The Tragic Story of Nursing Sister Rena McLean
A few weeks ago, I chronicled Winifred Grace MacLeod, the first Island nurse to serve in the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the First World War. This week, I am going to take a look at another Island nurse, Rena Maud McLean.
McLean was born in 1880 to John McLean and Matilda Jury of Souris. Her father was a prominent Conservative politician and a prominent merchant. He co-owned a thirty-boat fishing fleet, three canning factories, and real estate. Her mother was the daughter of a jeweller and clockmaker. McLean had four siblings. Unfortunately, of her two sisters, one died in infancy and another drowned at the age of 12 in Mount Stewart.
She went to Mount Allison Ladies' College at age 11, Halifax Ladies' College, then the Newport Hospital Training School for Nurses, where she graduated in 1908 (age 28).
In 1914 when the First World War broke out, she was the Head Nurse at the Henry Haywood Memorial Hospital in Gardner, Massachusetts. She enlisted and her father secured a place for her in the first contingent to go overseas using his political influence and connections. Her first stop was Valcartier, Quebec. Fellow Nursing Sister Mabel Clint described the conditions as cramped, drafty, and soldiers' marching made it difficult to sleep. Their beds also lacked mattresses, pillows, and bedding.
Nurses knew how to be nurses, not military Nursing Sisters. Therefore, they were given a crash course on how to read military orders and all the rules that would now dictate their life. These rules included things like when they could leave the base and with whom, where they ate, how they interacted with other ranks, reporting to the matron, and so on. It was here McLean was measured for her, now iconic, blue nursing uniform. The blue colour leading to the nickname of Bluebirds.
McLean and the other nurses were sworn in at the rank of lieutenant. This meant they were given a batman or batwoman, an assistant or servant to take care of things like laundry and run errands for them. Their rank is also significant. They were the only Nursing Sisters to be commissioned officers during the First World War.
She left Valcartier with 32,000 nurses and soldiers. According to Katherine Dewar, author of Those Splendid Girls: The Heroic Service of Prince Edward Island Nurses in the Great War, 1914-1918, the Nursing Sisters boarded their transport ship with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles cheering them on, indicating that these women were already respected by the soldiers. She was the only Island nurse in that contingent.
Their trip to England was relatively calm until they reached the English Channel where cold winds meant rougher seas, which led to some seasickness.
In London, the nurses and soldiers were cheered on by British civilians when they arrived. The Nursing Sisters then had a two-week break before going to their posts.
Salisbury Plain
At Salisbury Plain, McLean initially stayed in a tent. But the tents leaked and the soldiers replaced them with huts... poorly ventilated huts which led to influenza, enteritis, and cerebrospinal meningitis. When the soldiers became sick with these ailments, the nurses had to care for them. To do this efficiently, they had to shorten their dresses because of the mud and put on better boots.
France
A few days after writing her brother in November 1914, McLean boarded the hospital ship Carisbrooke Castle and headed to France. She was stationed at a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Departement de Pas-de-Calais. They (No. 2 CSH) were the first Canadians in France!
But, she was not the only Islander there - the Quartermaster, Captain James Walker, and Quartermaster Sergeant, William Hughes, were both from Charlottetown. They were all awarded the 1914 Star. A distinction only given to those who served in 1914. Of the 260 Canadians to receive the Star, 55 were Nursing Sisters.
This hospital, located in a converted luxury hotel, started to receive patients on 4 December 1914. 300 wounded British soldiers arrived around 2 am, mainly suffering from frostbite and trench foot, although there were bullet wounds as well. Trench foot was a new condition for many nurses, I cannot imagine what it would be like to see trench foot for the first time!
In January of 1915, her brother, Harry, was in France and went to visit her. She was too busy to see him but got special permission from her Commanding Officer to go to Britain to visit him. The officers on her transport ship told her she would need a passport to get back into France. But once in France, Matron-in-Chief Margaret Macdonald told her she would not need a passport. Sure enough, when she went to return to France, she was not allowed on board without a passport. However, she noticed that while civilians required passports, the soldiers entering the ship through a different entrance did not. So being resourceful, she went and mingled with the soldiers and boarded with them.
