Mary Roberts Rinehart sails for London, January 9, 1915

Mary Roberts Rinehart, before she left the US for London & Europe, 1915

"There was no particular difficulty about getting out of the country, except the pang of leaving the family...I had the usual telegrams, baskets of fruit, boxes of flowers, but I also had a new thing, one I had never taken before. This was an entire suit of rubber, which in case the ship was torpedoed one was first to don and then to inflate through a tube.

And so and in this manner did I sail on the old Franconia early in January of 1915, the Franconia which was later to be torpedoed and sunk somewhere, I think, in the Mediterranean. We had no escort as we left the harbor, and although the ports in the cabins were closed and smoking or the lighting of matches was forbidden on deck at night, no other precautions were taken.

I was a little frightened that night, when the dark came down. I was alone, and I knew nobody on the ship. It was one thing to plan the great adventure, and another to go through with it. And I had never left the boys before, expect for a few days. I lay awake, worrying about them, about my desertion, and once again about my headstrong determination to do the thing I wanted to do, regardless of the cost.

That first night was endless. The port was closed and covered with cardboard, to prevent any light being seen by a submarine. There was hush of silence all over the ship. And with every beat of the engines I was increasing the distance between me and mine. I lay in my narrow berth and faced what I was doing. I was not afraid of the war; I can at least say for myself that, if I often lacked moral courage, I have a certain amount of physical bravery. But it is the courage of the imaginative individual who seems not only the event itself, but all the possible results of that event." 

Excerpt from pages 149-150 of My Story by Mary Roberts Rinehart. Her trip is also the subject of a chapter in Women Heroes of World War I. 

October 20, 1916: Flora Sandes waits for action

Flora Sandes was the only English woman to serve in the Serbian army. The following was taken from pages 34-35 of her memoir, Autobiography of a Woman Soldier. Her recent biography, A Fine Brother, puts this day at October 20, 1916.

"One day Miladin and I were lying together side by side behind a little rock about as big as a portmanteau, within a few yards of the Bulgars, whilst the rest of our vod were scattered behind nearby rocks. The Bulgars were behind a sort of natural fortification immediately above us, which we had taken once, and had been driven out of the same morning, at dawn, by a counterattack. We were sick at heart, and burning to retake it. We lay there till late in the afternoon, motionless, peering round the edige of rocks and firing a few shots and the fancy took us to keep the enemy from making a sortie and bombing us. From force of habit we talked in whispers as if we were stalking game, though the Bulgars must have been acutely aware of our proximity. 

We were hungry, having had nothing at all since supper the previous night, and so wet and cold that the only thing I could think of to keep up my spirits and while away the time, was to repeat the 'Charge of the Light Brigade,' which, as a child, I thought the most wonderful poem in the world. Over and over at intervals I repeated it to myself, though accepting for the fact of being 'in the mouth of hell', there wasn't much in the poem that would fit our case."

From Autobiography of a Woman Soldier, page 34-35. A full-length biography of Flora Sandes, titled A Fine Brother, was written recently.

Her story is also included in the young adult collective biography, Women Heroes of World War I. 

August 13, 1916: Spinal injuries on the Italian Front

Radiographers Gleichen & Hollings at work 

Lady Helena Gleichen and Nina Hollings were English radiographers who worked on the Italian Front during World War I. The following letter excerpt, dated August 13, 1916, gives Gleichen's impressions of tragic spinal injuries sustained during the Battle of Gorizia. The letter was later included in Gleichen's memoir, Contacts and Contrasts. 

"What has been so horrid since this advance is that we have been called to nearly every hospital to decide about fractured spines. Of course, if metal is lying on the spine an operation may help, but if, as we find nine times out of ten, it has passed through the spine and lodged in the other side of the body, it means that no operation will help and the wounded man just has to wait a fortnight, three weeks, or even three months to die. And they always ask us if their backs are broken, nearly always. It is so hard to answer, but I have become such a hardened actor, andso has Nina, that we invent whatever we think will give them confidence. We had five at Dobra yesterday all the same and all going to die, and three at Crauglio and three more to-day."

From pages 202, Contacts and Contrasts, by Lady Helena Gleichen

The story of Helena Gleichen's work on the Italian Front is included in the young adult collective biography, Women Heroes of World War I.

