Remembering contributions of nurses during WWII

Alberta RN, Jul/Aug 1999 by Topliss, Heather

New display pays tribute to Nursing Sisters of Canada

Frances Sutherland knows about close calls firsthand. While serving as a nurse in the Second World War, she was almost hit by a piece of shrapnel. It embedded itself in the ground inches from her feet.

"I bent down to dig it out of the ground and it was still hot!" says 85 -year-old Sutherland, looking down at the piece of twisted metal she has kept for more than 50 years. "I wanted to keep it as a souvenir."

A graduate of the Royal Alexandra Hospital in 1938, Sutherland joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1943. She and other nurses who joined the army were referred to as Nursing Sisters. Most were sent to England to care for wounded soldiers while others traveled to countries like Africa, Italy and France or remained in Canada. There are about 30 nursing sisters in the Edmonton area - including Sutherland - who belong to a national organization called the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada, a group that is still active today with about 2,000 members in 13 units across Canada. The Edmonton unit meets four times a year and makes a special effort to attend the large Remembrance Day celebration in November.

"Each year we lose a few more sisters," says Sutherland, "so we really make an effort to get together when we can."

A permanent exhibit honoring the contributions of WWII nursing sisters was officially added to the AARN Museum and Archives in June. Sutherland's collection of photographs and biographical information on Canada's nursing sisters are on display, along with uniforms and other artifacts donated from the Edmonton unit.

Funding from the Alberta Museums Association and donations in the name of Jessie Morrison, a nursing sister involved with the AARN Museum and Archives who died two years ago, have made the development of the display possible, says AARN archivist Lorraine Mychailunow She has been involved with the project for the last year and a half.

"It's because of the generosity of people like Frances and Jessie that we've been able to expand our collection to have enough material to create this exciting exhibit."

A special viewing of the military nurses' exhibit and a luncheon, sponsored by the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses, was held on June 20, 1999, in conjunction with the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing annual conference June 18-20,1999 in Edmonton (see conference summary page 11). Nurses from across Canada discussed growing areas of study including nursing education, professional issues, public health nursing, biographies of Canadian nurses and the ideology of modern nursing.

Sutherland spent seven years collecting photos, biographical records and personal stories that detail the wartime experiences of the nursing sisters. The collections are contained in three photo albums that are part of the AARN archival display. For Sutherland, it was a way to be sure their stories would be told - and remembered.

"Those young boys were so brave and so wonderful to care for. Even if they were hurt, I'd often see some of them get up and try to help the men who were hurt more severely," she says. "And the nursing sisters worked so hard to care for them. We worked until we couldn't walk." Edmonton Nursing Sister Muriel McArthur agrees that the stories of nurses and Canadian soldiers need to be shared. She was a wing commander with the Royal Canadian Air Force during WA;lI, one of the highest ranks held by a nurse at that time.

"Those stories and pictures are part of the history of the nursing profession," she says. "Medical care changed tremendously because of the war - everything from new drugs, procedures and equipment. " Both Sutherland and MacArthur were influenced by family members who contributed to the war effort and felt that joining the army was their duty.

"As nurses, we saw there was a job to do and we felt we had something to offer," says Sutherland, describing how the men overseas were in desperate need of medical care and how thousands of Canadian nurses were signing up to go overseas.

After being posted to the Infantry Training Centre in Camrose, Sutherland went to serve with the No. 12 Canadian General Hospital in England. The 19-day boat trip was long and rough, causing the boat to do "everything but tip over" Their convoy was even chased by torpedo bullets.

"It was a little unnerving to know that the nurses and other medical staff where divided and sent on two ships instead of just one - in case one was hit," she says, explaining how she and other nursing sisters felt nervous, scared and excited all at the same time.

After transferring to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital in Taplow, England for a few months, Sutherland and her unit moved on to France. Their unit was the first 600-bed Canadian General Hospital to move to the continent and set up under canvas.

"We were glad to be moving away from the target area of those strange, noisy, fiery missiles with tails of flame."

It was then that Sutherland was asked to join three other nurses and become part of a unit that followed closely behind the frontline troops from France, through Belgium and into Holland. They cared for Canadians wounded in the battles of Caen and the Falais Gap in France, treating patients "20 minutes after they d been hit."