The Sepia Saturday prompt picture this week shows a group of soldiers. I'm no expert on uniforms, but I guess it's from WWII. (If you know better, feel free to enlighten me.)
In my great-uncle Gustaf's postcard album, I'm still on the year 1913. But after 13 comes 14, and WWI - and some postcards with military scenes sent from his sister Gerda, who happened to be in France when that war broke out, and not able to get back to Sweden until after it was over.
I don't know what employment Gerda managed to find (or maintain) in France during the war. She also probably wasn't able to write anything very revealing on the postcards.
But in her photo album, there is one photo showing that at some point, she must have done some volunteer work for the Red Cross. Judging by the uniforms, and knowing that she spent WWI in France, I think it must be from those years.
 |
| Gerda in the middle, with the cross visible on her armband |
As mentioned in last week's Sepia post, a decade or so later, Gerda started working for the Swedish Count & Countesse Bernadotte. During WWII (and after) she was still employed by them. Folke Bernadotte, closely related to the Swedish royal family, was vice president of the Swedish Red Cross during WWII. Towards the end of the war, he negotiated directly with Heinrich Himmler for the Red Cross and managed to rescue more than 30.000 prisoners of war from concentration camps in Germany in the so-called 'White Buses' operation.
After WWII, Folke was chosen as mediator for the UN in the Arab-Israeli conflict, but was sadly assassinated by a Zionist group in Jerusalem in 1948. My great-aunt Gerda remained with his widow Estelle (born Manville) for many more years to come, though - long past normal retirement age. Estelle eventually got remarried, but not until the same year Gerda died (1973). (Gerda was born 1881, so lived to be 91 or 92.)
This past week, I've been re-reading/listening to a biography about Folke Bernadotte: A Forgotten Hero by Shelley Emling (2019). Well worth reading (although alas not including any glimpses from the servants' quarters of his household).
That is a wonderful image of Gerda with her Red Cross chums. I don't think photos of nurses and Red Cross volunteers from WW1 are very common. I have read a number of accounts from the beginning of the war of people who were trapped on the wrong side of the border and arrested as enemy aliens. But I've not found many reports about people from neutral countries who were likewise prevented from returning. Back in 2017 I wrote a story you will like about a young pianist who was studying in Germany when the war broke out. There's even a Swedish connection. Here is the link: https://temposenzatempo.blogspot.com/2017/02/lost-and-found-and-lost.html
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for the book recommendation. Folke Bernadotte had a remarkable life of service.
What a remarkable image of Gerda during her Red Cross service. We often associate Veteran's Day and similar commemorations with those who were on active duty. But the nurses, who were often women such as those shown here, also played an integral role.
ReplyDeleteMike, from what I've been told, when WWI broke out, Gerda was in France with an English lady she was working for. Her employer was able to go back to England, but Gerda was not allowed to go with her. From postcards to her brother it seems she stayed in France during the war. Remains to be seen when I start looking closer at the postcards from there, if I find any more clues as to why.
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat picture of Gerda with the nurses. Looks Like they're relaxing and having some fun. Is that cake?!! Yum! :)
ReplyDeleteLaN, as she wasn't a trained nurse, I imagine her helping out with serving food and such rather than beig involved in "proper nursing".
DeleteA lovely picture of Gerda and friends as Red Cross nurses, enjoying themselves - a contrast to the horrors they must have faced in war.
ReplyDeleteScot Sue, as Gerda's normal job was a lady's maid, I'm not sure how much of the worst horrors of the war she came in close contact with. This is the only photo its kind in her album. But then as Mike says above, photos of Red Cross volunteers in WWI probably aren't that common.
DeleteQuite an interesting history of Gerda and the picture is a treasure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Virginia.
Delete