Today's lecture was about the voluntary aids. These were women from the upper middle class and elite who had servants and never learned how to do the basics. They were given 6 months of training which including learning to cook, clean and bandage. They were then sent overseas to be used where they were needed. They worked 6 months and had 7 days off. They paid for their uniforms but their travel and other expenses were paid for. We saw a picture of the hospital and what it looked after it was bombed. If something or someone had the red cross on them they were to be safe territory and not be bombed or killed. One of the difficulties they had to deal with was diseases no one had ever seen before. Many neighborhoods and towns male population was wiped out due the men not coming back home.
Each of these lectures provide us with a look at WWI and those involved. Plus we get a free pattern of the times that the Red Cross provided to those who were knitting for the soldiers.
There is a PBS mini series called Crimson Fields that talks about the aids and what happened during the war. http://www.pbs.org/program/crimson-field/
