Page 63 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 3

Category

Library Item

Item no

26244

Title

Page 63 from Ethel Moir Diary, Vol 3

Description

outside, he, of course, not being allowed to enter in to any of the har?ms! The Turkish women are delightful creatures, so frank & friendly & full of fun. We watched an old lady baking maize cake & her method of firing her cake interested us greatly. She put it in to a very hot earthenware basin, then filled shovelful after shovelful of ashes on top of it & then set it on the edge of the open wood fire & there it cooked
hour upon hour till baked sufficiently for consumption. We, of course, had to sit cross-legged on the floor & partake of Turkish coffee - served to us in tiny cups. Turkish coffee is very strong & v. sweet, little wonder they go in for minute cups!
After a good old prowl, we returned to the dressing station & had lunch with the doctors. They were all most kind & hospitable. We had lunch out of doors, under a big shady tree & in full view of Johnnie Bulgar! After lunch we were taken to see the anti-aircraft guns. Then we climbed up to one of the observation posts - up a high tree on a wee hillock - & from there we admired Johnnie's washing hung out to view! Kapiniani looks directly across to Küshuk - this part of the line is held by the Timok Division - then come the Shumachi Division, further on the Danube Division & then right away west at Tresina are the Yugo-Slavs - to whom we are attached.
This Yugo-Slav Division it was who made such a gallant stand in Rumania before the Dobruolja Retreat.

Artist / maker

Moir, Ethel

Date

1918

Size

20.4 x 19.0 cm

Type

Document

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Image from the diaries of Ethel Moir (volume 3). Ethel was a nursing orderly who served with the Scottish Women's Hospital during World War One.

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 > Greece