WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.180 Welcome to the deep dive. I am just so thrilled 00:00:03.180 --> 00:00:05.400 you're joining us today because the history we 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:07.759 have lined up is absolutely staggering. Oh, it 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:10.339 really is. It's a fantastic topic. Right. Today, 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:12.919 we are immersing ourselves in a comprehensive 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:15.699 Wikipedia article detailing the history of the 00:00:15.699 --> 00:00:19.699 VAD, and if you haven't come across that acronym 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:22.579 before, it stands for the Voluntary Aid Detachment. 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:26.379 A completely crucial organization. Exactly. Our 00:00:26.379 --> 00:00:28.699 mission for this deep dive is to explore how 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:31.899 a group of, well, Primarily untrained, upper 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:34.399 -class civilian volunteers stepped directly into 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:36.299 the horrific realities of the First and Second 00:00:36.299 --> 00:00:38.759 World Wars. And completely held their own. Yes. 00:00:39.219 --> 00:00:41.100 We're going to look at how they revolutionized 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:44.219 military nursing, the grueling medical realities 00:00:44.219 --> 00:00:47.700 they faced, and the intense class and professional 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:50.070 friction they sparked along the way. OK, let's 00:00:50.070 --> 00:00:51.630 unpack this. We have to start with the origins 00:00:51.630 --> 00:00:54.670 right at the dawn of the 20th century. Set the 00:00:54.670 --> 00:00:56.729 scene for us. Sure. So to really understand the 00:00:56.729 --> 00:00:58.990 VAD, you have to look at the anxiety simmering 00:00:58.990 --> 00:01:02.369 in Britain before the First World War. It's 1909. 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:05.090 The British War Office is looking at the shifting 00:01:05.090 --> 00:01:07.689 political landscape in Europe, and they realize 00:01:07.689 --> 00:01:10.189 they have a massive vulnerability. A medical 00:01:10.189 --> 00:01:12.569 vulnerability. Right. If a major war breaks out, 00:01:12.689 --> 00:01:14.769 their medical corps will be completely overwhelmed. 00:01:15.629 --> 00:01:18.930 So they request the creation of supplementary 00:01:18.930 --> 00:01:22.609 volunteer force. Two major organizations step 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.590 up to build it. The British Red Cross and the 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:28.129 Order of St. John. Which was an ancient charity 00:01:28.129 --> 00:01:30.930 organization, right? Deeply focused on first 00:01:30.930 --> 00:01:33.069 aid and community health care. Exactly. Together, 00:01:33.109 --> 00:01:35.670 they create the voluntary aid detachment. And 00:01:35.670 --> 00:01:38.370 the response from the public was massive, wasn't 00:01:38.370 --> 00:01:41.370 it? I mean, we're talking about a time when patriotism 00:01:41.370 --> 00:01:44.689 was a profound societal driving force. Massive 00:01:44.689 --> 00:01:46.930 is almost an understatement here. By the summer 00:01:46.930 --> 00:01:49.810 of 1914, just as the world is teetering on the 00:01:49.810 --> 00:01:52.650 edge of the First World War, there are over 2 00:01:52.650 --> 00:01:55.569 ,500 detachments scattered across Britain. That 00:01:55.569 --> 00:01:58.829 is wild. It translates to roughly 74 ,000 individual 00:01:58.829 --> 00:02:01.310 members. But the demographic breakdown of those 00:02:01.310 --> 00:02:03.790 74 ,000 people is the linchpin of this entire 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:06.129 story. Two thirds of them were women and girls. 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:09.860 And we aren't talking about working class women 00:02:09.860 --> 00:02:12.620 who were used to grueling physical labor. Right 00:02:12.620 --> 00:02:15.080 from it. The vast majority of these female volunteers 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:17.419 came from middle and upper class backgrounds. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.719 we are talking about, Edwardian Britain. The 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:23.860 era of corsets and high society. Yes. Women of 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:27.000 this social standing led highly sheltered, structured, 00:02:27.300 --> 00:02:29.719 and heavily chaperoned lives. They had servants 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:31.639 to light their fires, cook their meals, wash 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:34.080 their clothes. The concept of actual physical 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:37.330 hardship was entirely foreign to them. So August 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:40.129 1914 rolls around, war breaks out, and you have 00:02:40.129 --> 00:02:42.490 tens of thousands of these sheltered aristocratic 00:02:42.490 --> 00:02:44.689 women enthusiastically waving their hands, ready 00:02:44.689 --> 00:02:47.509 to deploy. I have to imagine the military establishment 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:49.949 welcomed them with open arms. Not even remotely. 