Canadian and English hospital service

Video file

Description
After her husband had been mortally wounded at Ortona, and following his death Ms. Smith-Adamson enlists in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as an operating room nurse. She serves in military hospitals in Toronto and Camp Borden, and later in a convalescent hospital in England. Her request for a transfer to the continent is granted.

Helen Smith-Adamson

Helen Smith-Adamson was born in Burford, Ontario in 1916. Her father had the distinction of being the first graduate of Royal Military College. Unable to pursue a science degree because of her gender, Ms. Smith-Adamson enrolled in the nursing program at Toronto Western Hospital. After three years, she graduated and found employment as a nurse with John Inglis Co. Her husband had been mortally wounded at Ortona, and following his death Ms. Smith-Adamson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps as an operating room nurse. She served in military hospitals in Toronto and Camp Borden, and later in a convalescent hospital in England. Ms. Smith-Adamson arrived in Njimegen as the war was ending, and transferred to a casualty clearing station in Sogol, Germany. While there, she had the distinction of treating Field Marshal Montgomery following his plane crash. After the war, Ms. Smith-Adamson was a civilian nurse until she remarried.

Transcript
And my late husband was Major E.W. Smith, MCLLB and he led the tanks into Ortona and he was wounded leading the tanks into Ortona. And he was in the hospital for three months and finally he died of his injuries with infection. I was notified that he had died of wounds and I went down to see where my, I had applied before and I went down to MD2 to see where my name was on the list and the matron said we do not accept widows. That’s the first time I’d been called a widow. So I went out into the hall in tears and bumped into the colonel of MD2 and he asked me what was wrong and I told him. He said, “Oh, come on in to my office, I’m sure we need operating room nurses.” I went up to Camp Borden in the operating room and then I was posted overseas and I went to Bramshott and at Bramshott they posted me to Roman Way Convalescent Hospital and when I got up to Roman Way Convalescent Hospital I realized I wasn’t in the operating room, I had 500 and a spider to look after so I went to the colonel and I said, “This is not for me, I have my sister’s brother-in-law is colonel of a hospital here, could I be transferred there? ” And when you ask for a transfer in the army you get it so they said, “How would you like to go overseas? ” So I left within, oh maybe a week and went over.

Meta Data
Medium
Video
Owner
Veterans Affairs Canada
War, Conflict or Mission
Second World War
Person Interviewed
Helen Smith-Adamson
Branch
Army
Units/Ship
Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Military Rank
Lieutenant
Occupation
Nurse
Duration
2:09
Date modified: