As a youth she received a good education in languages, literature, and music.  In the 1830's she joined  Ursuline Sisters in Waterford but illness forced her to return home. She and her family soon immigrated to Newfoundland so her brother could establish a school. Sadly within two weeks of arriving her mother died. Mary would become the first postulant with the Presentation Sisters in Newfoundland August 5, 1834. Sadly her poor health required she withdraw and she became a recluse working on translations of works for her brother's school. In the late spring of 1842 a friend arrived to open a Convent of Mercy in St. John's. Mary joined the Sisters of Mercy taking her vows in May 1843. Sister Mary Joseph and Sister Mary Francis worked not only in education but with the 1847 typhus epidemic they closed the school and tended to the sick. Sister May Joseph became ill with Typhus and died.  Sister Mary Joseph Nugent is considered the first nurse in Newfoundland. Source: Newfoundland's Women's Firsts, The Newfoundland Quarterly, summer fall 1992 online (accessed 2024)

Born June 29, 1888, Sherbrooke, Quebec. Died August 3, 1971, Quebec. In 1909 Elizabeth earned a Bachelor's degree from University of Bishop's College, Lennoxville, Quebec. She went on to teach at Westbourne School, Toronto. By 1915 she had graduated top of her class from the Montreal General Hospital (M G H) School of Nursing, Québec. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Elizabeth served a year in Canada prior to going overseas to serve for three years.  She continued her studies  at the School for Graduate Nurses completing her studies in 1923. Elizabeth retired in December 1951 as Director of School of Nursing, Evanston, Alberta. Sources: Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing World War 1, online (accessed 2021; Bishop's University , Bishop's Fighting Women, Nursing in the First World War, online (accessed 2021`)

Born June 22, 1888, Manitoba. Died November 14, 1986, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1914 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. Wanting to serve during World War l (1914-1918) in May 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she served at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, the Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke, and Kirkdale, No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks, England, and No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, France. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Victoria, British Columbia, and then on staff at Shaughnessy Hospital and later as Matron at Hycroft Veterans Hospital in British Columbia. She retired in 1953. source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Born October 5, 1895, Carberry, Manitoba. Died ???? Katherine graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) Wishing to serve during World War l (1914-1918)  School of Nursing. By February 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas she was posted to No.11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks and No.14 Canadian General, Eastbourne, England. After the war she relocated to Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. where she worked as a public health nurse. Later she moved to California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

née Drummond. Born Logan, Township, Ontario. Died March 3, 2011, Bethammi, Ontario. Margaret graduated as a Registered Nurse from Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario. She went on to earn a Certificate in Public Health Nursing from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University), London, Ontario, a Diploma of Advanced Public Health Nursing from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing  and a Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, U.S.A. She began her Nursing Career in Cochrane and then served as a District Nurse for Kirkland Lake, Cobourg, and Forth William, now Thunder Bay. She married Trevor Wyman Page, Become a stepmother to his son. She worked with the Ontario Department for Public Welfare in Port Arthur, now Thunder Bay, and was a Welfare Administrator for the Shuniah and Neeping Municipalities.  She also taught nursing at Port Arthur General Hospital and for the District Health Unit becoming Assistant Director of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s Public Health Nursing Division In 1973 she was an Assistant Professor at Lakehead University and by 1977 she was on staff at the university as a full professor. She went on to become Director of the School of Nursing where she retired in 1980. She was a member of the Canadian Nurses Association, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, where she served as President 1964-65, the Canadian and American Public Health Associations, the Canadian University Teachers Association, Ontario Regional Canadian University Schools of Nursing, the National Association of Nurses of Malawi, the nurses and Midwives Council of Malawi, and the Canadian Evaluation Society. She worked with the Lakehead Alumni Association, the Canadian International Development Agency, the University of Malawi, where she established a university school of nursing at Kamuzu College of Nursing, the University of Nairobi in Kenya and the Ontario Science Centre. She was appointed visiting professor, at school of Nursing, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and assigned as a Faculty Field Advisor to the McMaster/Aga Khan/ C I D A Project in Karachi, Pakistan.  Her working as a Nursing Sister with the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, H M C S Griffon, in Thunder Bay lead to her being appointed Honourary Lieutenant Colonel 18 (thunder Bay Medical Company and Commander of the Thunder Bay Commandery. In 1998 she was invested with the Order of Canada. She also held the Order of St. Stanislas, The Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, was a Fellow of Lakehead University. She earned the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Tourism Volunteer Service and was presented with the Canadian Commemorative Medal 125^th Anniversary of Canadian Federation, and the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario Award of Merit. Source: Women’s History Month, City of Thunder Bay, online (accessed 2024; Obituary March3, 2011 TBnewswatch online (accessed 2024).  .   

née Fergusson. Born 1908, England. Died 1992, Ottawa, Ontario. Dorothea trained as a nurse in a British hospital. In Canada she was employed by the Parents’ Information Bureau, Organized by A. R. Kaufman in Kitchener, Ontario. On September 14, 1936 she was arrested and charged with distributing birth control literature in Eastview, (now Vanier), Ontario. The Kaufman Rubber Co. paid $25,000.00 for her year long defense in the trial Rex vs Palmer, commonly known as The Eastview Birth Control Trial. Dorothea was acquitted on March 17, 1937 on the grounds that her actions were entirely in the interest of the public good. The Crown launched an appeal with the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard on June 1-2, 1937 but the appeal was dismissed. The six-month trial, the longest in Canadian history to that date,  was extremely hard on Palmer. She was vilified by members of the public, accosted, and her marriage suffered. After the trial, Dorothea Palmer severed her ties to Kaufman and Parent’s Information Bureau and faded into obscurity having been a reluctant heroine for women’s autonomy. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed September 2015) (2020)

Born June 1, 1884, Milton, Ontario. Kathleen resigned her position as Supervisor of Probationers at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, at the Beginning of World War l (1914-1918) and she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as one of three nurses who sailed in March 1915  for the Queen's Canadian Military Hospital at Shorncliffe, Kent, England. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'.  Kathleen served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital , France for two years and then was assigned to the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station behind the Canadian Front lines in France. Kathleen was Mentioned in Dispatches for her devotion on duty and received the Royal Red Cross second class. She was welcomed home in 1919 by an evening reception of the local Red Cross. Source: Great War Project online (accessed 2022; Milton Historical Society, Milton's Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2022)

Born August 3, 1888, Lanchow, China. Died October 25, 1964, Cornwall, England. Christina graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing in Manitoba. She worked as a private nurse for a short few months prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. Overseas Christina was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England. After the war she worked with the Manitoba Provincial Board of Health. In 1921 she moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia and later to California, U.S.A. before finally settling in Cornwall, England. Source: Health Science: Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Born October 21, 1883, Dublin, Ireland. Died October 10, 1965, Victoria, British Columbia. After immigrating to Canada she graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) and by January 1915 she was serving at No. 1 then No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospitals near Dieppe, France. Each enlisted nurse was given the rank of Lieutenant. The women wore blue uniforms and were known affectionately by the nickname 'Bluebirds'. During her stay near the front lines Ellanore suffered from exposure to gas and would suffer with health problems the rest of her life. An inventor, she did extensive work in the electronics field and designed a water cannon and a magnetic detector, a forerunner to radar both used by the British. For her war service she receive the British General Service Medal, the Victory Medal and the Mons Star.  After the war she lived in California, U.S.A. until 1948. She worked as an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times and wrote two novels based on her nursing experiences: The Land Lay Waiting and The Flower or the land; a Tapestry of the Great War. In 1948 she settled in Victoria, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)