Events

The Sidekick Players Club Presents Bluebirds.

Written by Vern Thiessen

Directed by Carroll Lefebvre

Doors open at 7:15, show starts at 8 pm with a short adjudication afterwards. 

When Britain declared war on the German Empire, Canada was automatically compelled to fight alongside Britain in the Great War of 1914-18. At the beginning of the war there were five Permanent Force nurses and 57 listed in reserve. By 1917, the Canadian Army Nursing Service included 2,030 nurses (1,886 overseas) with 203 on reserve. In total, more than 2,800 Canadian nurses volunteered their services. Because of their blue dresses and white veils they were nicknamed the "bluebirds," and for their courage and compassion they received the admiration of many soldiers.

In many ways, the First World War was a time of great change and innovation in the field of military medical services. At first, medical units were set up in hospitals. However, the eventual establishment of Casualty Clearing Stations provided faster and more effective treatment to the injured at the front line.

Canadian Nursing Sisters working amongst the 1st Canadian General Hospital, Étaples, which was bombed by the Germans. Three Nursing Sisters killed, May 1918.  Katherine Maud Macdonald (Laura Sutherland-Smith), Gladys Mary Wake (Laura Burns) and Margaret Lowe (Lisa Somerville), were the three nurses killed when the Germans bombed the hospital.  Katherine was the first Canadian Nursing Sister to be killed while serving the country in war.  Bluebirds tells their story while serving in the Canadian Army Medical Corps in Etaples, France.