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Georgina F Pope: Letters and Photographs from a Pathbreaking Island Military Nurse’s Boer War Service
Georgina Fane Pope (1862-1938) was born in Charlottetown and lived there until she was 13 and her family moved to St. Eleanor's and then later on to Summerside. It was from her Summerside home that Georgina moved to New York City to pursue nursing training in the early 1880s. She soon established a successful career, serving as a nursing superintendent at large hospitals in Washington, DC, and Yonkers, NY, before being recruited as the first of a team of four Canadian nurses to deploy in the inaugural British military contingent sailing for the South African (Boer) War late in 1899. The Canadian nurses served at British hospitals near Cape Town for about five months in early-mid 1900, chiefly at Rondebosch, before redeploying to Kroonstadt. Pope’s first tour of duty ended in January, 1901, but she returned at the head of a third contingent of eight Canadian nurses one year later, serving at a hospital in Natal until the War’s end in June, 1902. Pope’s leadership in this pioneering medical service was honoured with the Royal Red Cross, presented in 1903 by Queen Victoria, and making Pope the first Canadian so honoured. In 1908, she was appointed the first Matron (head nurse) of the new Canadian Army Medical Corps.
Pope regularly wrote lengthy letters to her family throughout her time in South Africa, and during her outbound and return journeys; during her first tour, she also amassed a collection of photographic prints and postcards, including numerous images of the hospitals where she served and their surroundings. The album was acquired more than a century later by a Canadian antiquarian book dealer and donated to the University of Prince Edward Island’s Robertson Library in 2015; the album was digitized by the Library shortly thereafter. In 2021, a descendant of Pope’s donated a collection of her letters to Island historian, Katherine Dewar, author of the first book-length biography of Pope, Called to serve : Georgina Pope, Canadian military nursing heroine (2018); several dozen of these letters were written by Pope during the years of her Boer War service. Approximately half of the original letters from the years 1900 and 1902 were accompanied by typed transcripts prepared at the office of the Secretary of State in Ottawa, where Pope’s brother, Joseph, was UnderSecretary.
"I am sending a lot of Photos please keep them safely as I hope to have a good collection and arrange them prettily in a book"
- Georgina F. Pope, letter dated April 3, 1900
Taken together, these letters and photographs provide unparalleled insight into the foundational years of a medical service that would go on to provide indispensable healing and comfort to Canadian military forces through two world wars and numerous smaller-scale conflicts. The Library is honoured to partner with Katherine Dewar, who is sharing the letters with us for digital imaging and is also sharing her matchless expertise on Pope’s life and career to curate this online collection of selections from the Pope Photo Album, complemented by letters bringing vivid context to the images.
Browse or search the full collection of letters and a selection of photographs
A selection of photographs accompanied by related quotations from Pope's letters home:
Photos and quotations selected by Katherine Dewar
In a letter, dated February 3, 1900, Pope describes the often harsh conditions of working in a military camp hospital:
“Just a wee line tonight. A South Easter is almost blowing my tent over and may before morning - while my candle flickers so I can hardly see.
I am very tired - my worst typhoid died at 5 o’clock and I had worked so hard over him"
In a letter, dated April 30, 1900, Pope describes compares the facilities at Rondebosch to those at Bloemfontein (further north) :
"Here we are - it seems to me as firmly fixed as ever, at Rondebosch. I think now that only the rain will drive us out and I have come to the conclusion that to curb one's ambition to go up country and be rather thankful that you are left here is the wisest move. Bloemfontein is full of enteric while the facilities for nursing are so much poorer than here that one surgeon told me I would break my heart in watching men die that with better food and more comforts might pull through."
In a letter dated April 19, 1900, Pope describes her work in the enteric ward:
"I could not get my letter written for last mail - for the past three weeks I have been on duty 11 hours a day, and such anxious work. In that time - five men have died from haemorrhage from the bowels - some have had as many as eleven [?] while one man lost all his blood - 2 collapsed and died - Now I am sitting beside a boy of eighteen who has had the 11 as I don’t like to take my time off for fear he might die in my absence"
In a letter, dated April 3, 1900, Pope describes an outing with her fellow nurses:
"Yesterday Sister Affleck, Sister Trotter, Sister Davidson and I had our photo taken in a rickshaw - I hope they will be good - the Zulu was so delighted he made us all laugh - Sister Affleck put her apron on and sister Davidson but I thought it a little incongruous with the surroundings and smarter without"
In a letter dated April 3, 1900, Pope describes a smoking concert she attended at Rondebosch camp:
"the smoking concert was a success - lots of nice people there - really too many as one had to stay where they first sat down on account of the difficulty of moving about. But the Officers made charming hosts and the flowers and flags and bunting made such a pretty effect. I am going to send you a programme (the menu I’ve lost)"
Content Disclaimer
The materials in this collection are one part of the historical record of Prince Edward Island and reflect the biases, norms, and perspectives of the time in which they were created as well as the personal biases and social position of the original writer(s). As such, they may include harmful or offensive language, cultural references, or stereotypes.
To preserve the authenticity of these documents and provide insight into the period, they have been presented in their original form. We acknowledge the potential harm such language can cause and advise reader discretion where necessary. Please contact the Robertson Library team if you have any questions or concerns.