Nurses Who Served on Front Lines of Conflict to be Recognized in New Memorial

A statue to recognize women who served as nurses during conflicts throughout the world will be erected on the grounds of Government House.

Lieutenant Governor Joan Marie Aylward, a nurse by profession and the former president of the nurse’s union, announced the plans and unveiled an image of what the new memorial will look like at Government House today.

Aylward read from a series of letters from nurses in the field, outlining the danger they faced as they tried to deliver essential services on the front lines.

“In June of 1915, Maisie Parsons, nurse from Harbour Grace, who served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps while only six miles from the trenches, wrote to her father;”

‘It is impossible to sleep lots of nights. Tonight, I’m writing you by the light of a candle. We cannot get to sleep. We’ve been watching the flashes of the guns all along the line for hours. It really seems like the fighting’s all around us. I’m glad I came, but it certainly seems strange.’

The concept for the sculpture was created by Morgan MacDonald, and a committee has been formed to oversee fundraising for the new memorial.