redcross

Thank you for posting the images from the the Grace Waters fonds, particularly those by E. R. Owens. Some very candid photos of hospital life during WWI.

A number of them are of the photos are of the No. 15 Canadian General Hospital in Clivedon, though are referred to by various names in the photo descriptions.

I was researching a nursing sister who died there at the end of WWI, so had to bone up on my military hospital history and thought I would pass on this additional information about the “Clivedon hospital” for others. (The source information is below):

“No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Duchess of Connaught’s Red Cross Hospital, Taplow (Clivedon)

- Offer by Major and Mrs. Waldorf Astor of use of buildings at Clivedon for a hospital accepted in November 1914.
- Designated as the Duchess of Connaught’s Red Cross Hospital on 16 December 1914.
- Authorization published in General Order 103a of 15 August 1915.
- Equipment supplied by Canadian Red Cross, maintained by War Office, staff supplied by Canadian Army Medical Corps.
- Redesignated as No. 15 Canadian General Hospital on 10 September 1917.
- Closed 15 September 1919.
- Disbanded by General Order 211 of 15 November 1920.
- Published Stand Easy, 30 June 1917 -7 October 1918, and Chronicles of Clivedon.”

Source: www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-wo... (page 112)

Soldiers in World War II had difficulty resisting the urge to smoke; many found it was almost impossible because it was so embedded in the lifestyle around them. As this analysis of soldiers’ correspondence and oral histories reveals they decided to smoke for a variety of reasons: the habit had positive social consequences, it helped them cope with stress, it was hard to escape the promotion of cigarette smoking by tobacco companies, and the military itself promoted it. Among the many disadvantages of smoking there seemed to be quite a few positive benefits for a soldier. In camp, smoking was a way to combat boredom throughout the long hours of waiting for troop movements or other war related efforts. It was just like cards; it gave the soldier something to do to pass the time. Smoking was also a way that soldiers bonded. Cigarettes were used to make conversation between soldiers. If they both smoked, they already had something in common, so it allowed soldiers in a new place to become social. War caused a lot of stress in many soldiers, and they looked to tobacco and cigarettes as a potential cure. Stress is one of the main reasons a soldier started to smoke. The amount of stress and the amount of smoking is also linked; a stressed soldier tended to smoke more.(3) Smoking allowed a soldier to remove himself from the realities of war and to finally relax and not think about bombs and explosions as illustrated in Figure 1. It often gave a soldier the strength and courage to face another day of extreme discomfort and fatigue.(4) In some pictures of injured soldiers, they are seen with a cigarette. It is possible soldiers are seen like this because the stress calming effects of cigarettes seemed to be medicinal. During many parts of the war, morphine supplies were low, so soldiers relied on cigarettes as pain management.(5) The cigarettes lowered the patient’s blood pressure and pulse to help the soldier deal with pain. Source: concordiamemoryproject.concordiacollegearchives.org/exhib...

Such a great photo.

On May 21, 1881, Clara Barton hosted the first official meeting of the American Red Cross at her Washington, D.C., home. The organization continues to provide humanitarian aid during conflicts and natural disasters.

The American National Red Cross Collection in the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, offers a visual record of their accomplishments in providing relief throughout the world, primarily in the 1910s through the 1940s.

Congrats on Explore! ⭐ May 19, 2023

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