Aston-by-Stone WI hears firsthand account of VAD nurses’ role in wartime
Aston-by-Stone WI welcomed Marion Armstrong, who spoke of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurses and their role in World War One. She gave a brief history of the Voluntary Aid detachment from their start after the Boer War, when so many of the men returned wounded, to the present day. Marion herself had been a VAD and proudly showed us her medals.
Some 126,000 VADs. "did their bit" . Some were killed, some injured or mentioned in dispatches. They assisted not only in France and Belgium, but further afield: the Baltic States, Egypt and Gallipoli.
Conditions were terrible, and the floor-length skirts they wore were shortened to avoid being dragged in the mud. Thus did the 20s fashions start, with short skirts. Hair was eventually cut short because of the difficulties of washing it and the lice which were everywhere. These ladies were tough, and two of them, who rode their motorbikes over to France soon earned the title "Angels of Pervyse".
These brave ladies helped change the image of women and it all helped in the fight for equality and liberation.
This being a WI meeting, there were tea, cakes and conversation with details of forthcoming events and activities. If you'd like to join us, contact at astonbystonewi.secretary@gmail.com, or come and meet us: we meet in the Village Hall at Aston-by-Stone on the second Wednesday of the month at 7.30pm. Our speaker on September 10 will be Amanda Siegart on the subject of stained glass design and repair. You will be very welcome ladies.
