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dangerous but vital first-response units placed closer to the front than medical
units. There, nurses could tend to often septic wounds early (and without the
aid of antibiotics), triage patients and evacuate them to the rear as needed.
The nurses in the Casualty Clearing Stations were subject to the same bombardments
and privations (including rats and lice) as the soldiers. Many died caring for
their injured comrades. The Nursing Sisters wore blue uniforms and white veils
and were called "bluebirds" by the soldiers who had great admiration
for (and often romantic interest in) the women.
World War I saw the introduction of the hospital ship, a dangerous place to be,
especially as Germany stepped up its U-boat attacks later in the war. On June
27, 1918, the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by a German
submarine. Among the 234 dead were 14 Nursing Sisters. After the attack, officers
often rallied frontline troops by reminding them of the innocent nurses who had
died at sea. In all, more than 3,000 Nursing Sisters filled the ranks
of the Royal Canadian |
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| Army Medical Corps, about two-thirds of them serving overseas, not just on the
Western Front, but in Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika. The war claimed 45
of their lives. |
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Nursing
Sisters
Nearly
2,000 Nursing Sisters worked near the front lines, in field hospitals or on hospital
ships to care for wounded and dying soldiers. 45 of them died in the line of
duty. |
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