The Story of Georgina Pope

Born to wealth, she spent her life helping others

The life of Georgina Pope began and ended on Prince Edward Island, but in between she served in two wars and helped save the lives of many soldiers.

Pope was born on Jan. 1, 1862 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Her father was William Pope, a delegate to the Charlottetown Conference in 1864 and a Father of Confederation. His brother, Georgina’s uncle James, served as the Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1865 to 1867 and 1870 to 1872. Her brother Joseph was the private secretary to Sir John A. Macdonald.

She clearly came from one of the most important families on the island. Rather than spend her life as a socialite, she chose to help others. A big reason for this was the fact she was inspired by Florence Nightingale and her service during the Crimean War.

After she finished her formal schooling, Pope went to New York to train as a nurse at Bellevue Hospital. After her training was complete, she became the superintendent of the Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington D.C.

She also opened a school for nurses there.

In October 1899, Pope volunteered her nursing services to soldiers in the Second Boer War. Her offer was accepted and she went overseas, spending a year in South Africa.

She said,

“I received my appointment, with three other nurses, to go out with the Canadian Contingent then called to active service in South Africa-thus realizing my early aspirations.”

During her first year in the war, she was able to help 230 people suffering from enteric fever. She was the first nurse appointed to serve in the war.

For her service during the war, Pope and two other nurses, Deborah Hurcomb and Sarah Forbes, received the Queen’s South Africa Medal from the Duke of York, later King George V.

After a brief break from the war, she returned with a group of eight Canadian nurses. Pope served in a hospital in Natal until the war ended.

On Oct. 31, 1902, she was awarded the Royal Red Cross, becoming the first Canadian to receive the honour.

After she returned from the war, Pope became the first matron of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Using her political connections, she was able to pressure the Canadian Army to create a special, all-female officer rank for nurses in the military.

She spent the next few years working as a nurse, but at the outbreak of the First World War, Pope decided she to wanted to help soldiers with her medical skills once again.

Despite now being 55 and with health issues, she went to France and served near Ypres from 1917 to 1918.

Her time in the war was difficult and the hospital she worked at was often bombed. This led her to develop post-traumatic stress disorder and she returned to Canada.

In March 1919, she retired from nursing and lived on her war pension. For her service in the First World War she was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Pope died on June 6, 1938 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island at the age of 76.

Upon her death, she was given a full military funeral.

Today, she is one of 14 figures honoured with a statue at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa.