Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 189 GASS, Clare WWI Clare was born in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia in 1887. She served as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Overcoming brutal conditions and countless patients, nurses were the unsung heroes of World War I. During her time working at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill University) in France she became friends with John McCrae, a military doctor. McCrae showed her a draft of his iconic poem, “In Flanders Fields”. She copied it to her diary. Asked what she thought, Clare encouraged him to publish it in Punch magazine which he did in 1915. Together with the poppy, it remains at the heart of Remembrance Day ceremonies in Canada. Remarkably, four of Clare’s younger brothers also fought in Europe, with one dying in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917. She returned to Canada after the war and became a pioneer in the field of medical social work. Clare passed away in 1968. Submitted Independently HAMMOND, Thomas WWI Thomas was born in Scarsdale, Nova Scotia in 1887. He was among more than 200 Mi’kmaq from Atlantic Canada to volunteer for the Great War. Despite limited civil rights at home and cultural barriers within the military, First Nations enlistments were significant across the country. Thomas joined the 26th New Brunswick Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Private in 1915, but was tragically killed during the Somme Offensive the following year. He participated in the intense fighting of the Battle of FlersCourcelette in northern France from which his body was never recovered. He was 29 years old. A number of Mi’kmaq received awards for bravery and distinguished service. One sma’knis (solider), Stephen Toney of Pictou Landing, was among the most decorated snipers in the entire Allied Army. Submitted Independently HUBLEY, Laura WWI Laura was born in St. Margarets Bay, near Halifax in 1875. She served as a Matron of the Dalhousie University No. 7 Stationary Hospital during World War I. After graduating from Victoria General Hospital in Halifax, she went into private practice before joining the Canadian Army Nursing Corps. The Dalhousie unit, established in 1915, saw frontline service and treated approximately 60,000 patients in France and England. As Matron, Laura not only supervised her 26 nursing sisters but also organized social functions for the hospital staff and patients. On one occasion she even arranged a visit from Canadian flying ace Billy Bishop, who put on a display overhead. Laura was awarded the Royal Red Cross (1st Class) for exceptional service in military nursing. She passed away in 1964 and is buried at Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax. Submitted Independently
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