As you can see, I get around quite a bit: first at Folkestone, now in London. I await orders from my superior. I will not enroll at the field hospital. I have something much more useful to do; later on, you will know everything. I will have done my duty well, you will be most pleased. But do pray that nothing bad will happen to me. Still, do not get upset; there is danger everywhere...If I succeed in my endeavor, I will ask my superiors to obtain a leave for you, which I will spend with you...Dearest fiance, be very brave, very prudent, and pray for us...
"The great Procession of Homage of Women War Workers received by the King and Queen in the quadrangle of Buckingham Palace on Saturday last, when an address of congratulation upon their Silver Wedding was presented, was a magnificent success. Princess Mary was present in her uniform of Commandant-in-Chief of the V.A.D., and V.A.D. workers took precedence of all other branches of women's work, including the Trained Nurses of the Metropolitan Asylums Board led by Miss Ambler-Jones. The King's Reply to the Address, delivered in a resonant voice, was distinctly heard by some thousands of people present, and His Majesty spoke most sympathetically and appreciatively of the part played by women in the great war.
'The Queen and I,' said the King, 'are touched by the thought that the first expression of loyalty and devotion on the occasion of our silver wedding should come from this representative body of women who, by their services, have assisted the State in the full mobilization of its man power. In our visits to various centres we have had opportunities of seeing and appre- ciating the great part which the women of our land are taking in all branches of war service, and everywhere we have been filled with admiration at their achievements, an admiration which I believe to be shared by the whole nation.
'When the history of our country's share in the War is written no chapter will be more remarkable than that relating to the range and extent of women's participation. This service has been rendered only at the cost of much self-sacrifice and endurance.'
Referring to nurses and V.A.D. workers His Majesty said, 'They have often faced cheerfully and courageously great risks, both at home and overseas, in carrying on their work, and the Women's Army has its own Roll of Honour of those who have lost their lives in the service of their country. Of all these we think to-day with reverent pride.'
There should not be to-day an idle woman in the three kingdoms. All able-bodied women between the ages of eighteen and forty, not otherwise employed, should enrol themselves as full-time workers in one of the great organizations of those who are prepared to make every sacrifice in order to assist their country at this supreme crisis in its history."
Video showing some of the procession towards the palace:
“May 2nd. Another strenuous day; over 50 officers in our section. We are all worked to breaking strain with so many dressings to do, meals to get out, & so much marble underfoot. So far we have had so little time to think and no time to ask the men much about their experiences yet. In fact one’s brain seems incapable of taking in anything and remembering it. And there is scarcely time to ask them how they are. They seem to have had a dreadful lot of casualties: some surmise 3000, others say far more than that. We were sorry to hear that Lt. Legge had gone but by this time perhaps all the men we looked upon as friends have been blotted out of this existence. The hospital ships were not nearly enough to bring away the wounded & several transports were pressed into the service as conveyances for wounded . . . We have not been allowed out, all leave stopped till further notice.”
Australian sisters on board S.S Mooltan, 1915 [AW Savage, photo album, PXE 698, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales]
Diary excerpts from the Alice Kitchen Papers, Special Collections, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne.
“May 1st. Another strenuous day. Some worked till late at night, others till nearly 11 pm. Batches of wounded came in, many bullet wounds, every room crammed & such a muddle & disorder...Many of the wounds are slight, some marvelous escapes & some horrible injuries. 25 or so died on the boats coming over. Such dreadful news for so many at home to hear. It all makes one realize the awfulness of war. . . . One dreads to hear who next has gone . . . Worked till nearly 11 p.m. Another train expected in at midnight… At present I find it difficult to remember even the names of the patients for an hour or so & the transferring of patients from one ward & one hospital to another is very trying..."
Australian sisters on board S.S Mooltan, 1915 [AW Savage, photo album, PXE 698, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales]
Diary excerpts from the Alice Kitchen Papers, Special Collections, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne.
"April 29th. Some of the wounded arrived today, our first real war heroes from Turkey. They were mostly minor injuries from bullet wounds about arms or shoulders. We had 50 tonight. Was on duty all day…All seem ravenous for food & full of excitement & all eager to hear the news. We hear rumors of their doing very well & also of heavy losses in some battalions. Very little news of the 8th. It all makes one feel the ease with which the spark of life is extinguished & the impossibility of rekindling it. God grant all we are interested in may be spared. How horrible war is.”
Diary excerpts from the Alice Kitchen Papers, Special Collections, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne.
Nursing Sisters at a Canadian Hospital in France voting in the Canadian federal election. December 1917. Photographer: William Rider-Rider Source: Library and Archives Canada (Credit: William Rider-Rider / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / PA-002279)
The following is an excerpt from the diary of Ella Mae Bongard, a WWI Canadian nursing sister:
"Voted tonight in the Canadian elections. A Canadian officer came out from Havre to arrange it. I feel quite important now. You may be sure I voted for conscription despite party politics for I don't want to see Canada drop out of the war at this stage."
--December 9, 1917.
When Bongard penned the above she had been in France less than two months and had experienced only one large convoy of wounded. This lack of experience may partially account for her eagerness to keep Canada in the war. But her entry seven days earlier, December 2, 1917, regarding a large convoy of wounded from the Battle of Cambrai, flatly contradicts her later eagerness:
"...I've never realized the war so much until this last convoy. I wonder if it's ever going to end. It seems so senseless to keep sending well men up the line to be shot to pieces..."
"...Everyone has felt the awful strain of the last week & there is so much personal element with it. If we had been nursing strange troops we may have felt it less, but among our own people the horrors of war are brought home more intensely. Almost everyone on the ship has some relation or friend at the front & so you are constantly dreading to hear the latest news in case it is some one we know or are interested in. God preserve them all but that seems an impossibility unless the war ends quickly."
From the Alice Kitchen Papers, Special Collections, State Library of Victoria, Melbourne.
