From Lemnos to the Western Front: A scholar’s perspective on Canadian nurses in the Great War
Mark your calendars for Saturday, 1 November 2025, when The Western Front Association and the Gallipoli Association jointly present the conference Courage without Glory – Gallipoli and the Western Front in 1915. Held at the prestigious RAF Club in London, the conference offers a day of expert analysis and discussion for anyone with a keen interest in the First World War.
Among the distinguished panel of speakers is Dr Andrea McKenzie, an associate professor at York University in Toronto, whose work focuses on women's war narratives and the Great War. Her presentation, titled “Canadian Nurses: from Lemnos to the Western Front,” promises to offer a poignant and insightful look into a lesser-known aspect of the war effort.
Dr McKenzie will delve into the experiences of the Canadian Army Medical Corps nurses who served on the Greek island of Lemnos in August 1915. These women faced dire conditions, including extreme heat, scarce resources, and a constant stream of wounded soldiers from the Gallipoli campaign. Drawing on the nurses' own words and photographs, her talk will illuminate their struggle to save lives amidst challenging circumstances and an often-indifferent administration.
The presentation will follow the journey of many of these 70 nursing sisters as they moved from the aftermath of the Gallipoli evacuation to the relentless battlefields of the Western Front. There, they continued their vital work in casualty clearing stations and hospitals, enduring bombing raids and shelling to care for the wounded and gassed.
Dr McKenzie is a respected voice in her field, having edited War-Torn Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of Nursing Sisters Laura Holland and Mildred Forbes, 1915-19 and L.M. Montgomery and War. She has published numerous articles on the experiences of Canadian nurses during the Great War and has lectured extensively on the topic internationally.
The conference aims to explore various facets of the 1915 campaigns, with other notable speakers including Sir Hew Strachan, Professor Gary Sheffield, and Dr Adam Prime. The Gallipoli Association, formed in 1969, and The Western Front Association, established in 1980, are both dedicated to preserving the memory and furthering the understanding of the First World War through education and remembrance.
The event will be held at the RAF Club in London on Saturday 1 November 2025.
Booking forms are available for download on the Gallipoli Association's website.
