Women in the Services
During the First World War women stepped into the jobs that the men had left behind when they enlisted. This is a role that cannot be underestimated when one remembers they were doing the work of tens of thousands of men. On the front and behind the lines, Nursing Sisters serving with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps required courage and commitment to deal with the mental and physical casualties of horrendous warfare. Women from Elgin County were well represented among these Nursing Sisters.
The women in our files include: Florence Mary Anderson, Edith Mearle Axford, D. Bannerman, Elizabeth Davies (Miller), Gertrude Gilbert, Caroline Graham Green, Helen R. Griffin, Ruth Marie Hanna, Catherine Elizabeth Irwin, Ellen Elizabeth Katzenmeier (Banks) C. Lee, Catherine Meek, Emily Kathleen Palmer (Parsons), Lila Rundle, Shepard, Eva Silcox, Alice Gertrude Turner and Marion E. Price of Port Stanley who was awarded the Royal Red Cross.
The women in our files include: Florence Mary Anderson, Edith Mearle Axford, D. Bannerman, Elizabeth Davies (Miller), Gertrude Gilbert, Caroline Graham Green, Helen R. Griffin, Ruth Marie Hanna, Catherine Elizabeth Irwin, Ellen Elizabeth Katzenmeier (Banks) C. Lee, Catherine Meek, Emily Kathleen Palmer (Parsons), Lila Rundle, Shepard, Eva Silcox, Alice Gertrude Turner and Marion E. Price of Port Stanley who was awarded the Royal Red Cross.
The Second World War saw women in all the services in addition to the more traditional role of nursing sister. The Canadian Women's Army Corps, the Canadian Women's Air Force and the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service.
This is a collage of seven of the women from Elgin County that served in the Canadian Women's Air Force during World War II. 1. Margaret McGregor, 2. Jean Cameron (Mentioned in Dispatches), 3. Helen Sutton, 4. Audrey Penhale, 5. Margaret Wiley, 6. Jean Smith and 7. Cecelia Preston.
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The Royal Canadian Navy was the last service to accept women beginning in 1942. Nevertheless, the WRENs went on to play a vital role in helping to train convoy captains, staffing communications facilities and the unique tasking of Lieutenant Donna Price (top left).
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Women in the Services over the 20th and early 21st century.
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