Nursing Sisters. One aspect of military service that is often overlooked is the service of Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Anna and Grace Bruce were two local sisters who served with distinction in WWI. Their parents were early settlers in the Stephenfield district. The sisters both trained in Vancouver General Hospital. Anna received the prestigious Royal Red Cross for bravery while serving in Greece. She also was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1920. Grace served in England and France; among the patients she nursed was John McCrae, author of ‘In Flanders Fields’.
Their brother George also was a decorated WWI soldier. Read more about the family in “The History of the R.M. of Dufferin 1880–1980, p.358. The photograph of the three siblings is of interest—the caption notes that Anna and Grace could not pose in their uniforms because they were lieutenants and outranked their military brother.
Anna, George & Grace Bruce WWI