Scottish Nurses in the First World War

Nursing on the Balkan front lines



At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals, Dr. Elsie Inglis, approached the British War Office with the suggestion that her organisation be permitted to travel to the front to work with the R. A. M. C. and other nursing organisations caring for wounded and sick soldiers. It was reported that the War Office official she met told her: 'My good lady, go home and sit still.' Fortunately for thousands of allied soldiers this was not the kind of advice that sat well with Dr. Inglis. Undaunted, her plans to contribute to the war effort pressed ahead and the first 200 bed Scottish Women's Hospital opened at Royaumont, France. In the course of the war thirteen more hospitals followed, in Corsica, France, Malta, Romania, Russia, Salonika and Serbia, staffed by volunteer doctors, nurses, orderlies and ambulance drivers. This unique Leonaur edition principally concerns the activities of the Scottish Women's Hospital unit in the Romanian Campaign, part of the Balkan theatre in the east, where fighting broke out in 1916 and was particularly savage as Romanian forces attempted to regain Transylvania from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Written by one who experienced the campaign at first hand the book describes the work, deprivation and perils of those remarkable women who, driven by irrepressible conviction, undertook their humanitarian work far from home and often in conditions of extreme danger. To add perspective an extract describing the work of the Scottish Women's Hospitals throughout the region during the Great War is also included. Recommended reading for all those interested in nursing in wartime.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.