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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Staff Nurse Florence M Yemm, QAIMNSR Photos


Terri2205

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Greetings. My great grand aunt, Florence Mary Yemm, studied at the London Hospital and joined QAIMNSR on December 1, 1915. She was a staff nurse stationed in Malta (8 Jan 1916 to 26 Jul 1917); in Salonika with the 63 and 62 General Hospitals (3 Aug 1917 to 7 Nov 1917); and in Taranto (15 Nov 1917 to 2 Nov 1919). She left Taranto on the No. 39 Ambulance Train for duty and journey through France, and arrived at Folkestone for dispersal on 12 Nov 1919. I have attached three photos of her during the war (one here and the other two in separate postings), and I would appreciate any history/thoughts anyone could provide on these photos.

This is a group of nurses and staff (Florence is in the middle row, far left). Where might this likely have been taken? I've seen similar photos posted...were these official portraits, or personal photos? Anyway to identify who else was in this photo? There are no notations on the back of the photo.

Many thanks!

post-107568-0-46188400-1409512359_thumb.

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In the second photo, Florence is in the same uniform (QAIMNSR?), at what looks like it could be a hospital.

In the third photo, Florence is in a different uniform (perhaps working at the London Hospital but before she joined QAIMNSR?). This photo has written on the back: Sister F. M. Yemm & Lt. Bathard R.F.A.

Again, many thanks for any context or thoughts about these photos.

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post-107568-0-53058700-1409512610_thumb.

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I feel sure the third photo is taken while she was in military service - the uniform bears no resemblance to the very distinctive one of The London and I think it's just that she's not wearing her tippet which makes it look rather different. Similarly, the woman sitting on the balustrade in the second photo is probably another QAIMNS Staff Nurse, though not possible to see her hat clearly. They're wearing soft collars, so a warm climate, but as she seems to have specialised in warm climates that's not a lot of help. And a great shot of the boots.

Sue

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Sue, thank you for this info. I see what you mean about the uniforms. And Lt. Bathard (who may be Albert Stanley Hurle Bathard) has his shirt sleeves rolled up, and there is sunshine in all three photos, so yes, warm climate makes sense...

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I am learning so much from this forum and your wonderful website, too.

Best,

Terri

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I've seen similar photos posted...were these official portraits, or personal photos?

Right, these kinds of photos are common, and not just British. I have seen many for France, Germany, and Russia. All similar, being convalescent patients with nurses and staff. Must be something about the circumstances that is conducive to a group photo. Someone has a camera, people are thinking about life changes and want to preserve a memory, no one is particularly busy. A lot are taken outdoors.

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  • 7 years later...

This is a follow-up on my post from several years ago:

First, I am re-posting the group photo with the broken link, below.  Unfortunately, I have no additional information on this photo, other than knowing Florence's duty stations during the war.

Second, I wanted to add information on the photo of my great grand-aunt Florence Yemm and Lt. Bathard.  I was able to locate the granddaughter of Lt. Albert Stanley Hurle Bathard, and confirmed that the man in the photo is indeed him!  He survived the war, married and had a family.  His granddaughter reported that he was exposed to mustard gas in WWI, and so when this photo was taken, he was likely a patient at one of the hospitals where Florence served during the war (Malta or Taranto, Italy), as Sue Light surmised in her reply.

 

Florence WWI with group.jpg

Edited by Terri2205
To add words inadvertently left out of original post
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