When it came to war in early times, WWI and WWII, men were generally the focus. However, many women also served, primarily as nurses. Thanks to the research of G. William (Bill) Streeter, local historian in Southampton (Saugeen Shores), their stories are now being told. This is the last in the series for this year.
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Mabel was born in Port Elgin on October 30th, 1893. The Stauch family farmed in Saugeen Township. She was the fourth of five children.
Mabel chose a career in Nursing. After graduating from Nursing School, and with the war raging in Europe in 1916, at the age of 23, she travelled to England. Upon her arrival, she joined the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Sister Reserve, which was the official female unit for medical service in the British Military at the start of the First World War.
A year later, on October 17th, 1917, she transferred to the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a Nursing Sister and was assigned to #16 Canadian General Hospital in Orpington in Metro London. This Hospital had more than 1,000 beds and served wounded Canadian soldiers being returned to England from the war’s front in Europe.
On August 12, 1918 Mabel was assigned to France and the #1 Canadian General Hospital located at Étables. This was a massive complex that housed an allied training base, a supply depot, a prisoner detention centre, and a “Hospital City”. This was the hospital that had been bombed by the Germans on the night of May 19/20, earlier in 1918.
She remained in France until December 12, 1918, when she returned to England.
The remainder of her time was in England at the large Canadian Hospital in Orpington. She took a 14-day leave in February 1919 to visit and tour Italy. On June 26, 1919, she boarded the S. S. Baltic to return to Canada. She was discharged on July 9, 1919, and came home to Port Elgin.
Some of her family remained in the community after the war. There is no record however of Mabel in the community after 1920.
Note: The family name Stauch may have been changed formally or not formally to Stowe by some members. During WWI, it was common for people of German descent to Anglicize their names
