Page 173 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 1

Category

Library Item

Item no

25201

Title

Page 173 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 1

Description

a smell of cabbage, bad tobacco & dirty clothes & a damp, clammy atmosphere! The windows were hermetically sealed. There was great confusion at the station & it was with difficulty we managed to cheque [check] our stores & get them aboard the train.The whole of the Russian army seemed to be surging upon the plat- form; orderlies searching for their masters, officers shouting for their orderlies, soldiers staggering along under bundles of clothes, each man revealing that expression of happy, half-amused, half-inquisitive, wholly amiable tolerance, which reveals the Russian soldiers' favourite attitude to the world! A bunch of Austrian prisoners in their blue-grey uniform made a strange splash of colour in a corner of the platform where, they quite contentedly were drinking their tea; someone in the invisible distance was playing the balalaïka [balalaika] & every now & then some church bell in the village rang clearly & sharply above the tumult. It was truly a strange scene. At last with a reluctant jerk & shiver the train was slowly persuaded to totter into the night air & we were off!
We spent a most diabolical night on cold, hard boards, the result being we are very irritable, stiff & weary to-day!!
22nd Benderi - we arrived here at 9 0'cl: & spend an hour or so

Artist / maker

Moir, Ethel

Date

1916

Size

20.4 x 16.0 cm

Type

Document

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

When war broke out in August 1914, the people of Britain responded. Men volunteered for the army and others set about establishing relief units to help the army or provide assistance to civilians and refugees. The Scottish Women's Hospitals were one of those - yet they were also very different, because they were set up with two specific aims: to help the war effort by providing medical assistance, and to promote the cause of women's rights and by their involvement in the war, help win those rights.

The SWH's original idea was set up a hospital in Edinburgh to help treat the war wounded. However this was soon abandoned in favour of setting up hospitals in the field, close to the fighting. Fundraising commenced and by the end of August 1914, more than five thousand pounds had been raised.

The SWH founder Dr Elsie Inglis approached the War Office with the idea of medical units being allowed to serve on the Western Front. The offer was turned down and she was told by an official "My good lady, go home and sit still". Undeterred, Scottish Women's Hospitals opened its first 200 bed Auxiliary hospital at the 13th Century Abbaye de Royaumont in France.

The Scottish Women's Hospitals were very closely associated with Serbia and although they operated hospitals in France, Macedonia, Greece, Corsica, Romania and Russia the majority of their work was to help Serbia. Conditions in Serbia were dire; the army had less than 300 doctors to serve more than half a million men. By the winter of 1915 Serbia could hold out no more, and were forced to retreat into Albania. The SWH had a choice to make, stay and go into captivity or go with the retreating army into Albania. Some stayed and several including Elsie Inglis were taken prisoner and later repatriated to Britain. The army retreated over the mountains with no food, shelter or help suffering many casualties.

Following her repatriation to Britain in February 1916, Elsie Inglis set about equipping and staffing a hospital to serve in Russia. It served in southern Russia and in Romania, providing medical help to the Serbian Division of the Russian Army. This division was made up from Serbs and Yugoslavs who had been taken prisoner by the Russians but had volunteered to fight for the allies. The SWH once again had to retreat. The hospital was withdrawn and they sailed back from Archangel to the UK. The day after they returned back, Elsie Inglis who had been ill for some time, died.

Towards the end of the war the SWH in Serbia provided medical care to soldiers, civilians and prisoners of war. A new fixed hospital was established in Vranje and by early 1919 this was handed over to the Serbian authorities bringing to an end the SWH. Most SWH members returned home and resumed their pre war lives, others stayed behind to continue to provide medical care in Serbia.

Over 1,000 women from many different backgrounds and many different countries served with the SWH. Only medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and X ray operators received a salary, all others received no pay at all and were expected to pay their own way. Some women joined because it was one of the few opportunities open to women to actively help the war effort, for others it was the rare chance for adventure.

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Events > Wars > Wars

Events > Wars > World wars

Healthcare and welfare > Healthcare and welfare facilities > Scottish Women's Hospitals

People > Health and safety > Nurses

Places > Europe > Ukraine