00:02:50.110 --> 00:02:52.770 Really? The British Red Cross was incredibly 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.069 reluctant to let civilian women anywhere near 00:02:55.069 --> 00:02:57.629 overseas hospitals. And the military authorities 00:02:57.629 --> 00:03:00.729 flatly refused. They barred VADs from getting 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:03.520 anywhere near the front lines. Wait, I have to 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.599 stop you there. That makes absolutely no logistical 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.620 sense. You have a global war breaking out, a 00:03:08.620 --> 00:03:11.319 desperate need for medical support, and the military 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:14.340 is actively turning away tens of thousands of 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:17.800 eager, free volunteers. Why would they do that? 00:03:17.919 --> 00:03:21.219 What's fascinating here is the deep irony of 00:03:21.219 --> 00:03:23.560 the military's mindset at the time. The establishment 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.319 looked at these women and saw a massive liability. 00:03:26.500 --> 00:03:28.639 A liability? Yeah, they viewed them as entirely 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.750 too privileged. too delicate and too emotionally 00:03:31.750 --> 00:03:34.949 fragile for the grim realities of war. Ah. The 00:03:34.949 --> 00:03:37.370 assumption was that the moment an Adordian socialite 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:40.210 saw a gruesome artillery wound, she would simply 00:03:40.210 --> 00:03:42.270 faint or have a hysterical breakdown. Right, 00:03:42.370 --> 00:03:45.629 the classic Victorian swoon. Exactly. Plus, military 00:03:45.629 --> 00:03:48.270 hospitals run on rigid unquestioning discipline. 00:03:49.169 --> 00:03:51.110 Generals assumed aristocratic women who were 00:03:51.110 --> 00:03:52.889 used to giving orders rather than taking them 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:56.400 would be impossible to manage. It is wild to 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:58.919 put yourself in those shoes. I want you to just 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:01.740 imagine that for a second. Imagine stepping out 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:04.280 of a life of absolute luxury where your biggest 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.219 concern is a dinner party arrangement and trying 00:04:07.219 --> 00:04:10.020 to force your way into a gritty, high -stakes 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:13.080 war ward only to have a general tell you to go 00:04:13.080 --> 00:04:15.680 back to your parlor because you're too posh to 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:18.100 help. It was incredibly frustrating for them. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:20.180 Yeah. Initially, they were officially restricted 00:04:20.180 --> 00:04:22.439 to just one local hospital back home. They weren't 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:24.319 even allowed to travel. But they didn't just 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:26.600 accept that, did they? No, you see them bending 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:29.620 the rules right away. Many started working unofficially 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:32.420 just for a few days at a time at various hospitals 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.060 in their local areas to get around the red tape. 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.259 It actually ended up providing a weird sort of 00:04:38.259 --> 00:04:40.500 continuity of care for patients who were being 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:43.449 transferred between facilities. But history rarely 00:04:43.449 --> 00:04:45.829 tolerates the status quo for long, especially 00:04:45.829 --> 00:04:49.250 in wartime. There is always a catalyst that shatters 00:04:49.250 --> 00:04:51.910 those enfrenched barriers. And in this case, 00:04:52.449 --> 00:04:54.910 that catalyst was a woman named Catherine Furse. 00:04:55.250 --> 00:04:59.389 Right. We are in October 1914. The war is only 00:04:59.389 --> 00:05:02.209 months old, but the casualties are already mounting 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:04.949 at a terrifying rate. Catherine first pushes 00:05:04.949 --> 00:05:07.230 back against the war office and she manages to 00:05:07.230 --> 00:05:10.050 get a deployment of VADs over to France, but 00:05:10.050 --> 00:05:12.310 the numbers are shocking. How many did she actually 00:05:12.310 --> 00:05:15.589 get across the channel? Two. Just two. Out of 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:18.029 a force of tens of thousands, she managed to 00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:21.910 get two individual VADs to France. And even then, 00:05:22.250 --> 00:05:24.769 the military authorities placed a massive caveat 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:27.290 on their presence. They were strictly restricted 00:05:27.290 --> 00:05:30.029 to serving as canteen workers and cooks. They 00:05:30.029 --> 00:05:33.160 essentially benched them. Yes. Under no circumstances 00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:35.240 were they allowed inside the medical tents. Here's 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.560 where it gets really interesting. War doesn't 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.240 care about military red tape or gender expectations. 