Episode 8: 13th to 18th October, 1914

The image of a World War 1 nurse in a starched white apron and cap is one which dominated the records of female nurses after the war. Civilians would have seen the impossibility of maintaining such an image in the conditions under which they worked, if the writing of these women had been publicised immediately after the war. 

In this episode Nan Reay again details the severe living conditions under which nurses had to exist. However, the necessity to always be prepared to pack, to move, to set up camp elsewhere at a moment’s notice doesn’t deter Nan from interspersing these events with humorous anecdotes of makeshift hearty meals.

World War 1 Timeline for Episode 8

The first battle of Ypres took place on 15 October. Ypres was a Belgian town that had been captured by the British Expeditionary Forces (BEF) in 1914 but on October 15th the Germans attacked the town for four weeks until they finally decided to abandon the offensive on the 22 November. 135,000 Germans were killed or badly wounded and the BEF lost around 75,000 men.

“Brussels” – there is some confusion as to how the word is actually being used in this context. However historical records show that nurses often called their cloaks or capes, Brussels.

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For more information on Dispatches from the Frontline project, go to: www.dispatchesfromthefrontline.org

Dispatches from the Frontline is brought to you by:

Geraldine Cook-Dafner – Narrator

Naomi Edwards - Director

Alex Dafner – Voice recording and editing

Zoltan Fecso – Music composition, sound design and editing

Tristan Meecham – Creative Producer, All the Queen’s Men

Image – Sarah Corridon

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