McLean also had to face the Ypres gas attacks. In April, the hospital she was stationed at in Le Touquet received a message to empty as many beds as possible, prepare to ship patients to England, and they needed to double their capacity in 24 hours. In about 12 hours they were ready to receive 600 patients! Soon the patients from Gavenstafel Ridge began to arrive, soldiers gasping to take every painful breath and crying blood tears. The nurses administered 100% oxygen to the soldiers which helped them but put a strain on the nurses as a nurse needed to stay with the patient during this treatment.
An important thing to remember about the gas attacks was it was not just the soldiers who were wounded by it. The gas seeped into the soldier's uniforms, skin, and hair. The nurses were required to strip the men of these clothes and bathe the soldier if needed. Meaning the gas got onto their skin, in their eyes, and into their lungs. It would be a much smaller amount compared to what the soldiers experienced, but it is important to recognize it as it is often overlooked.
Because this gas was so new, treating the soldiers was difficult, not only physically but mentally. Many nurses recorded their experiences treating these soldiers and their despair at not knowing how to care for these men is clear.
Salonika
After a brief trip home (courtesy of her father's political influence), McLean was sent to Salonika, where fellow Islander Winifred Grace MacLeod was serving. MacLeod was in rough condition when McLean saw her, she had lost weight and was dealing with chronic dysentery for six months.
Her hospital was bombed by the Germans a few days after her arrival.
She spent the summer of 1916 in Salonika, which according to Dewar was "reputed to be the worst posting of the war." Somehow, McLean did not record the conditions of Salonika, which included a lack of water, food, medical supplies, poor living conditions, and dysentery was common.
If you would like to learn more about the condition at Salonika, check out my blog post on Nursing Sister Winifred Grace MacLeod.
Voting
One of the main topics in the 1917 Canadian election was the issue of conscription. The vote was extended to female service members and women with close relatives (ie. husbands and sons) serving in the military. The hope was they would support conscription and sending more men to support their loved ones overseas. McLean was one of many Nursing Sisters who was able to vote during this election.
Recalled to England
In 1917, there was an outcry in Canada when people learned of the conditions the nurses in Salonika were living and working in. As a result, the nurses were recalled to England - a dangerous trip as they travelled by train through France and by ship to England. The worry of German submarines would be constant when crossing the English Channel. She was posted to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital at Orpington, Kent, England.
McLean felt conflicted about being back in England, and I imagine many Nursing Sisters did. On the one hand, the living and working conditions would be very different. On the other hand, they had to leave the soldiers behind in Salonika.
Transport Duty - Llandovery Castle
By this time, McLean was hoping to get a leave of absence to visit her parents, who were becoming increasingly worried about her safety. McLean requested to be placed on a transport ship - these transport ships would be going back and forth to Canada, taking patients back home. Once in Canada, getting a short leave of absence to visit PEI would be much easier.
Many nurses who served in France and especially Salonika were given transport duty because it was a lighter duty then being on the front lines in France. On 2 February 1918, her request was approved and that year she did five trips to Halifax in the winter and spring on the hospital ship Llandovery Castle. These medical transport ships were clearly marked with large red crosses and green stripe. At night, these markings were still visible as they would travel with the lights on. Both the Germans and Allies were active in sinking ships in the Atlantic so it was important they were clearly marked as a medical transport at all times.
At 9:30 pm on 27 June 1918, the Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by the Germans. McLean and her fellow nurses were able to get to a lifeboat and board but the crew had difficulty getting the boat lowered and broke two axes. Once they were in the water the rough seas kept pushing them towards the sinking ship and they broke the oars trying to get to safety. As a result of the broken oars, the lifeboat was helpless when the waves once again pushed them towards the ship. The poop deck (highest deck of a ship) crashed into the water and the nurses' lifeboat was sucked into the resulting vacuum and all drowned.
The Germans took the Llandovery Castle surviving Captain Sylvester and interrogated him, claiming the vessel had been flying an American Flying Officers flag and then accused the Captain of carrying ammunition - both of which would have meant the vessel was free-game. According to survivors, the German submarine, realizing they sank a hospital ship, tried to ram lifeboats and used machine guns on survivors in the lifeboats and in the water to get rid of the evidence. One lifeboat escaped and was recused two days later by HMS Lysander.
Of the 97 member medical team onboard, only seven survived.
