However, she persevered and in October 1915 sent the
first wave of volunteers to Cairo, arriving in Egypt herself in February 1916. Ettie noted that there was a very high
incidence of venereal disease among the soldiers and decided to do something
about it, as she approached the problem as a medical rather than a moral one.
Ettie opened first a club – The El Kebir Soldiers’
Club – and then a canteen where the soldiers were offered food and recreational
facilities.
In 1917, Ettie went to London to try to persuade The
New Zealand Medical Corps to help by promoting a special kit she had devised
containing calomel ointment, condoms and a formula containing potassium permanganate
crystals. These were sold at the
New Zealand Medical Soldiers Club in Hornchurch which was near the New Zealand
Convalescent Home.
By the end of the year, The New Zealand Expeditionary
Force had adopted her kit and made it free and compulsory to soldiers going on
leave.
It must be remembered that the strict moral code of
the Victorian era was still very much in force in those days and a fine of
£100 (which was an enormous sum of
money back then) was imposed on anyone mentioning Ettie, her kit or her work in
New Zealand newspapers.
Women’s groups accused Ettie of encouraging vice and Lady Sout went so
far as to lead a deputation of women to petition the Prime Minister – William
Massey – to stop Ettie’s Hornchurch Club from operating.
However, Ettie continued with her work in England, Paris and on the Somme, for which she received recognition from the French.
The sad fact is that in spite of the horrendous loss of life during WW1 people not direclty involved in the conflict do not appear to have realised the very human reaction the soldiers had of needing the comfort of a woman's company and so there were no official, properly regulated brothels. If left untreated, certain venereal diseases can lead to madness and death so Ettie's work was invaluable and she deserves to be remembered. Ettie's work was in a similar field to that of Marie Stopes in the UK - Marie is both a Female Poet and an Inspirational Woman of WW1.
However, Ettie continued with her work in England, Paris and on the Somme, for which she received recognition from the French.
The sad fact is that in spite of the horrendous loss of life during WW1 people not direclty involved in the conflict do not appear to have realised the very human reaction the soldiers had of needing the comfort of a woman's company and so there were no official, properly regulated brothels. If left untreated, certain venereal diseases can lead to madness and death so Ettie's work was invaluable and she deserves to be remembered. Ettie's work was in a similar field to that of Marie Stopes in the UK - Marie is both a Female Poet and an Inspirational Woman of WW1.
Source:
Archives New Zealand
From the Facebook Page Mud, Mining, Medals
