Among the first journalists to write up Kitty's story from Sue's account was Plymouth Herald newspaper's Live News Editor Max Channon. Kitty joined the Royal Army Service Corps Canteens Division and served in France. She was taken ill and died on 27th February 1917, aged just 19. Originally from Ireland, Kitty lived in England when war broke out and, like so many women the world over, she wanted to do her bit. Kitty was buried in Wimereux Communal Cemetery, Pas de Calais, which is five kilometres north of Boulogne in France. In that Cemetery you will find twelve other women who died serving during WW1, including that of Rubie Pickard, one of the oldest volunteers, who died in April 1916 at the age of 67. Rubie, who lived in France, was a volunteer working for the newspaper department that supplied British newspapers to hospitals in France during the conflict.
Well done to Sue Robinson and Team Wenches in Trenches. To find out more about Sue’s on-going work
and/or to contribute please check out the website http://www.wenchesintrenches.co.uk/ The photo shows the commemorative bench and memorial to the women of WW1 organised by Sue at the Lochnagar Crater in France.
Another Sue who campaigned for the recognition of the role
of women in WW1 was the late Sue Light, whose legacy is her wonderful website http://www.scarletfinders.co.uk/ . We know from Scarlet Finders that there were
special hostels and accommodation for relatives able to travel to visit ill or
wounded relatives who were serving on the Western Front. The diary of another British girl – Betty Stevenson
from Yorkshire (whose name is on the War Memorial in Harrogate) – also tells us
about the visits of civilian relatives to the sick and wounded. Betty was a volunteer with the YMCA who
worked in France helping out in YMCA huts and driving visitors. Betty was killed on the night of 30th
May 1918 when a German plane returning from a bombing raid to Etaples in France
jettisoned his bombs in a field. Betty
Stevenson is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, which is 27
kilometres south of Boulogne. In that
Cemetery you will find the graves of twelve other women who died or were killed
while serving in WW1. There are lots of
women buried in British and Commonwealth and American Cemeteries in France
which a lot of people don’t seem to realise.
You can find some of them, along with brief biographical details where
available in a book, the details of which are here: http://www.poshupnorth.com/2016/04/women-casualties-of-great-war-in.html
Travelling from Britain to France during the war was
hazardous as submarines, mines and adverse weather conditions caused ships to
sink and lives to be lost.
An interesting account of the UK ports in use during WW1 can
be found here: http://forgottenwrecks.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/forgottenwrecks/casestudywrecks/ports-in-ww1
