“Extremely Depressed with a Hopeless Outlook”: The Experiences of Psychologically Traumatized Nursing Sisters During and After the First World War

Abstract

During the First World War, 2,845 women served as nursing sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Although the majority of those who enlisted had pre-war training, these experiences did not prepare them for the severity of the injuries they treated, the relentless pace of the work, and the pressures of working within a warzone. How did these women cope with the traumas they witnessed during their service when they returned home? Of the 842 nursing sisters who applied for a pension, 143 (16.7%) reported ongoing mental and nervous illnesses. The postwar experiences of these women reveal some of the traumas and challenges that military nurses faced overseas and when they returned home.