Nursing Sister CAMC
 

A uniform loaned to the local museum for a First World War commemorative display proved to be exceptional. First, a full dress tunic for a Nursing Sister. Note the gilt/silver collars, and the cape chain. A second, everyday work tunic was included in the loan. No insignia, but a nice example of the uniform the CAMC Nursing Sisters wore.

Very beautiful tunics. I wish I could get to that museum to see them.

The display is not officially open until a couple of weeks from now. There are two other CEF tunics, but they are standard uniforms without much insignia.

Note, the skirt is a representative piece, not the actual part of the uniform.

Hi Bill,

Just curious where this local museum is and where was the uniform lent from? I'm trying to be a collector of Nursing Sister militaria....it's difficult getting into this Worrell/sub-culture...

I'm unable to use the 'search' function on this forum to get to some RCAMC and Nursing Sister info so just plowing through to see what I can't find.

Joni

Nursing Sisters
 

Did CEF nursing sisters wear the standard CAMC cap badge? Most photos I have seen show them wearing the standard white nurse's headgear with a red cross, as opposed to a hat with badge.

I don't think Nursing Sisters wore the CAMC cap badge during the First WW.

Hello Joni, My apologies, for some reason I missed your post. The display in question is long gone. The nursing sister's tunic was from the Callander Bay Museum.

Thanks,Bill. I had always wondered about a cap badge for nurses.

I did not know their use. Thank you for showing the picture.
Were these cape chains generic or only for female capes?

btns, I believe they were generic for capes in general. However, the nursings sisters did have a unique belt buckle.

Yes, they did wear the CAMC cap badge. Wear of a "veil", (either white or other colour) would normally have been while providing patient care. Standard practise back then and for decades and decades following. The last time I worked in a military hospital (1980s) as an MA, the nursing officers (we stopped calling them sisters in Canada) still wore the starched caps.

http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwa...niform/nurses/

Blackadder, I would like to see some evidence of them wearing the cap badge. The uniform we had did not have headdress other than the "veil" and it was not adorned with a cap badge. The QMAAC and WAAC did wear distinctive headdress that had a badge. Checking Taboika and online references, there is no evidence of a cap badge in wear. Nursing sisters wore the distinctive tunic during the First WW and did not have headdress that was suitable for badges in my understanding. The only example of one on unofficial headdress is the one in the image from the VAC.
The only distinctive mark I could find on the "veil" was the Red Cross.

While I'll admit that wear of the veil would have been the more commonly seen, wear of a hat with a badge was in evidence.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/d...twarnurses.jpg

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_a...&ecopy=a008112

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_a...ecopy=a202409]

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_a...opy=e002283124

http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_a...opy=a005561-v8

https://camc.wordpress.com/2012/03/1...emonial-dress/

Thanks. I will revise my thinking and notes accordingly.