From nursing sisters to sisters in arms
The call to serve one’s country is universal. During the First and Second World Wars, many women felt they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enlist and help Canada in any way that was needed.
Nursing Sisters in World War I
The Canadian Army Medical Corps was established in 1904 with a nursing service under its umbrella. At the start of the First World War there were only five permanent members and 57 listed in reserve. By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses – 1,886 overseas –with 203 on reserve.
Known as “Bluebirds” for the colour of their uniform, nurses served in the Canadian Army Medical Corps as fully-enlisted officers in the specially-created all female rank of Nursing Sister with relative rank and equal pay to men – the first women among the Allied forces to do so.
In total, more than 2,800 Canadian nurses volunteered their services, 2,504 of those served overseas in England, France and the Eastern Mediterranean at Gallipoli, Alexandria and Salonika.
Their service and sacrifice during the First World War helped influence the decision to grant federal voting rights to many Canadian women in 1917.
World War II
During the Second World War, a shortage of military personnel coupled with many women wanting to enlist, prompted the creation of women’s service branches: the Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division, the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service.
By performing essential non-combat duties, women freed up servicemen to fight, while also significantly supporting the war effort. Many servicewomen cleaned, cooked, and performed clerical duties. As the war progressed, more non-traditional occupations were opened to women, such as radar operator, laboratory technician and mechanic.
The Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division
At its highest, in December 1943, the RCAF Women’s Division boasted a staff of 591 officers and 14,562 members of all ranks.
As of mid-1942, Women’s Division members received new responsibilities outside the BCATP framework; they served in operating centres of the Western and Eastern Air Commands, they worked at interpreting reconnaissance or bombing photographs.
In all, 17,038 women proudly wore its uniform before the service was shut down in December 1946.
The Canadian Women’s Army Corps
In August 1941, the government authorized the formation of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) to enlist several thousand women in support roles for the armed forces. Women trained as drivers, cooks, clerks, typists and telephone operators.
In March 1942 the Canadian Women’s Army Corps was integrated into the Canadian Army. Service in the CWAC enabled uniformed women to learn skills and acquire training unusual for women at that time, including, ciphering and decoding, vehicle maintenance, and signalling.
The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS)
In July 1942, with the help of their British counterparts in the Women’s Royal Naval Service, the WRCNS began recruiting women between the ages of 18 to 45, except those with dependents or children under 16 years of age.
Between 1942 and 1946 close to 7,000 volunteers enlisted in the WRCNS and served in 26 non-combatant occupations on Canadian naval bases at home or abroad. They trained to be telegraph operators, cooks, drivers, coders, postal clerks, sail makers, and more.
The Changing Post-War Landscape
When the Second World War ended, Canada significantly reduced the size of its armed forces and the Canadian military shut down all three women’s organizations in 1946.
With the onset of the Cold War and the Korean War, however, the military soon faced a shortage of personnel and some 5,000 women were again actively recruited.
All three women’s divisions were re-established in 1951, and then eliminated in 1968, when the forces were reorganized. From that point forward, women and men often served in the same units. In 1965 the government decided to allow women to be employed in the Canadian military with a fixed ceiling of 1,500 representing 1.5% of the military at that time. In 1971, this limit was lifted.
All military occupations were open to women in 1989, including infantry, armoured corps, field artillery, air-defence artillery, signals, field engineers, and naval operations with the exception of submarine service, which opened in 2001. Private Heather Erxleben became Canada’s first female infantry soldier in 1989 after graduating from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Battle School.
Sisters In Arms in the 21st Century
Their changing roles during these turbulent years helped lead to great changes in the way society looked at women. The efforts of these pioneering women helped open the door for the women who now serve in a broad array of roles in the Canadian Armed Forces today.
The Captain Nichola Goddard Women in Leadership Series presented by Lysander Funds Inc. is coming soon to a city near you! Join us for informative, forthright discussions about the challenges of leadership in the Canadian Forces. Click here to purchase your ticket and learn more.
Further reading and sources:
Remembrance: Women in Canadian Military | Canadian War Museum
In Uniform – Nurses | Canada and the First World War
The Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division: Juno Beach Centre
The Canadian Women’s Army Corps, 1941-1946 | Canadian War Museum
World War Women by Stacey Barker and Molly McCullough reveals deeply personal stories of life in service and on the home front.
Five milestones for Canadian women in military service | Veterans Affairs Canada
