** WWI nurses were frequently called "Angels in White" due to their white uniforms and life-saving work in the trenches. **
WWI Ace Captain Arthur R. Brooks, US Army
Image: National Air and Space Museum
**Framingham’s Lieutenant Arthur R. Books downed 6 German aircraft earning him the coveted title of Fighter “Ace”. **
For many Americans, the First World War (aka the Great War) remains an asterisk in our history books. Its conclusion, however, set the stage for one of the most cataclysmic periods in human history – World War II. In many cases, the aftermath of the Great War still shapes some of the world’s 21st Century current events.
The Treaty of Versailles (1919)
Image: Public Domain
The Great War spanned from 1914-1918. It was a major global conflict. Battles were fought on several continents, at sea and in the air. Many of these engagements lasted several months instead of days. Casualties were on an unprecedented scale. Great Britain and her Commonwealth Nations suffered approximately one million military deaths. After over two years of neutrality, the US officially entered the war on 06 April 1917 when Congress passed a resolution declaring war on Germany. The US sustained more than 320,000 casualties in WWI, including over 53,000 killed in action, greater than 63,000 non-combat related deaths, in no small part due to the Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918, and 204,000 wounded.
Hellish Landscape--Chateau Wood, Belgium October 1917
Image: James Francis Hurley/State Library of New South Wales
As we have come to expect, Framingham men and women stood tall when the country called. According to former town historian Stephan Herring, 1,500 Framingham residents registered for WWI service. Approximately 1,100 served, with half deployed overseas. There were 33 deaths, with 12 killed in action.
Image: Framingham History Center
Throughout the war, there was a strong and continuous demand for doctors, and nurses to handle the massive flow of wounded and sick men passing through Field and General Hospitals.
Both Marion MacLeod and Marie Anderson were members of the Framingham Hospital Training School for Nurses, Class of 1916. This school was established in 1893 as part of the original Framingham Hospital on Evergreen Street. When Union Avenue Hospital, founded in 1913, merged with Framingham Hospital in 1928, the combined Framingham Union Hospital School of Nursing was created. The school ultimately closed in 1999, marking the end of more than a century of hospital-based nursing education in Framingham.
Framingham Hospital Training School for Nurses
Class of 1900
Image: Framingham History Center
"Inside a Ward" circa 1918
Image: Harvard Countway Library, Center for the History of Medicine
Volunteers normally completed three-to-six-month tours of duty. Many stayed longer than required. Typical staffing was 35 physicians/dentists and approximately 75-100 nurses. A total of almost 500 medical personnel rotated through the hospital during the war. Interestingly, the hospital remained a BEF unit even after the US entry into the conflict. Of note, Major Harvey Cushing for whom Cushing Hospital in Framingham was named, served at General Hospital No. 22. By the end of the conflict, the "Harvard Hospital" had treated over 150,000 wounded soldiers. The unit remained operational until it was demobilized in January 1919.
“Admitting a Convoy" circa 1918
Image: Harvard Countway Library, Center for the History of Medicine
Letter of Appreciation to the Harvard University Hospital Unit from Great Britain
Image: Harvard Countway Library, Center for the History of Medicine.
Nurse Marie Anderson (1893-1980)
Image: Find-A-Grave.com
Marie Anderson was born in Norway in 1892. She emigrated to Canada in 1908 (at the age of 16) where she worked as a farmhand in the east coast province of New Brunswick. In 1914, Marie enrolled as a student at the Framingham Hospital School of Nursing. She was a member of the 1916 graduating class.
Following graduation, Marie was hired by the National Tuberculosis Association to work on the benchmark “Framingham Community Health Demonstration” (aka the Framingham TB Study). Dennison Manufacturing was an enthusiastic supporter of this effort. In fact, Mr. Henry S. Dennison was a member of the National Committee for the study. The company allowed Marie Anderson and her peers into its factory to conduct health screenings, making it an important data collection and analysis point for the effort. An amazingly forward-leaning company, in 1913 Dennison already had a hospital department, which included a clinic, a full-time doctor, and two nurses. The hospital department worked closely with Marie and the “Framingham Experiment” study team.
Dennison Tag Advertisement circa 1897
Image: FHC
On 15 May 1917, Marie volunteered to serve in the Havard Surgical Unit. Although not technically a Dennison employee, she was highlighted in the company’s WWI Honor Roll in the September 1918 issue of Round Robin magazine.
By 1920, Marie lived and worked in Boston. In 1921, she married Mr. John E. Atkinson of Saskatchewan, Canada. John served in the Canadian Army during the war. He was present for several battles in France and Belgium. In December of 1917, he was treated at General Hospital Number 22. The couple settled in Saskatchewan where they farmed and parented three boys (Robert, Edward, and Donald). She remained active in volunteer nursing throughout her life. Marie passed away on 13 January 1980.
Marie and John Atkinson John Atkinson, Canadian Army
Images: Find-A-Grave.com
Nurse Marion MacLeod
General Hospital No. 22 Staff Pin
Marion MacLeod was born in 1893 in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada. Her family eventually settled in Connecticut (CT). In 1914, she relocated to Framingham to study at the Framingham Hospital School of Nursing. She graduated with Marie Anderson in 1916. She joined the Harvard Unit in April of 1917. Marion completed one year of service at General Hospital No. 22 then volunteered for the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She was discharged from the military on 11 March 1919 after arriving in Halifax, NS on the S.S. EMPRESS OF BRITAIN.
S.S. EMPRESS OF BRITAIN
Image: greatships.net
After the war, Marion continued her nursing career in New York City. In 1939, she married Blaire H. Bonner (1893-1984). Blair served in the US Army in 1918. The couple moved to Madison, CT in 1963. Marion passed away in 1975. Her final resting place is in Middletown, CT.
Watch
Sources
Ancestry.com
Census Information, Town of FraminghamCensus Information, City of Framingham
Find-a-Grave.com
“Framingham, An American Town,” by Stephan Herring
“Framingham Community Health and Tuberculosis Demonstration”, National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, Framingham, April 1918
Framingham History Center Archives (Special Thanks to Ruthann Tomassini)
Framingham History Center; Dennison Manufacturing Archives (Special Thanks to Researcher Pat Lavin)
Greatships.net
Harvard University Countway Library, Center for the History of Medicine
Harvard University, The Harvard Crimson (student newspaper)
Imperial War Museum
“Report of the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War” by the Commission on Massachusetts' Part in the World War (Jesse F. Stevens, 1929)
The Library of Congress
The National Archives
The National Archives, United Kingdom (War Diary, General Hospital Number 22)
The National WWI Museum and Memorial
11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour; Armistice Day, 1918. World War I and Its Violent Climax, Joseph E. Persico
The Guns of August, Barbara W. Tuchman
No comments:
Post a Comment