Rank: Nursing Sister
Branch: Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service
Olive was born in Hinckley, England. As a young woman, she received training as a nurse and midwife. Early in World War I, she joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. Olive served as a nursing sister at a Casualty Clearing Station in France; she was mentioned in dispatches several times in 1918. In 1921, she came to Canada and joined the Alberta Department of Health. She was appointed a district nurse at Halcourt. In 1924, the Department of Health formed the traveling Clinic; Olive accompanied the traveling clinic for eleven years. When World War II began, Olive was on holiday in England and offered her services as a nurse and midwife in London. She resumed her work as a district nurse when she returned to Alberta. In 1950, she retired and moved to Victoria. Olive died on November 29, 1969.
Sources: Where the Red Willow Grew p. 278; Beaverlodge to the Rockies p. 370; mentioned in “Prepared to Care: Nurses and Nursing in Alberta, 1859 to 1996,” available in the SPRA reference library
Note: Click Glenbow Archives link below and enter “Watherston” in “People” field to view photographs of Olive during her military and medical careers