It took 11 days for McLean's family to be informed she was presumed dead and on 14 July 1918, a memorial service was held at St. James Church in Souris.
For Canadians, the sinking of the Llandovery Castle was a war crime and some consider this one of the events that was a rallying cry for Canadians during the last 100 days of the war. After the war ended, the first and second officers of U-86, the German U-boat that sank the Llandovery Castle, were brought to trial and sentenced to four years hard labour at the Leipzig Trials. However, they escaped on their way to prison. The U-boat's captain, Captain Patzig, was never charged as he went missing after the war ended.
Remembering Rena McLean
McLean's war medals, 1914 Star, Royal Red Cross 2nd Class, The Victory Medal, and British War Medal can be seen at the Canadian Forces Medical Services School at Camp Bordon in Ontario. The Silver Cross Medal with Scroll and Medallion her mother received are also there.
In 1919, the PEI Soldiers' Convalescent Hospital in Charlottetown was renamed the Rena McLean Memorial Hospital. This hospital is no longer there, today there is a plaque and garden at the Lieutenant Governor's House. The garden is located where the hospital once stood.
York Minster Cathedral has her listed on the Five Sisters Memorial Window.
Mount Allison's library has a plaque dedicated to her.
Point Pleasant Park in Halifax has her listed on their memorial.
Souris West Cemetery has a memorial stone dedicated to her and there is a plaque at the radiology department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
If you would like to see her listing in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, click here.
Rena McLean's military service lasted from 28 September 1914 to 27 June 1918.
By the time of her death, she served in England, France, Salonika, and the medical transport ship Llandovery Castle.
Like many Nursing Sisters, Rena McLean died during her service. She was one of 619,636 Canadians who enlisted during the First World War and one of 59,544 Canadians who died during their service.
Dewar, Katherine. Those Splendid Girls: The Heroic Service of Prince Edward Island Nurses in the Great War, 1914-1918. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, 2014.
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| Nursing Sister Rena McLean (Image Credit: Dictionary of Canadian Biography) |
McLean was born in 1880 to John McLean and Matilda Jury of Souris. Her father was a prominent Conservative politician and a prominent merchant. He co-owned a thirty-boat fishing fleet, three canning factories, and real estate. Her mother was the daughter of a jeweller and clockmaker. McLean had four siblings. Unfortunately, of her two sisters, one died in infancy and another drowned at the age of 12 in Mount Stewart.
She went to Mount Allison Ladies' College at age 11, Halifax Ladies' College, then the Newport Hospital Training School for Nurses, where she graduated in 1908 (age 28).
In 1914 when the First World War broke out, she was the Head Nurse at the Henry Haywood Memorial Hospital in Gardner, Massachusetts. She enlisted and her father secured a place for her in the first contingent to go overseas using his political influence and connections. Her first stop was Valcartier, Quebec. Fellow Nursing Sister Mabel Clint described the conditions as cramped, drafty, and soldiers' marching made it difficult to sleep. Their beds also lacked mattresses, pillows, and bedding.
Nurses knew how to be nurses, not military Nursing Sisters. Therefore, they were given a crash course on how to read military orders and all the rules that would now dictate their life. These rules included things like when they could leave the base and with whom, where they ate, how they interacted with other ranks, reporting to the matron, and so on. It was here McLean was measured for her, now iconic, blue nursing uniform. The blue colour leading to the nickname of Bluebirds.
McLean and the other nurses were sworn in at the rank of lieutenant. This meant they were given a batman or batwoman, an assistant or servant to take care of things like laundry and run errands for them. Their rank is also significant. They were the only Nursing Sisters to be commissioned officers during the First World War.
She left Valcartier with 32,000 nurses and soldiers. According to Katherine Dewar, author of Those Splendid Girls: The Heroic Service of Prince Edward Island Nurses in the Great War, 1914-1918, the Nursing Sisters boarded their transport ship with the 90th Winnipeg Rifles cheering them on, indicating that these women were already respected by the soldiers. She was the only Island nurse in that contingent.
Their trip to England was relatively calm until they reached the English Channel where cold winds meant rougher seas, which led to some seasickness.
In London, the nurses and soldiers were cheered on by British civilians when they arrived. The Nursing Sisters then had a two-week break before going to their posts.