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:42.399 While these two women are deployed as cooks, 00:05:42.759 --> 00:05:45.220 a sudden unexpected battle erupts right on their 00:05:45.220 --> 00:05:47.500 doorstep. Casualties start flooding into the 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:50.079 camp. It was chaos. Total chaos. The medical 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:52.680 staff is completely overwhelmed and there's simply 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.100 no one else to help triage the bleeding soldiers. 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:57.740 So the commanders have a choice. Let men bleed 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:00.060 out or let the cooks into the trauma ward. And 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:03.660 they chose the latter. They did. These two VADs 00:06:03.660 --> 00:06:06.379 were abruptly pressed into emergency hospital 00:06:06.379 --> 00:06:09.199 service under actual artillery fire. And what 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:11.480 happens? Do they faint? Do they panic like the 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:14.000 generals predicted? They absolutely hold their 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.639 ground. Historical accounts from that specific 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.319 incident make it clear that they performed exceptionally 00:06:19.319 --> 00:06:22.480 well. They didn't collapse from the stress. They 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:24.879 stepped directly into the gore, the noise, the 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:28.160 chaos, and they completely shattered that entrenched 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:31.139 patriarchal assumption that upper class civilian 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:33.300 women couldn't handle the trauma of a battlefield. 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:36.899 It is the ultimate baptism by fire. You're literally 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:39.139 boiling water for tea one minute and the next 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:40.959 you're holding down a soldier with a shrapnel 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:43.560 wound while a surgeon works frantically. And 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:45.879 we really need to pause and emphasize what that 00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:48.579 medical reality looked like because it is crucial 00:06:48.579 --> 00:06:50.660 to understanding how they revolutionized nursing. 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:53.579 This wasn't just changing bandages on clean wounds. 00:06:53.860 --> 00:06:56.279 No, not at all. The VADs were suddenly exposed 00:06:56.279 --> 00:06:58.560 to conditions that would traumatize anyone. We 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.540 were talking about the smell of gangrene filling 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:03.060 the tents. They were dealing with soldiers suffering 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:05.259 from trench foot, where the tissue was literally 00:07:05.259 --> 00:07:08.300 rotting away. Just horrific stuff. They were 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.199 assisting in rapid brutal amputations, often 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:13.199 dealing with the agonizing effects of mustard 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:16.879 gas, and later on, the horrific respiratory collapse 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:19.939 caused by the Spanish flu. Just the sheer physical 00:07:19.939 --> 00:07:22.620 toll of that is unimaginable. Standing on your 00:07:22.620 --> 00:07:26.220 feet for 18 hours in a damp, freezing tent, covered 00:07:26.220 --> 00:07:28.480 in blood, scrubbing floors when you had never 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:30.120 even washed your own clothes before the war. 00:07:30.379 --> 00:07:33.839 Which is exactly why that October 1914 incident 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:37.319 changed everything. They proved they possessed 00:07:37.319 --> 00:07:39.540 the physical and mental fortitude required for 00:07:39.540 --> 00:07:42.199 the job. And frankly, the military was running 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:44.379 out of options. Because of the casualties. Right. 00:07:44.379 --> 00:07:46.540 There was a rapidly growing shortage of trained 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:50.120 professional nurses. The overseas hospitals desperately 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.519 needed hands. Because of how those volunteers 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.459 performed under fire, Catherine First was officially 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:57.620 appointed commander -in -chief of the detachments. 