White one-piece starched cotton shin-length machine sewn WWII military regulation nursing apron; stitching is white; one large applied pocket on right hip; bib has two wide shoulder straps attached that extend over shoulders and behind back; each shoulder strap has one button hole towards the end; …
White one-piece starched cotton shin-length machine sewn WWII military regulation nursing apron; stitching is white; one large applied pocket on right hip; bib has two wide shoulder straps attached that extend over shoulders and behind back; each shoulder strap has one button hole towards the end; one button hole on either side of waist band opening; small white name tag stitched on left side of opening with blue cursive writing; open hem measurement 180.0 cm; waist seam to hem measurement 82.2 cm; top of bib to hem measurement 112.4 cm; chest width measurement 37.1 cm; waist circumference 71.4 cm; shoulder strap length 57.3 cm.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Owned by Nursing Sister Miriam Hartrick.
Dates
1939
1945
circa 1939-1945
Date Remarks
Duration of World War II
Material
fabric: white, blue
Inscriptions
On name tag: "Maude M. Prong"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0007
0007
Length
169.7 cm
Width
90.0 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Dimension Notes
169.7 cm x 90.0 cm
Condition Remarks
Apron is very clean; shoulder strap button holes are tearing slightly, brown stain on skirt of apron that is only visible from the inside; apron is slightly wrinkled.
Copy Type
original
Reference Types
Museum
Reference Comments
“Nursing Sister’s apron, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC),” Museum of Health Care. http://artefact.museumofhealthcare.ca/?p=79
Research Facts
Miriam E. Hartrick graduated from the Kingston General Hosptial School of Nursing in 1931.
More than 4000 women served as military nurses during the Second World War playing a vital role in the care and comfort of wounded soldiers, sailors, and airmen. As commissioned officers known by rank and title as Nursing Sisters, they served as fully-integrated members of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Most of them worked overseas in military hospitals and casualty clearing stations. After the lean years of the 1930s when there were few available positions for graduate nurses, even with the dangers of warfare, military nursing offered a job with a good salary, benefits, status, and a chance to travel.