What unit is this gal from???
 

WWVR shoulder title --- what unit???

& seems to be WWI GS cap badge ??

Bryan

Hello Bryan,

Hope you are well, mate.

I think this young lady is a member of the Winnipeg Women's Volunteer Reserve, which I believe was an 'unofficial' organisation. It was raised/founded circa 1915 by Margaret Ellen Douglas (1878-1950).

Regards,

Peter.

Thanks Peter, thats very interesting. Never knew that unit existed.

Would the shoulder flash be rare?

I checked her out & here is some info on Margaret Ellen Douglass:
Margaret Ellen Douglass (1878-1950)
Physician.

Born at Stanley, New Brunswick on 12 January 1878, daughter of Andrew Douglass and Martha Best, she attended the Anglican Church school at Windsor, New Brunswick. She studied medicine at the University of Toronto, and did her postgraduate studies in England and the USA. In 1909 she settled in Winnipeg and began practising medicine.

In 1914, in response to the First World War, she organized the Winnipeg Women’s Volunteer Reserve.

She joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), and served in France during the war, holding the rank of Major. She was awarded the Allies Medal, the British War Medal, the Long Service Medal of the Order of St. John, and the Jubilee Medal. In 1927 she travelled to India and China to speak about better medical methods for caring for women.

More on Women's Volunteer Reserve:

Women's organisations

It is a well-documented fact the the Great War brought many new opportunities for women. They moved into areas of public, commercial and industrial life that had previously been out of bounds. Womens efforts in the war also embraced many different voluntary activities, in raising funds and providing materials for the forces. As the economies of Great Britain and the Empire geared up towards a total war footing, these activities proved to be insufficient. Towards the end of 1916 the British Government began organising women's auxiliary military services, to replace men in non-combatant roles and so release more men for fighting. Unprepared by pre-war life for the conditions that many now faced, they bore it with great fortitude and laid a foundation for undreamed-of levels of emancipation that came in the post-war generations. This page is little more than a passing tribute to the important women's organisations; the subject would benefit from a broader study.

The Women's Volunteer Reserve

This organisation developed from a very early one, the Women's Emergency Corps, which came into existence in August 1914. It was the initiative of Decima Moore and the Hon. Evelina Haverfield - a militant and influential suffragette - who seized the opportunity provided by the crisis to organise a role for women. It was soon joined by many women from the higher classes and was in the early days an unlikely mix of feminists and women who would not normally have mixed with such dangerous types. They became involved in several ventures, not least of which was in providing until 1918 a uniformed group called the Lady Instructors Signals Company, who trained Aldershot army recruits in signalling. However the work was largely of a domestic, fund-raising nature. The WVR was however rather expensive to join - one had to pay for ones own uniform which at more than £2 could not be afforded by lower classes. This was an influence in the establishment of the Women's Legion, which had a more widespread appeal.

& photo of Margaret Ellen Douglass:

Bryan,

I do not know for sure, but I would imagine that the shoulder flashes are relatively rare, given that the WWVR was apparently a short-lived unit (1915-1918).

Non-military, locally raised... I presume it cannot have been vastly populated. Perhaps other Canadian members could shed more light on how many women filled its ranks.

Nice to see the photo, by the way.

Peter.

Hi Bryan,

That "gal" is my paternal grandmother. I've attached another very similar photo of her in the same uniform and note that both pictures were printed up as post cards.

Kathryn

Just a thought. It's difficult to tell from the pic but is it embroidered ? if it is it's quite possible that the ladies made their own.

Bryan, her name was Muriel Evelyn Stevenson and she was born in 1900 in Essex, Ontario. She'd have been 17 or 18 in those pictures and probably wasn't a member of the WWVR for very long, as it appears to have disbanded in 1918 or shortly after. She may have been part of the Lady Instructors Signals Company; she was a woman of many talents. In addition to single-handedly raising two sons, carrying out major construction work on her two-story home and writing poetry in her "spare time", she went on to hold administrative positions with railway and insurance firms, and at the age of 41 enrolled in and completed a Woman's Machine Shop course. She passed away at the age of 48.

Kathryn

SUPERB PHOTO thank you for taking the time to load this best wishes ,Michael.

The title appears to be either embroidered or screen printed on silk.
A vendor has a copy or another post card of the first image for sale on ebay.

HI Kathryn,
I sent you a PM. You can view this by clicking on 'Private Messages" on the far right side of the header (above)
Cheers,
Clive

Actually, it's not for sale any more. I have purchased it. Kathryn

Well done on that purchase Kathryn,

Your Grandmother seems to have been an extraordinary woman. A great shame about her untimely demise but a real pleasure to see her featured here and to learn of her life.

Kind regards and welcome to the forum.

Ry