Salisbury Plain
At Salisbury Plain, McLean initially stayed in a tent. But the tents leaked and the soldiers replaced them with huts... poorly ventilated huts which led to influenza, enteritis, and cerebrospinal meningitis. When the soldiers became sick with these ailments, the nurses had to care for them. To do this efficiently, they had to shorten their dresses because of the mud and put on better boots.
France
A few days after writing her brother in November 1914, McLean boarded the hospital ship Carisbrooke Castle and headed to France. She was stationed at a hospital in Boulogne-sur-Mer, Departement de Pas-de-Calais. They (No. 2 CSH) were the first Canadians in France!
But, she was not the only Islander there - the Quartermaster, Captain James Walker, and Quartermaster Sergeant, William Hughes, were both from Charlottetown. They were all awarded the 1914 Star. A distinction only given to those who served in 1914. Of the 260 Canadians to receive the Star, 55 were Nursing Sisters.
This hospital, located in a converted luxury hotel, started to receive patients on 4 December 1914. 300 wounded British soldiers arrived around 2 am, mainly suffering from frostbite and trench foot, although there were bullet wounds as well. Trench foot was a new condition for many nurses, I cannot imagine what it would be like to see trench foot for the first time!
 |
| Trench foot was a common condition during the war. It was caused by the constant moisture around soldiers' feet as the trenches were constantly wet and muddy. (Image Credit: Spartacus Educational) |
In January of 1915, her brother, Harry, was in France and went to visit her. She was too busy to see him but got special permission from her Commanding Officer to go to Britain to visit him. The officers on her transport ship told her she would need a passport to get back into France. But once in France, Matron-in-Chief Margaret Macdonald told her she would not need a passport. Sure enough, when she went to return to France, she was not allowed on board without a passport. However, she noticed that while civilians required passports, the soldiers entering the ship through a different entrance did not. So being resourceful, she went and mingled with the soldiers and boarded with them.
McLean also had to face the Ypres gas attacks. In April, the hospital she was stationed at in Le Touquet received a message to empty as many beds as possible, prepare to ship patients to England, and they needed to double their capacity in 24 hours. In about 12 hours they were ready to receive 600 patients! Soon the patients from Gavenstafel Ridge began to arrive, soldiers gasping to take every painful breath and crying blood tears. The nurses administered 100% oxygen to the soldiers which helped them but put a strain on the nurses as a nurse needed to stay with the patient during this treatment.
An important thing to remember about the gas attacks was it was not just the soldiers who were wounded by it. The gas seeped into the soldier's uniforms, skin, and hair. The nurses were required to strip the men of these clothes and bathe the soldier if needed. Meaning the gas got onto their skin, in their eyes, and into their lungs. It would be a much smaller amount compared to what the soldiers experienced, but it is important to recognize it as it is often overlooked.
Because this gas was so new, treating the soldiers was difficult, not only physically but mentally. Many nurses recorded their experiences treating these soldiers and their despair at not knowing how to care for these men is clear.
Salonika
After a brief trip home (courtesy of her father's political influence), McLean was sent to Salonika, where fellow Islander Winifred Grace MacLeod was serving. MacLeod was in rough condition when McLean saw her, she had lost weight and was dealing with chronic dysentery for six months.
Her hospital was bombed by the Germans a few days after her arrival.
She spent the summer of 1916 in Salonika, which according to Dewar was "reputed to be the worst posting of the war." Somehow, McLean did not record the conditions of Salonika, which included a lack of water, food, medical supplies, poor living conditions, and dysentery was common.
Voting
One of the main topics in the 1917 Canadian election was the issue of conscription. The vote was extended to female service members and women with close relatives (ie. husbands and sons) serving in the military. The hope was they would support conscription and sending more men to support their loved ones overseas. McLean was one of many Nursing Sisters who was able to vote during this election.
Recalled to England
In 1917, there was an outcry in Canada when people learned of the conditions the nurses in Salonika were living and working in. As a result, the nurses were recalled to England - a dangerous trip as they travelled by train through France and by ship to England. The worry of German submarines would be constant when crossing the English Channel. She was posted to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital at Orpington, Kent, England.
McLean felt conflicted about being back in England, and I imagine many Nursing Sisters did. On the one hand, the living and working conditions would be very different. On the other hand, they had to leave the soldiers behind in Salonika.
Transport Duty - Llandovery Castle
By this time, McLean was hoping to get a leave of absence to visit her parents, who were becoming increasingly worried about her safety. McLean requested to be placed on a transport ship - these transport ships would be going back and forth to Canada, taking patients back home. Once in Canada, getting a short leave of absence to visit PEI would be much easier.
Many nurses who served in France and especially Salonika were given transport duty because it was a lighter duty then being on the front lines in France. On 2 February 1918, her request was approved and that year she did five trips to Halifax in the winter and spring on the hospital ship Llandovery Castle. These medical transport ships were clearly marked with large red crosses and green stripe. At night, these markings were still visible as they would travel with the lights on. Both the Germans and Allies were active in sinking ships in the Atlantic so it was important they were clearly marked as a medical transport at all times.
At 9:30 pm on 27 June 1918, the Llandovery Castle was torpedoed by the Germans. McLean and her fellow nurses were able to get to a lifeboat and board but the crew had difficulty getting the boat lowered and broke two axes. Once they were in the water the rough seas kept pushing them towards the sinking ship and they broke the oars trying to get to safety. As a result of the broken oars, the lifeboat was helpless when the waves once again pushed them towards the ship. The poop deck (highest deck of a ship) crashed into the water and the nurses' lifeboat was sucked into the resulting vacuum and all drowned.
 |
| McLean's Casualty Form, you see the last three lines are about her death - "Previously reported missing believed drowned ... Presumed to have died on or since 24.6.18." (Image Credit: Rena McLean's service record, available online through Library and Archives Canada) |
The Germans took the Llandovery Castle surviving Captain Sylvester and interrogated him, claiming the vessel had been flying an American Flying Officers flag and then accused the Captain of carrying ammunition - both of which would have meant the vessel was free-game. According to survivors, the German submarine, realizing they sank a hospital ship, tried to ram lifeboats and used machine guns on survivors in the lifeboats and in the water to get rid of the evidence. One lifeboat escaped and was recused two days later by HMS Lysander.
 |
| A propaganda poster created after the Llandovery Castle was torpedoed. You can see it uses the nurse to indicate the savageness of the German attack. (Image Credit: CWM 19850475-014/Canadian War Museum) |
Of the 97 member medical team onboard, only seven survived.
It took 11 days for McLean's family to be informed she was presumed dead and on 14 July 1918, a memorial service was held at St. James Church in Souris.
For Canadians, the sinking of the Llandovery Castle was a war crime and some consider this one of the events that was a rallying cry for Canadians during the last 100 days of the war. After the war ended, the first and second officers of U-86, the German U-boat that sank the Llandovery Castle, were brought to trial and sentenced to four years hard labour at the Leipzig Trials. However, they escaped on their way to prison. The U-boat's captain, Captain Patzig, was never charged as he went missing after the war ended.
Remembering Rena McLean
McLean's war medals, 1914 Star, Royal Red Cross 2nd Class, The Victory Medal, and British War Medal can be seen at the Canadian Forces Medical Services School at Camp Bordon in Ontario. The Silver Cross Medal with Scroll and Medallion her mother received are also there.
In 1919, the PEI Soldiers' Convalescent Hospital in Charlottetown was renamed the Rena McLean Memorial Hospital. This hospital is no longer there, today there is a plaque and garden at the Lieutenant Governor's House. The garden is located where the hospital once stood.
York Minster Cathedral has her listed on the Five Sisters Memorial Window.
Mount Allison's library has a plaque dedicated to her.
Point Pleasant Park in Halifax has her listed on their memorial.
Souris West Cemetery has a memorial stone dedicated to her and there is a plaque at the radiology department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
If you would like to see her listing in the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, click here.
Rena McLean's military service lasted from 28 September 1914 to 27 June 1918.
By the time of her death, she served in England, France, Salonika, and the medical transport ship Llandovery Castle.
Like many Nursing Sisters, Rena McLean died during her service. She was one of 619,636 Canadians who enlisted during the First World War and one of 59,544 Canadians who died during their service.
Dewar, Katherine. Those Splendid Girls: The Heroic Service of Prince Edward Island Nurses in the Great War, 1914-1918. Charlottetown: Island Studies Press, 2014.
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