'Aristocratic Amazons in Arms'

In Flanders Fields Museum and the School of History, University of Kent, in partnership with the Western Front Association, present a new series of open seminars on the history of the First World War, free and open to all..

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‘Aristocratic Amazons in Arms’
the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, 1907-1918
Professor Juliette Pattinson (King’s College, London)

The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, or FANY, formed in 1907 and still in existence today with unbroken voluntary service, is the longest established women’s military organisation. The Corps was the first to actively prepare for service, to wear military uniform, and to adopt khaki, to staff a regimental first aid post near the front line and drive officially for the British army in Northern France. They were also the only British unit to be sworn in as soldiers of the Belgian army and were the most highly decorated women’s corps of the First World War. As one British soldier surmised during the First World War, its acronym must surely have stood for ‘First ANYwhere’. This talk draws on members’ memoirs and oral histories, FANY records and newspaper articles to examine the early years of this long-standing unit. It considers the wider context of the formation of the Corps, the women who flocked to this innovative organisation and their service during the First World War.

practical

• Thursday 23 January 2025
• 7 pm
• educational room, In Flanders Fields Museum (Cloth Hall, Grote Markt, Ypres)

register

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