WOMEN’S EFFORTS

For much of the war it was against the law in Canada for a married man to enlist without the written permission of their spouse, and many women refused to give their husbands permission to enlist. In response, these types of posters tried to make Canadian women feel guilty for not offering their men to the war effort. This type of propaganda was common during WWI because of the almost instant respect and honour that a soldier and his family gained by going off to war. Women were often seen walking through the streets trying to encourage all able bodied men to enlist.

— Eric Brown, Director, National Gallery of Canada, 1918 "I think there should be some fine landscape subjects in connection with girls work on the land, farming of various kinds, fruit picking, etc.; the clothes are picturesque and this side of the war should certainly be pictured." — Eric Brown, Director, National Gallery of Canada, 1918

Land Girls Hoeing Painted in 1919 by Manly MacDonald

What did women do? For the most part, female artists were given women’s work as subjects, but during the war that work itself evolved as hundreds and thousands of wives, mothers and daughters performed tasks usually carried out by men. Caring for the Dead and Wounded 60 000 Canadians died in WWI. However, thanks to excellent care/prompt treatment, 93 percent of the wounded survived. The role of the stretcher bearers, who administered initial first aid on the battlefield, was critical. So was the dedication of the nursing sisters and doctors who worked in makeshift hospitals, at times in the line of battle.

Over 3000 women became army nurses and ambulance drivers, and were called “Bluebirds” because they wore blue cloaks.

A picture of some Canadian nurses during WWI at Christmas time (Ward 33). The hospital is decorated in hopes of cheering up the wounded. One of the biggest tasks of a WWI nurse was to comfort the wounded and give them hope of a healthy return home.  

A picture of some of the women who were part of the Canadian Army Nursing Service during WWI. Nursing is the most prominent role that Canadian women played at the front in Europe.

The role of women at the front was very limited because of army rules and social constraints. The women of Canada started an organization called, "The Canadian Women's Hospital Ship Fund". They raised money by organizing concerts, tag days, teas, card parties, lectures, and bazaars. Women also raised money for the Red Cross, Belgian Relief, and Canadian Patriotic Fund. World War I did help suffragist groups break some of these social barriers. As a result, on September 20, 1917 the vote was given to women whose husbands, sons, and brothers had served in the war.

A military hospital: photo taken around Christmas time, 1914 A military hospital: photo taken around Christmas time, 1914. Military hospitals were almost always overcrowded and understaffed during WWI, often without enough beds for the wounded.

A Canadian school for the blind A Canadian school for the blind. These young ladies are knitting and sewing items to be shipped overseas to the front, the kinds of contributions women made during WWI. They made things like pillows, sheets, flannel shirts, socks, cholera belts wristlets, balaclavas, and scarves. Women in Toronto tried to form the "Women's Home Guard" (a group of women to be trained as soldiers to protect Canada's home front and free up men in the official "Home Guard" for overseas duty) but it failed because of strong opposition within Canada.

THE RED CROSS DID YOU KNOW? Red Cross: In 1917, the entire membership of the Red Cross's Halifax branch were women. The Red Cross had 1303 branches by the end of WWI; volunteers made clothes, raised money, purchased medical supplies and packaged food to be sent overseas to Canadian soldiers in army hospitals.

Canadian women formed the "Suffragists' War Auxiliary", designed to provide women to do the jobs of men to free them up for overseas duty. Over 30,000 women worked in munitions factories, more than 5,000 were employed in the civil service, thousands more worked in banks, offices, factories, and on farms, while over 1000 women were employed by the Royal Air Force (e.g., motor transport work, mechanical work, and as ambulance drivers).

Women’s efforts cont’d… Women filled the gap left in factories by young men who joined the army by making guns, shells and aircraft, and these were skilled jobs - before the war, skilled work was only for men. Women also became streetcar drivers, secretaries and office managers to replace men in civilian jobs.

Women Making Shells Painted in 1919 by Mabel May

Montreal artist Mabel May used an impressionist technique to show women working in a munitions factory. The women in the painting were performing work of an untraditional nature. So was the artist, who was being challenged by new and intriguing subject matter.