Women and War

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Miss Minnie Affleck, Nursing Sister (N/S), 1st Canadian Contingent, the South African War with wounded soldiers, circa 1900.

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Georgina Fane Pope, Canadian nursing sister in South Africa, November 1899 - December 1900; January - June 1902.

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Two Canadian nurses pose in service dress uniforms.

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No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital at Doullens. The interior of a church in Doullens, France was used as a stationary hospital. This painting by Gerald Moira depicts a nursing sister in the foreground looking over sick and injured soldiers. This hospital was later bombarded by German forces in May 1918, where three nurses and 29 other patients and hospital personnel were killed.

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Canadian Nursing Sister wearing her winter jumper, – merry and bright – somewhere in France. December 1917.

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Wounded Canadians in France enjoy the sunshine while a sister reads home news to them, July 1917.

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A man being operated on in an Canadian Field Ambulance within an hour of being wounded, October 1916.

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Nursing Sister Gertrude Ellinor Halpenny poses in her summer uniform in front of a medical tent.

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Wilfred Whitern's painting of the Canadian hospital ship Lady Nelson shows the brightly lit vessel in its distinctive paint scheme identifying it as a non combatant. Like all hospital ships, the Lady Nelson was painted white, with a broad green stripe and red crosses on its hull. At night, lights illuminated these markings, along with Red Cross flags and a red cross on the funnel. The Canadian military chartered the Lady Nelson, a Canadian National Steamships liner sunk, salvaged, and rebuilt as a hospital ship. While the medical staff, including Whitern, were military, the ship's crew were members of the merchant navy.

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Portrait Painting. A nursing veteran (First World War), Lieutenant-Colonel Pense served as Matron-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps overseas, 1939-1942.

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Patients and Nursing Sisters in ward aboard No. 2 Canadian General Hospital Ship Letitia Liverpool, England, November 24, 1944.

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Nursing Sister Lieutenant B. Rankin administers a blood transfusion to a wounded soldier in Montreuil, France, 10 September 1944.

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Canadian servicewomen in Korea heading off for a wash. Note the flip-flops on the woman at left. Typical of field conditions, no two women wear exactly the same uniform.

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An important aspect of the Korean War was the return of Canadian and American wounded, who were supported by nurses from the USAF, USN and RCAF. RCAF nurse, F/O Joan Drummond (left), and USAF nurses watch medical attendants care for a wounded soldier.

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Nursing Sister Thomson in para rescue uniform.

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Ordinary Seaman Lisa Nelson aboard HMCS Regina.

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Sergeant Viviane Jean Baptiste of the 34th Field Engineer Regiment helps the Canadian Forces medical team by translating the symptoms of the patients who require treatment due to the earthquake that devastated Haiti in January 2010.

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A member of the Naval Boarding Party stands watch as Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Winnipeg participates in an SNMG1 port visit to Karachi Pakistan to increase awareness of NATO activities in the region.