Nurses who have served in war and military operations will be remembered in a new monument to be erected on the grounds of Government House.
A fundraising campaign has begun to help tell the “untold stories” of nurses who administered care to wounded and dying soldiers in wars and conflicts around the world.
Nowadays, the effects of PTSD and compassion fatigue are much better understood than they were more than 100 years ago.
Lieutenant Governor Joan Marie Aylward says the monument will also honour the work of all nurses and all women in nursing – both historically and in the modern day.
(Photo via Facebook / Lieutenant Governor Joan Marie J. Aylward)
She says the war effort in WWI and its connections to Government House are many.
“Nurses, and through the Women’s Patriotic Association as well, I mean this group used Government House as its center for mobilization, to make their surgical supplies, they raised money, they bought an ambulance to be used on the front lines.” They even “purchased a ward to care for the nurses that were exhausted from the care provided to those wounded on the front lines.”
Aylward says they’re looking for stories from nurses and their families, and while they have a good understanding of the role of nurses in WWI, they’re looking for more information on service in WWII and other wars and conflicts as well.
