Trailblazing WW1 nurses honoured with plaque at Belfast City Hall Heather Thompson, RCN Northern Ireland History of Nursing Network and Lord Mayor of Belfast, Alderman Frank McCoubrey, with a plaque in memory of trailblazing nurses which has been unveiled at Belfast City Hall. Picture by RCN/PA Wire Rebecca Black, Press Association
A plaque in memory of trailblazing nurses has been unveiled at Belfast City Hall.
It will remain as a permanent memorial to those who served in the First World War.
Scores of nurses left Ireland from 1914 to serve on battlefields across the world, from northern France to east Africa and the Middle East.
A plaque dedicated to nurses in WW1 has been installed at Belfast City Hall. (RCN/PA)
The plaque was a result of a campaign by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Northern Ireland’s History of Nursing Network following research which discovered more than 100 names of those who served on battlefields.
The nurses they traced included Margaret Anderson, from Kilkeel, who became known as the Mourne’s Florence Nightingale.
She received the Royal Red Cross for her service in the First World War, and later went on to work in Iraq before rejoining the nursing reserve at the age of 58 at the start of the Second World War, during which she took part in several sorties during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
Nurses from Ireland who served during the First World War have been honoured with a memorial plaque at Belfast City Hall.
It comes after research discovered more than 100 names of those who served in battlefields across Europe, Africa and the Middle East between 1914 and 1918.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Northern Ireland History of Nursing Network previously produced a book telling their stories. The group has now successfully applied to the council for a plaque to be installed at City Hall.
Attending the unveiling on behalf of the History of Nursing Network, Heather Thompson said: It was a privilege to attend Belfast City Hall for the unveiling of this important plaque by the Lord Mayor, Alderman Frank McCoubrey.