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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Four sisters all nurses


joseph

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Hi,

From left to right

a. Ellen Tonner Red cross nurse

b. Isabella Tonner Nursing Sister

c. Mary Tonner Nursing Sister

d. Elizabeth Tonner Red Cross nurse (Wifes Grandmother)

All four were nursing during the Great War and came from Cambuslang Lanarkshire. Mary and Isabella went on to become Matrons, Mary a Matron at Chapel Alerton in Leeds during WW2. Any further information would be great I have tried the MIC but nothing coming up. I have a picture of Elizabeth in uniform with men in hospital blues if that would help.

Regards Charles

post-7039-1121890412.jpg

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According to the Red Cross Register, neither of the two Red Cross nurses served overseas. I imagine that the BRCS might have some details of where they served.

NGG

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Charles

There are files at the NA for two women named 'Tonner' who served with the military nursing services. One has the first name Mary [Territorial Force Nursing Service] so it is a possibility for your Mary. I can have a look at the file next time I'm there. The other is for an Agnes Tonner, so probably not related.

Sue

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Hi Sue,

Thanks for the information, would this mean there are no records for the other three ladies or will they be elsewhere. Ill post the photograph I have of Elizabeth she is the lady on the far right. Any opinion would be welcome.

Regards charles

post-7039-1122209542.jpg

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Charles

The files at the NA relate solely to women who were trained nurses employed as members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, and the Territorial Force Nursing Service. They number just under 16,000, although not complete, and do not necessarily include women who were young enough to go on to serve with the Army in WW2 [although some are there].

In addition, of course, there were many more trained nurses working in civilian hospitals, or perhaps as civilians in military hospitals, so Isabella may well have been among them, but without knowing where she was employed, it may be impossible to find any records. The photo of Elizabeth shows her [exactly as described] as a Red Cross nurse. The majority of Red Cross nurses were untrained, and the photo suggests that she comes into this category. Of course many of these young women were too young to train as nurses at that time, and would have gone on to full nurse training after the war if marriage didn't eat them up first.

Finding the members of QAIMNS and the TFNS is the easy bit!

Sue

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Hi Sue,

That makes things a little clearer. Both Mary and Isabella retired as Matrons of hospitals in the Glasgow area and remained spinsters. Ellen became a housekeeper and also remained a spinster. The only one who married was Elizabeth; she met her husband (Canadian Army) whilst in a hospital in the London area. The training is interesting as Isabella was 20yrs at the outbreak of the war and Mary a qualified nurse working in Rutherglen. How old would you have to be to train as a nurse?. They were all daughters of what would be a local worthy and were required to do their duty.

Regards Charles

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Charles

There was no registration of nurses at that time, and it was a rather unregulated free for all. Hospitals were allowed to set their own rules of entry which varied greatly, and it seems that the most prestigious hospitals which had long waiting lists of women wanting to train could afford to set tighter criteria than the others. But having said that, most hospitals would not admit women under the age of 21, some had a limit of 23, and many of the 'top' hospitals continued to insist on 25 until the 1920s. If a woman was desperate to nurse, she could probably have found a position at the age of 18 in an institution that offered only a restricted form of 'training' - perhaps a fever hospital, or one for children. But she would still have needed to complete a period in a general hospital if she wanted countrywide recognition.

There seem to be a few areas in the UK where it was more common for reputable hospitals to accept younger women, and one of those was Glasgow. Both the Royal Infirmary and the Western Infirmary took them at 20, and the Royal Alexandra Infirmary, Paisley, was one of the few places in the country where the lower limit was 19. But even if Isabella had begun to train as a nurse by 1914, which is doubtful, she could not have qualified until the later part of the war.

As you know the area they came from it may be possible to find details of their training and employment by searching the Hospital Records Database, and then making contact with the relevant archives, although it could be a long haul. All the details of what records are held and where are here:

Hospital Records Database

If you do a search on 'Glasgow' you can soon discard most of the results - many were not built during the period you're looking at, or are of a specialty which is not relevant. For Red Cross records try:

British Red Cross personnel records

Sue

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Hi Sue,

Carn't thank you enough, I will write to the Red cross and work through the hospital records many thanks for your time.

Regards Charles

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