Call for memorial to Northern Ireland’s first world war nurses

Researchers from the RCN’s History of Nursing network lobby for a plaque at Belfast City Hall

Nurses from Northern Ireland who served during the first world war could soon have a permanent memorial in their honour.

While undertaking a research project, retired nurses from the RCN History of Nursing network discovered details of the nurses, who served in battlefields from France to East Africa and Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) between 1914 and 1918.

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Retired nurses Margaret Graham and Heather Thompson helped gather more than 100 names for their book Nurses' Voices from WW1: The Northern Ireland Connection.

They have now applied to Belfast council for a plaque to be installed at Belfast City Hall.

Exhibition for International Nurses Day 2020

The nurses have also asked the council to hold an exhibition at City Hall for International Nurses Day 2020.

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Ms Graham said: ‘Our project was completed last year but, as we had collected so many names, we thought a plaque would be a fitting tribute to the nurses who served, especially as this was before nurses were recognised as a profession and when women did not have the vote.

‘Many of our nurses sadly lost their lives from war injuries, drowning and disease. They were courageous women who were doing their bit.’

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