Veiled Warriors

This brilliant and highly informative book describes the conditions of Allied nurses during the First World War both sequentially and on the different fronts, including the Western front, the Russian and Serbian fronts and the Eastern Mediterranean. The author is Professor of Nursing History at the University of Manchester and brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to her subject. The primary function of nurses was fighting for the lives of their patients on the second battlefield of casualty clearing stations, but they also put their own lives at risk in field hospitals and hospital ships. More widely, they were fighting to gain recognition and registration for their profession as well as for the political rights of women. It emerges that there was considerable tension between trained and volunteer nurses, although they all found themselves in the same situation. The author disposes of a number of myths such as the romantic nurse, although she also illustrates this theme through analysis of a number of memoirs and novels.

Casualty clearing stations had developed by the end of 1914 and wounds were exacerbated by contamination from anaerobic bacteria causing life-threatening infections like gangrene and tetanus. The narrative is spiced by the inclusion of many vivid first-hand diaries describing appalling conditions, very long hours and relentless stress. Advances in technology meant that the wounds were of unprecedented severity and the mud meant that many men suffered from trench foot along with shell shock while sheer numbers put a huge strain on the medical staff. One particular incident involved the sinking of the hospital ship Marquette in less than 15 minutes. By 1916, the war had become one of attrition as the battles of Verdun and the Somme raged. To add insult to injury, the 1918 flu epidemic killed a lot of troops with compromised immune systems. However, after the end of the war the nurses achieved their registration and the profession was properly recognised. This is altogether a masterly account of a fascinating if horrific historical period.