00:07:58.339 --> 00:08:00.879 The floodgates finally opened. What did those 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:03.439 new rules look like? Did they just let anyone 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:06.560 deploy at that point? Not quite anyone. They 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.139 implemented a standard. If a female volunteer 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:12.019 was over the age of 23 and had more than three 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:14.779 months of hospital experience, she was finally 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:17.279 accepted for overseas service. And once those 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:19.420 restrictions were lifted, the geographic footprint 00:08:19.420 --> 00:08:22.079 of this organization just exploded. They weren't 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:24.019 just huddled in a few tents in France anymore. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.040 They were everywhere. They served extensively 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:28.319 near the Western Front, of course. But you also 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:31.660 find records of VADs deployed to Mesopotamia, 00:08:31.860 --> 00:08:34.440 the disastrous campaign at Gallipoli, and eventually 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:37.559 the Eastern Front. Wow. And their roles expanded 00:08:37.559 --> 00:08:40.559 dramatically. Yes, bedside aid was their primary 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.879 function, but they were also trained as ambulance 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:45.519 drivers navigating completely cratered, bombed 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.259 out roads. Which is incredibly dangerous. Very. 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:50.480 They were acting as administrators, pharmacist 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:53.299 assistants, cooks. They essentially became the 00:08:53.299 --> 00:08:56.539 logistical and supportive glue holding the military 00:08:56.539 --> 00:08:59.580 health care system together across multiple continents. 00:09:00.080 --> 00:09:02.639 Which brings us to the sheer scale of the operation. 00:09:03.080 --> 00:09:06.159 By 1916, to give you an idea of the logistics, 00:09:06.659 --> 00:09:08.980 military hospitals back in Britain were employing 00:09:08.980 --> 00:09:12.019 about 8 ,000 trained nurses, managing roughly 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:16.840 126 ,000 beds. Abroad, there were 4 ,000 trained 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.700 nurses handling 93 ,000 beds. But the VAD numbers 00:09:20.700 --> 00:09:23.600 just dwarf those professional figures. You really 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:27.000 do. By 1918, the voluntary aid detachment had 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:30.149 swelled to about 80 ,000 numbers. Roughly 12 00:09:30.149 --> 00:09:32.509 ,000 of them were acting directly as nurses in 00:09:32.509 --> 00:09:35.149 military hospitals. And we should clarify something 00:09:35.149 --> 00:09:37.529 here. The historical records often differentiate 00:09:37.529 --> 00:09:40.009 between military hospitals and auxiliary hospitals. 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:42.750 What exactly was the difference for these women? 00:09:43.049 --> 00:09:45.509 It's a great distinction to make. Military hospitals 00:09:45.509 --> 00:09:48.220 were directly run by the Army. They were strict, 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:50.580 highly disciplined, and usually located near 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:53.659 the front lines or major transit hubs. Auxiliary 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:55.740 hospitals, on the other hand, were often stately 00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:58.480 homes, manors, or public buildings back in Britain 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.879 that had been hastily converted into convalescent 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.399 wards. These were mostly run by the Red Cross 00:10:03.399 --> 00:10:06.500 and heavily staffed by the VADs. In fact, by 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:10.320 the end of the war, a massive 60 ,000 VADs were 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.720 unpaid volunteers working in these auxiliary 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:15.220 settings, caring for soldiers who were recovering 00:10:15.220 --> 00:10:18.029 from long -term injuries. OK, so you have this 00:10:18.029 --> 00:10:21.549 sudden massive influx of untrained upper class 00:10:21.549 --> 00:10:24.070 women pouring into highly structured medical 00:10:24.070 --> 00:10:26.590 environments. I have to imagine that working 00:10:26.590 --> 00:10:29.070 alongside the seasoned professional nurses wasn't 00:10:29.070 --> 00:10:31.570 exactly a harmonious experience. If we connect 00:10:31.570 --> 00:10:33.649 this to the bigger picture, you can see exactly 00:10:33.649 --> 00:10:36.149 why this dynamic was an absolute powder keg. 00:10:36.409 --> 00:10:37.870 You have to look at the history of professional 00:10:37.870 --> 00:10:40.169 nursing. Before Florence Nightingale in the late 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:43.190 19th century, nursing was largely seen as a menial 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:45.960 working class domestic job. Right. The professional 00:10:45.960 --> 00:10:48.879 nurses of 1914 had fought tooth and nail for 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:51.799 decades to elevate their profession, to establish 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.240 rigorous training standards, and to be respected 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.679 as medical experts. And suddenly thousands of 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:01.009 wealthy aristocrats swoop in wearing bespoke 00:11:01.009 --> 00:11:03.549 uniforms, treating the hospital like a charity 00:11:03.549 --> 00:11:07.149 gala. Exactly the perception. The workplace drama 00:11:07.149 --> 00:11:10.470 was incredibly intense. On one side, the accounts 00:11:10.470 --> 00:11:13.870 note that many VAD volunteers brought a distinctly 00:11:13.870 --> 00:11:16.490 snobbish attitude to the wards. You have wealthy 00:11:16.490 --> 00:11:19.129 women accustomed to commanding a household staff, 00:11:19.490 --> 00:11:21.450 suddenly finding themselves at the very bottom 00:11:21.450 --> 00:11:24.129 of the hospital hierarchy, being ordered to scrub 00:11:24.129 --> 00:11:26.909 bedpans by working class professionals. Have 00:11:26.909 --> 00:11:28.769 you ever been in a workplace where outsiders 00:11:28.769 --> 00:11:31.169 with vastly different backgrounds clash with 00:11:31.169 --> 00:11:33.730 seasoned professionals? I think we have all experienced 00:11:33.730 --> 00:11:35.549 some version of that culture clash where the 00:11:35.549 --> 00:11:38.110 new folks clash with the old guard, now amplify 00:11:38.110 --> 00:11:40.090 that tension by a thousand and put it under the 00:11:40.090 --> 00:11:42.649 life or death stakes of a global war. Surely 00:11:42.649 --> 00:11:44.750 the trained nurses were at least a little grateful 00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:47.450 for the extra hands. Initially, they were deeply 00:11:47.450 --> 00:11:50.870 resentful. The professionals saw the VADs as 00:11:50.870 --> 00:11:53.539 a threat. They lacked advanced medical skills. 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:55.899 They often lacked the strict discipline required 00:11:55.899 --> 00:11:58.539 to prevent infection in a ward. And the professionals 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.059 feared these wealthy volunteers would undermine 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:03.220 all the progress they had made in legitimizing 00:12:03.220 --> 00:12:05.860 nursing as a paid career. And I'm guessing the 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:08.720 VADs didn't just quietly take the scolding. Definitely 00:12:08.720 --> 00:12:11.340 not. They were highly critical of the nursing 00:12:11.340 --> 00:12:14.159 profession's rigid hierarchies and what they 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.320 saw as unnecessary bureaucracy. It sounds completely 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:19.519 dysfunctional. How did they ever manage to treat 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.330 anyone with all that infighting? Sheer trauma 00:12:22.330 --> 00:12:25.750 is an incredibly effective equalizer. As the 00:12:25.750 --> 00:12:28.750 war stretched on for four grueling years, that 00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:31.389 friction slowly gave way to mutual reliance. 00:12:32.190 --> 00:12:34.350 The VAD members learned quickly through relentless, 00:12:34.610 --> 00:12:36.889 brutal hands -on experience. They thought being 00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:38.929 sheltered socialites and became hardened medical 00:12:38.929 --> 00:12:41.169 workers. They earned their stripes. They really 00:12:41.169 --> 00:12:43.730 did. And as they proved their unquestionable 00:12:43.730 --> 00:12:46.269 competence under fire, the trained professionals 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:49.490 became far more accepting of them. It evolved 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:52.200 into a formidable partnership. Over the course 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:56.000 of the war, 38 ,000 VADs worked directly in hospitals, 00:12:56.559 --> 00:12:58.759 and many were decorated for distinguished service. 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:00.960 And this wasn't just a First World War phenomenon. 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:02.779 The Inter promised we'd talk about the Second 00:13:02.779 --> 00:13:05.200 World War as well. Did the organization just 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:07.940 pack up and go home in 1918? Not at all. The 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:10.460 organization adapted. During the interwar years, 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.059 they maintained a presence, focusing on community 00:13:13.059 --> 00:13:15.820 health and disaster relief. But when the Second 00:13:15.820 --> 00:13:19.340 World War erupted in 1939, they mobilized again. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.779 However, the dynamic was different this time. 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:24.580 The military had learned its lesson from 1914. 