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The First World War saw a major mobilization of soldiers, equipment, supplies and medical staff. Between 1914 and 1918, 2,003 women enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) and went overseas. The war was perceived as exclusively male, but the presence of nursing sisters near the front and close to the line of fire has shattered this misperception and highlighted the importance of female caregivers during the war. These women looked after almost 540,000 soldiers and worked near the battlefields under difficult conditions.

Check out the letters, diaries and photographs of Canadian nursing sisters who served during the Great War. Follow these nurses as they witness the destruction of war, participate in social events, and help patients, as you transcribe, translate, tag and/or describe their writings and photographs.

Dorothy Cotton

Born in Kingston, Ontario, on August 2, 1886, Dorothy Cotton graduated from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montréal, Quebec. During the First World War, she was one of 37 nurses who served in Russia, spending most of her time in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) with the Anglo-Russian hospital in Petrograd.

Immerse yourself in her acclimatization to a new country, her impressions of the work, and the throngs of people she helped, as you transcribe, translate, tag and/or describe 16 letters to her family and 10 photographs.


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