The Blue Birds

”Nursing Uniform” Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.

During the First World War, Canadian nursing sisters were commonly referred to as “Blue Birds” as a tribute to the blue and white dress worn by these nurses during the war. Over the course of the war effort in World War One, approximately 2,800 nurses served overseas in thirty military hospitals as well as casualty clearing stations across Europe. Though they were nurses who did not engage in hot combat, their job was not without danger, this is illustrated with the enemy bombing of the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital in Etaples as well as the torpedo attack against the Llandovery Castle, a ship that was being serviced as a Canadian hospital ship, both attacks claiming the lives of nurses who were tending to the wounded, the sick and the afraid. These nurses nicknamed the Bluebirds were remembered affectionately by those that they treated for their bravery and their uniforms were a sign of hope for the injured, the sick, the afraid and those that would eventually go to pass away.

 Sources:

Canada, Veterans Affairs. “The Nursing Sisters of Canada.” Women and War - Remembering Those Who Served - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada, 7 Sept. 2022, www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/those-who-served/women-veterans/nursing-sisters.

Vcadmin. “Bluebirds: Valour Canada.” VALOUR CANADA | Educating Canadians about Our Shared Military Heritage, 19 July 2021, valourcanada.ca/military-history-library/bluebirds/.

“‘Angels of Mercy’: Canada’s Nursing Sisters in World War I and II.” “Angels of Mercy”: Canada’s Nursing Sisters in World War I and II | Digital Collections @ Mac, McMaster University , digitalcollections.mcmaster.ca/pw20c/case-study/angels-mercy-canadas-nursing-sisters-world-war-i-and-ii. Accessed 19 Dec. 2024.