It's a Long Way to Tipperary: British and Irish Nurses in the Great War

Often overlooked are the nurses of the Great War. Poignant testimonies of the nurses themselves bear witness to their extraordinary courage, sacrifice and hardship in this new appraisal of their work. Mass mobilisation of nurses by professional and voluntary nursing services led to considerable rivalry between different groups and working environments were very varied. Nurses were involved in the day-to-day harrowing duties of Casualty Clearings Stations, Stationary Hospitals, Hospital Barges and Trains. Many lost their lives or severely damaged their health. Some suffered war trauma or shell-shock, hitherto considered a combatants' disease. The exigencies of war led to nurses pioneering new care practices and inventing a variety of adjuncts that helped with diagnosis and treatment. While the main part of the "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" inevitably focuses on the Western Front, the nurses involvement on the Home Front is also considered as is their part in the preparation for Civil War in Ireland in 1914 and the subsequent Easter Rising of 1916. 'I am still living, sleeping, feeding and working under canvas ...a fellow nurse from the same hospital back home shares a bell tent with me and we sometimes wonder whether the next gust of wind will leave us homeless and roofless. 'The mere idea that men who have been badly injured should be subjected to unnecessary pain because the supply of the strongest anaesthetic has given out is heartbreaking.' 'My dear little resuscitated Suffolk boy got gas gangrene above the amputation and died this afternoon, and the other boy has had to have the other leg off now.' 'It was work that demanded endless patience, for results were slow and you could only go a step at a time and hope for the best.'

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1: Overtures and Undertones Britain, Ireland and the Wider World 1901-1913 Edwardian era to Christmas 1913; Queen Alexandra's Imperial Army Nursing Service; status of professional nursing Chapter 2: 'Oh! We don't want to lose you but we think you ought to go' Dissent and Disaster 1914 Nursing politics on the eve of war; nursing response to threat of civil war in Ireland; outbreak of war Chapter 3: 'Good-bye-ee' Men and Women of August 1914 Mobilisation of British Expeditionary Force and nursing services; Home Front preparations for casualties; BEF's first military engagement; care of the casualties Chapter 4: 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' Western and Home Fronts 1914 Stalemate on the Western Front and the emergence of trench warfare; professional and volunteer nursing; inadequacies of casualty care arrangements Chapter 5: 'Oh What a Lovely War' Living, Fighting, Dying and Nursing 1915 Health and welfare of troops; need for effective casualty care; evacuation system and more trained nurses Chapter 6: 'Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire' Pro Patria - Right or Wrong 1916 Verdun; French hospitals and clearing stations; Easter Rebellion in Dublin, the Battles on the Somme; shortage of nurses Chapter 7: 'Pack up your Troubles' Spirituality, Inspiration and Esprit de Corps 1917 Coping mechanisms for soldiers and nurses: religion, superstition, music, literature and relationships Chapter 8: 'When this Bloody War Is Over' Fortitude, Finale and Legacy 1918 End of war; the final days; armistice; effects of war on nurses and their profession Postscript Bibliography Roll of Honour

About the Author :
Yvonne McEwen Yvonne McEwen is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh Centre for the Study of Two World Wars where she is currently researching endurance and survival in combatants. She was previously an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool working on Ireland's involvement in two World Wars. She holds degrees in nursing and history from the University of Edinburgh.