THE SCOTTISH WOMENS HOSPITAL ARCHIVE: WOMENS CONTRIBUTION TO WW1

This was a talk by archivist Lyn Crawford exploring the contribution that the women of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service made to the First World War. Fourteen hospital units were set up in France and Serbia and were entirely staffed by women - from surgeons and physicians to cooks and chauffeurs.

This Serbian Documentary gives a tribute to Scottish Nurses contribution to that severe and forgotten front.

"It was during a visit to Belgrade, Serbia that I was first made aware of the Scottish Woman’s Hospitals and the work they did during the First World War. What saddened me was that the women involved are known about and revered in Serbia, yet their work and achievements are barely recognised in the country they came from.
In Serbia one will see statues, monuments and streets named after these women, although in the place they came from these women have been virtually completely overlooked. Britain likes to make a show of celebrating and respecting heroes of war, and even in some cases fictional accounts of war heroism in film, but has not acknowledged the work, bravery and altruism of these women in a time when women did not have a presence of being involved in direct conflict and were certainly not encouraged to do so."

This website gives more information of the background and contribution of these Scottish Nurses more celebrated in Serbia than Scotland.

Virtually all the leading lights and members of these organisations were suffragettes or believers in the movement.Their contribution and organisational skills gave vital experience , and eventually led to Woman getting the Vote in the 1920s.