WW1 Nurses
Although Florence Nightingale had revolutionised the Nursing profession during the Crimean War of 1853-56, by the beginning of the Great War in 1914 there were only 300 Military trained Nurses in the British Army. As the War in Europe intensified they were supported by Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD's), volunteers who provided help with nursing assistance, driving ambulances, and admin duties etc.
Nursing in WW1 was exhausting and dangerous work. Field Hospitals were situated close to the Battlefield so wounded soldiers could be operated on as soon as possible. Nurses who volunteered experienced the full horrors of the War first hand as the carnage increased.
20,000 British soldiers died and 40,000 were injured on July 1st 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest day in British Military history.
By the War's end in 1918 there were over 10,000 trained Military Nurses and tens of thousands of VAD's.
Over 500 Nurses lost their lives in WW1.
The majority died from the Influenza that tore through Europe at the end of the War, but many died from shrapnel and shellfire on the Front Line or on Ships that were torpedoed.