3 sisters among Moncton war nurses being honoured ahead of Remembrance Day

During the Second World War, thousands of Canadian nurses enlisted and were deployed overseas, where they worked to provide compassion and care to injured soldiers. 

"It's a group that we all really recognize that deserves a lot of respect," said Lois Scott, president of the Moncton Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae.

Last week, 39 nurses — all graduates of the former Moncton Hospital Training School for Nurses — who served overseas in the Second World War were honoured with a plaque presented to the Moncton Legion Branch 6.

The plaque was hung in 1993 in the Moncton Hospital chapel and the 39 women were honoured with a ceremony. It remained outside for many years, said Scott, but had to be removed a year ago for maintenance on the area.

"At that time, it gave us pause to think about what we should do with that plaque, because our group is a very old group," said Scott.

"Our last person graduated in 1975 so it means all of our members are 70 and up to 100."

Scott said the group wanted to hang the plaque in the Legion so it would still be respected and taken care of when the remaining members of the alumnae group were no longer around. 

Scott said a lot of the stories of the nurses who served in the Second World War weren't documented.

But there were some that were. 

Estelle, Georgia and Harriett Hayes — the Hayes sisters — are three women that come to mind for Scott. The sisters grew up on a farm in Apohaqui, part of a group of nine siblings, and later graduated from the Moncton Hospital school.

Estelle Hayes

Estelle, the eldest, enlisted in the Navy, bringing injured soldiers home.

"One of her family members told me that she told them sometimes she could sort of suppress the feelings of the emotions that you get from looking at the extent of their wounds and the situation they were in physically," said Scott. 

"But she said … always top of mind was the look in the eyes of the soldiers."

Georgia Hayes

Georgia, one of the other Hayes sisters, was in Europe before the war and was working in Paris when Germany invaded. Scott said she offered her services to the British military and worked in military hospitals in Paris. 

In June 1940, after the Germans gained control of Paris, Georgia went to work, said Scott, and discovered her nursing matron wasn't there and the hospital was being run by a German military official. 

From there, Georgia tried to flee, said Scott, and she was captured on four occasions — being seen as a possible spy.

Scott said Georgia and a group of other nurses escaped from Paris with the help of a German soldier who gave them fake IDs. But that didn't get them outside of the other parts of France that were occupied. The others in Georgia's group started disappearing and she knew she was on her own.

She slept by day, and by night, she crept through the villages and countryside. It wasn't until she reached Portugal that she was reissued her passport and returned to Apohaqui, where she enlisted in the Canadian military, providing support to those preparing to go overseas, Scott said.

Harriett Hayes

The third sister, Harriett, graduated and went to the military corps. Scott said she served as an operating nurse in Canada, England and Germany during the Second World War.

She worked in a field hospital at the time that Germany sent their V-bombs into the area, and during the last year of the war, Harriett was sent to Germany to work in a field surgical unit within a combat zone, said Scott.

"Harriett didn't speak much about what her war experiences were," said Scott, but when she did, she would detail the number of amputations done on young men on the side of the road. 

Scott said it's important to celebrate the nurses who served, especially for their remaining family members, which she said includes the "large extended family" of the training school alumnae.