Canada’s nursing sisters played a vital role in the care of wounded soldiers during World War I and II. Called “nursing sisters” because some of the earliest nurses belonged to religious orders, they were accorded the rank of lieutenant during World War I. The nurses were an integral part of the Canadian Army Medical Corps; the majority worked overseas in military hospitals and in casualty clearing stations.

A small collection of five rare leaflets, two of which are officially ascribed to “Women’s Section, Department of Public Information,” indicate both the closeness of Canada and Britain during the First World War and the extent to which the massive loss of men at the front had made women’s involvement essential.

Yolande Beekman, Madeleine Damerment, Noor Inayat Khan, and Eliane Plewman were all multi-lingual officers in the Special Operations Executive of the British Secret Service. They came from a variety of places and backgrounds to volunteer in the British WTS/FANY (Women’s Transport Service/First Aid Nursing Yeomanry).