Sister Soldiers of the Great War. The Nurses of the Canadian Army Medical Corps

In Sister Soldiers of the Great War, Cynthia Toman recovers the long-lost history of Canada’s first women soldiers – nursing sisters who enlisted as officers with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. These experienced nurses were motivated by patriotism, a sense of adventure, and personal and professional goals. They left their communities, families, and jobs to enlist in the Canadian Army, where they received relative rank and equal pay to men. Their official mandate was to salvage as many sick and wounded men as possible for return to the front lines. Nothing prepared them for poor living conditions, the scale of casualties, or the type of wounds they encountered, but their letters and diaries reveal that they were determined to soldier on under all circumstances while still “living as well as possible.” The first book to look at the collective and individual experiences of Canada’s nursing sisters, Sister Soldiers of the Great War reveals how these resilient women negotiated their role as sisters and soldiers in a man’s world.