The War Nurses
Page 32
In 1981, Mairi Chisholm died of lung cancer, aged 85, in the home she had shared with Davidson for almost 60 years.
She never married.
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Also by Lizzie Page
The War Nurses
Daughters of War
A Letter From Lizzie Page
A huge thank you to you for choosing to read The War Nurses. I do hope you enjoyed it.
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It was a great pleasure to write The War Nurses. I am in awe of Elsie and Mairi and all the other women who served with such dedication. I hope stories such as this help to shine a light on their contributions. They will not be forgotten.
I am currently working on Book Two in the trilogy: The War Nurses at Christmas. Elsie’s friend, May Turner, is struggling to keep her family together while she works at a field hospital in the Somme.
If you enjoyed reading The War Nurses, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you thought. How did you feel about what Elsie and Mairi did in Belgium? Who were your favourite characters? Were you pleased or surprised by the ending? Your reviews also make a difference in helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
It’s always wonderful to hear from my readers – please feel free to get in touch directly on my Facebook page, or through Twitter or Goodreads.
Thank you so much for your time,
Lizzie Page
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Acknowledgements
I first heard about Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm in a thread on Mumsnet about women who’ve done remarkable things but aren’t well-known. All the women mentioned sounded fascinating but Elsie and Mairi appealed to me in particular. I loved their determination to make a positive difference and I wanted to share their story. I feel very grateful to them and indeed to all those who risk their lives to protect others.
If you are interested in finding out more about Elsie and Mairi, I found The Cellar house of Pervyse: a tale of uncommon things from the journals and letters of the Baroness t’Serclaes and Mairi Chisholm by Geraldine Edith Milton, published 1917, a fabulous online resource.
I also highly recommend Elsie and Mairi Go to War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front, by Diane Atkinson, published 2010.
The Imperial War Museum and the National Library of Scotland have interviews and resources related to both women. There are some tremendous groups on Facebook and Twitter whose posts have been very helpful, including: Lucy London’s ‘Inspirational Women of WW1’, Deborah Cameron’s ‘Remembering Women on the Home Front WW1’, Sue Robinson’s ‘Wenches in Trenches’, ‘Sheroes of History’ and many more.
Thanks also to the fabulous t’Binnenhuis, a beautiful place to stay in Ypres, and gratitude to the lovely guides who took me around the area and gave me more insight and stories. At the Hotel Ariane, Ypres, they have a statue of Elsie, Mairi and Shot in the garden.
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Thanks also…
To Therese Coen, my agent at Hardman and Swainson, for her support and persistence in the face of this author’s pessimism.
To Kathryn Taussig, a great editor with a gentle touch. Perfect ability to steer me away from the darkness and towards the light.
To Bookouture, an innovative, exciting and, most importantly, relevant publishing company. The perfect home for The War Nurses.
To Reuben, Ernie and Miranda, for making it all worthwhile
To Steve, love, forever.
Published by Bookouture
An imprint of StoryFire Ltd.
Carmelite House
50 Victoria Embankment
London EC4Y 0DZ
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www.bookouture.com
Copyright © Lizzie Page 2018
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ISBN: 978-1-78681-372-5
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Lizzie Page has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.