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CA-K246History

Nursing Sisters, the first women with military rank

Nursing Sisters at a Canadian hospital in France voting in the 1917 federal election (photograph by William Rider-Rider).
Nursing Sisters at a Canadian hospital in France voting in the 1917 federal election (photograph by William Rider-Rider). Canadian nurses voting 1917 · William Rider-Rider · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
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Canadian military nurses have cared for the sick and wounded in battle since 1885. In 1904, professional nurses joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps as Nursing Sisters, the first women in the British Empire to receive military rank; in the two world wars hundreds were decorated and dozens died from enemy action.

Scope & context

Military nursing as a whole, not individual nurses (see CA-K179 on Edith Monture).

Sources behind this record

1
Military Nurses National Historic Event ↗

Parks Canada

Historical importance; plaque text