August 10, 1916: Helena Gleichen, British Radiographer, describes the Austrian dugouts

Radiographers Gleichen & Hollings at work 

Lady Helena Gleichen and Nina Hollings were English radiographers who worked on the Italian Front during World War I. The following letter excerpt, dated August 7, 1916, gives Gleichen's impressions of the second day of the Battle of Gorizia, aka the Sixth Battle of the Isonzo. The letter was later included in Gleichen's memoir, Contacts and Contrasts. 

"Today more work and already orders pouring in for to-morrow.

We feel much left behind. The observation balloons are in front of us now instead of miles back and the Italians have taken possession of the 305 guns that used to bombard Cormons, ammunition and all. the Austrians had underground passages under the river Isonzo to bring up their ammunition and their dugouts had sofas and pictures and arm-chairs and piano-fortes. We have seen lots of the clubs which the enemy use as weapons. These clubs sometimes have two iron rings, sometimes three with spikes all round. What do you think of that for modern civilization? I believe Lord Northcliffe is coming here for the night to-morrow. I wonder if you know him. We are looked upon as the curiosity section, I can't think why except for the profusion of cases we get through and the miles we travel."

From pages 201, Contacts and Contrasts, by Lady Helena Gleichen

The story of Helena Gleichen's work on the Italian Front is included in the young adult collective biography, Women Heroes of World War I.

August 10, 1915: Gabrielle Petit writes a letter hinting at her work for British Intelligence

Gabrielle Petit was a young Belgian woman who worked for British Intelligence during World War I. The following, a letter Petit wrote to her fiance's sister on August 10, 1915, hinting at her upcoming work for British Intelligence, is excerpted from page 52 of Gabrielle Petit: The Death and Life of a Female Spy in the First World War. 

"Dear all,

I have received your express [message], thank you very much. I am going, come what may! Constant guessed right [about Petit's plans]. I do not understand why Eva did not immediately realize for herself, for after all, with a character like mine, nothing should come as a surprise. I have been told [when being recruited by British Intelligence]: 'It seems to me that you love your fiance very much; since he makes a sacrifice, do as he does (but not as a competitor, put your pride into it).' I said 'Yes.' Anyway, if I had joined a field hospital, I would have run the same risks and it would not have served me later on, whereas now, I have friends in high places who very much have my best interests in mind...Do not write me any more -- the letter wouldn't have the legs to run after me."

From pages 52 of Gabrielle Petit: The Death and Life of a Female Spy in the First World War.  Petit's story is also told in the YA collective biography, Women Heroes of World War I: 15 Remarkable Resisters, Spies, Soldiers, and Medics. 

August 16, 1918: Ella Mae Bongard, Canadian nurse on the Western Front

From the diary of Ella Mae Bongard: 

"Today one of my patients, Capt. Samuels died. He had a fractured femur and a huge G.S.W. of the hip. They found a gas bug in the culture & he got so much worse they decided to amputate but he died on the table. He was such a good sport, just this morning he was coaxing me to move his bed outdoors but of course we couldn't with the traction on, so he said get me a propeller on this thing and I'll fly out. 

I've cried myself sick."

From page 52, Nobody Ever Wins a War: The World War I Diaries of Ella Mae Bongard, R.N.

July 30, 1915: Gabrielle Petit describes her demeanor during an encounter with the Germans

Gabrielle Petit was a young Belgian woman who worked for British Intelligence during World War I. The following, a letter Petit wrote to her fiance on July 30, 1915, telling how he narrowly escaped Germany arrest, is excerpted from Gabrielle Petit: The Death and Life of a Female Spy in the First World War. 

"Not finding you, they came to my place, in hopes of making me confess; oh, what a hard time I gave them! I have shown them exemplary rudeness and astonishing arrogance...The officer took one of my photos; I asked him why. He went all cagey. 'When you'll return to Sauerkrautland,' I told him, 'do show that picture around: it shows a Belgian woman who has guts.' The effect was immediate. I wonder if he got over the insult...So you see, dear little fiance, that I have followed close upon your heels. Unfortunately, it might be two or three months before I see you again...

I am set to pass a little exam on Monday, 2 August and to leave London on the 3d. Some patience, and you will be able to congratulate me a lot. Be good, be brave, be loyal; be prudent, danger lurks everywhere; in whichever manner one serves one's country, one is always exposed to danger...

My good and dear little one, be brave; think of she who aspires to see you again and who kisses you with all her soul.

Your faithful and devoted fiancee,
Gaby"

From pages 51 of Gabrielle Petit: The Death and Life of a Female Spy in the First World War.  Petit's story is also told in the YA collective biography, Women Heroes of World War I.