Description

Records show that the first women officially in the Royal Canadian Navy were six nursing sisters who served during August 1914 on His Majesty's Canadian Hospital Ship HMCHS Prince George, the only Canadian hospital ship to ever sail with the Royal Canadian Navy.

The nursing sisters appointed to the naval service on the Prince George were Elizabeth Pierce, Anne Dover, Gertrude Black, Penelope Mellen, Mabel Lindsey and Bessie Watson. The nurses were paid approximately $90 per month. During WWI, 15 of 34 hospital ships were sunk by submarines due to their white colour being easily targeted through a submarine's periscope.

All the nurses eventually ended up in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1915. During WWI, 46 nursing sisters died, of a total of 3,141 who served overseas.