Women in the War Zone ─ Hospital Service in the First World War

The nurses who served on the front line during the First World War were often only yards away from the front line, in an environment a world away from the comfort of home. These ministering angels were symbols of hope to the men under their care. In Women in the War Zone, Anne Powell has selected extracts from firsthand accounts of the experiences of those women who served abroad, from Petrograd to Basra, Antwerp to the Dardanelles, Russia and Romania, the Somme, Ypres and Arras. Their stories are of extraordinary courage and compassion. Featuring detailed biographies of all female medical personnel, this book honors the often unsung contribution they made to alleviating the suffering of the First World War.

Anne Powell became absorbed in the history and literature of the First World War while living outside Mons in Belgium, where her husband was serving on the staff of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. There they became frequent visitors to the battlefields and cemeteries of northern France and Belgium, often with their children. She has also edited A Deep Cry: Soldier-Poets Killed in France and Flanders and The Fierce Light: The Battle of the Somme, July-November 1916.