Monday Monuments and Memorials – Plus jamais la guerre – Monument à la paix et au souvenir, Gatineau, QC

WAR NEVER AGAIN – Monument to Peace and Remembrance, Gatineau, Quebec

A war memorial for the City of Hull, Quebec (now Gatineau) was first conceived in the 1930s, but not dedicated until 11 November 1992. Plus jamais la guerre – Monument à la paix et au souvenir (War Never Again – Monument to Peace and Remembrance) stands at the NE corner of boul Alexandre Taché and boul St-Joseph, in front of the Salaberry Armoury. The concrete, steel and granite monument bears a double message: remembering those who suffered because of war, and seeking peace and harmony for the future.

Monday Monuments and Memorials – Sadie St Germain, St James Cemetery, Gatineau QC

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  Nursing Sister Sadie St Germain, St James Cemetery, Gatineau

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  St Germain family gravestone, St James Cemetery, Gatineau

For the month of October, in honour of Women’s History Month, I am visiting WW1 Nursing Sisters buried in the National Capital Region.

Sadie St Germain was born on 21 July 1884 in Hull, Quebec, the seventh of eight children of Camille St Germain and Christine (McCallum) St Germain.

St Germain trained as a nurse in Newburgh, NY and worked there for some time before joining the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on 10 August 1916. Six days later, she sailed to England. While posted there, bronchitis and neurasthenia took her out of commission for several weeks in early 1917. In September 1917, she transferred to No 1 Canadian General Hospital, Étaples. In December 1918, she was posted to No 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Treport. With the First Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, she was one of the few Canadian nurses to accompany the army of occupation into Germany in January 1919. She returned to Canada in May 1919.