^Lot 16 #16 WW1 Canadian Nursing Sister Medal Group

Up for auction is an outstanding World War One Canadian grouping to Nursing Sister Gertrude Lilian Spanner, including Medals, Nursing insignia, photograph and 18 pages of research. The grouping is mounted on a frame, with some of the insignia being easy to remove (others being stitched in.) The grouping includes her Association of the Royal Red Cross 2nd Class Decoration and miniature, 1914-1915 Star,Miniature Medal trio (curiously containing a 1914 Mons Star Miniature),Four Medal Ribbon Bar, Army Class A Badge numbered 154543, Canadian Red Cross Nursing Service pin in Sterling Silver and enamel numbered 118, 10k Gold Toronto Nursing pin weighing 7 Grams (and additional 14 Gold Nursisng diamond shaped pin), and St. Barnabas Medal (Guild of St Barnabas For Nurses.) Her armband Red Cross section is included in top left of frame. A Newspaper clipping is included, featuirng Miss Spanner in center and mentioning the 5th Canadian Hospital. Finally, the grouping includes a black and white photograph of Nursing Sister Gertrude Lilian Spanner around 1916.

Her Royal Red Cross Class 2 (ARRC) has a frosted silver patina, depicting a Maltese Cross with red enamel. The Obverse depicts King George V, with reverse bearing Royal Cypher, "Faith Hope Charity", "1883" lower date and Royal Crown on Top. The cross is of high quality construction, with a red and blue striped ribbon- Miniature is identical in design.

Her 1914 1915 Star Medal in good condition, depicting a large star with crossed swords, the date "1914-15" in center and a large Kings Crown on top. Both the 1914-1918 War Medal and Victory Medal were not aquired with the grouping. The Medal comes with its original ribbon in red, white and blue. The reverse of the medal is correctly named:

"N. SISTER G.L. SPANNER. CAN: A.M.C."

Nursing Sister Gertrude Lilian Spanner was born March 6th 1891 in Toronto,Canada. She was a Professional Nurse by trade. In 1914 she volunteered for front line duty, enlisting in the Canadian Army Medical Corps April 7th 1915 and served at a forward aid station near Vimy Ridge from 1915 to 1918. She was awarded the Association of the Royal Red Cross 2nd Class for services in 1917 for helping to retrieve wounded Soldiers while under fire. This Medal was awarded to nurses who showed special devotion and competency in performances of nursing duties, and/or who had performed very exceptional acts of bravery and devotion at her posts of duty. The Association of the Royal Red Cross was awarded to roughly 5% of Nurses who served in World War One. Gertrude Lilian Spanner was demobilized June 29th 1920. She passed award in Los Angeles California on March 28th 1986 age 95.

An incredibly rare grouping to a Canadian Nursing Sister, this would be the highlight of any Nursing Sister, World War One Canadian or Medal Collection.


Some History on Canadian Nursing Sisters in World War One:

When Britain declared war on the German Empire, Canada was automatically compelled to fight alongside Britain in the Great War of 1914-18. At the beginning of the war there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserve. By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses (1,886 overseas) with 203 on reserve. In total, more than 2,800 Canadian nurses volunteered their services. Because of their blue dresses and white veils they were nicknamed the "bluebirds," and for their courage and compassion they received the admiration of many soldiers.

The First World War saw great courage and sacrifice on the part of many nurses, such as Britain’s Edith Cavell. She was a nurse who remained in Brussels, Belgium, after the Germans occupied the city early in the war, tending to wounded soldiers of all countries. However, in addition to this work, Cavell helped captured British, French and Belgian soldiers escape to the neutral Netherlands (where most would eventually make it to England). When her activities were discovered, she was executed as a spy, but not before she helped about 200 men escape the Germans.

In many ways, the First World War was a time of great change and innovation in the field of military medical services. At first, medical units were set up in hospitals. However, the eventual establishment of Casualty Clearing Stations provided faster and more effective treatment to the injured at the front line.

The Casualty Clearing Station was an advance unit, situated close to the front line, where ambulances could deliver the wounded to be assessed, treated or evacuated to one of the many hospitals. The early stage assessment and treatment available at these units proved very effective in the efficient handling of large groups of battle injuries that occurred at the front. At the same time, however, the proximity to the fighting exposed the Nursing Sisters to the horrors and dangers particular to the front. The advance areas were often under attack from air raids and shell fire, frequently placing the lives of the sisters in danger. As well, the Casualty Clearing Stations were often plagued with the same aggravations of front line life; many nurses reported that rats and fleas were constant plagues.

The dangers of working in an advance area were not restricted to the land operations. One of the innovations of the First World War Medical Services was the introduction of the hospital ship. These ships were also subject to the dangers of enemy attack. On the night of June 27, 1918, the Canadian hospital ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by a German U-boat and 234 people lost their lives, including all 14 sisters on board.

In France, as well as Africa and the Mediterranean, the nurses had to deal not only with an exhausting workload, but often under extremely primitive working conditions and desperate climatic extremes. This was the pre-antibiotics age and, as was the case during the South African conflict, the ranks of the injured were swelled by infection and outbreaks of diseases such as meningitis. In spite of these challenges, the Canadian Nursing Sisters were able to provide comfort to the sick and injured.

A total of more than 2,800 Nursing Sisters served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika. By the end of the First World War, approximately 45 Nursing Sisters had given their lives, dying from enemy attacks including the bombing of a hospital and the sinking of a hospital ship, or from disease. The beautiful Nursing Sisters’ Memorial in the Hall of Honour in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa is a loving tribute to their service, sacrifice and heroism.