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:26.600 So they didn't try to ban them from the hospitals 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:28.700 this time around. No, they integrated them much 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:31.179 more seamlessly into the Armed Forces medical 00:13:31.179 --> 00:13:35.500 branches. During WWII, VADs were dealing with 00:13:35.500 --> 00:13:38.039 a completely different type of warfare. They 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:40.220 were serving back home during the terror of the 00:13:40.220 --> 00:13:43.100 Blitz, dragging civilians out of bombed out buildings 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:45.850 in London. Incredible bravery. Absolutely. They 00:13:45.850 --> 00:13:47.970 were deployed overseas again from the Middle 00:13:47.970 --> 00:13:51.049 East to Asia. You had incredible leaders emerge 00:13:51.049 --> 00:13:54.190 during this era, like Damon Bryan, who was appointed 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:56.230 as the head of the Middle East Command for the 00:13:56.230 --> 00:14:00.269 VAD, coordinating vast logistical medical networks 00:14:00.269 --> 00:14:03.529 across an entire theater of war. It really highlights 00:14:03.529 --> 00:14:05.529 how they fundamentally revolutionized military 00:14:05.529 --> 00:14:08.610 nursing. They proved that mass civilian volunteer 00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:11.250 models could be rapidly mobilized and integrated 00:14:11.250 --> 00:14:14.009 into formal military structures. They completely 00:14:14.009 --> 00:14:16.490 altered the logistical capabilities of the armed 00:14:16.490 --> 00:14:18.970 forces. And beyond the logistics, they shifted 00:14:18.970 --> 00:14:21.669 societal gender norms permanently. They proved 00:14:21.669 --> 00:14:24.409 undeniably that women could handle complex administration, 00:14:25.149 --> 00:14:27.110 extreme physical labor, and severe psychological 00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:30.350 trauma at an industrial scale. So what does this 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:33.600 all mean? It means that for a generation of women 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:37.080 across two global conflicts, the voluntary aid 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:40.200 detachment served as a temporary, intense crucible. 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:43.200 It completely altered the trajectory of their 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.000 lives. But I want to go back to the end of the 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.460 First World War for a moment. Once the armistice 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:51.259 was signed in 1918, what happened to all these 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:54.240 highly skilled, battle -tested VADs? Did they 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:56.460 just transition into civilian nursing careers? 00:14:56.899 --> 00:14:59.450 You would logically think so. But this is where 00:14:59.450 --> 00:15:02.429 the professional nurses had the last laugh. Despite 00:15:02.429 --> 00:15:04.950 the indispensable contributions of the VADs, 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:07.330 the leaders of the professional nursing establishment 00:15:07.330 --> 00:15:09.610 drew a very hard line at the end of the war. 00:15:10.549 --> 00:15:13.250 They formally agreed that untrained VADs would 00:15:13.250 --> 00:15:15.889 absolutely not be allowed onto the newly established 00:15:15.889 --> 00:15:18.289 register of nurses. Wait, really? Even after 00:15:18.289 --> 00:15:20.769 four years of frontline combat trauma care? Even 00:15:20.769 --> 00:15:23.299 then. The establishment's view was that no matter 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:25.419 how much battlefield experience a woman had, 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:27.799 if she didn't complete the traditional formal 00:15:27.799 --> 00:15:30.259 academic training, the door to the professional 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:32.440 registry was slammed shut. They were fiercely 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:34.580 protecting their profession's credentials. That 00:15:34.580 --> 00:15:37.720 is genuinely shocking. So you have tens of thousands 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:40.059 of women who have just experienced the most profound, 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:42.919 harrowing work of their lives, and they are essentially 00:15:42.919 --> 00:15:45.360 handed a thank you note and told to go back to 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:47.919 sitting in their parlors. But the thing is, you 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:49.840 can't just put that genie back in the bottle. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:52.620 These women have been fundamentally changed. 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.799 Because they were effectively barred from continuing 00:15:55.799 --> 00:15:58.519 as registered medical professionals, they took 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:01.399 their newfound confidence, their resilience, 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.960 and their worldliness, and they went on to make 00:16:03.960 --> 00:16:06.779 history in entirely different fields. Which perfectly 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:09.200 sets up some of the most fascinating trivia in 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.830 this entire history. The ranks of the VAD are 00:16:12.830 --> 00:16:15.690 filled with some incredibly famous faces. We 00:16:15.690 --> 00:16:18.509 have some truly surprising alumni from this crucible. 00:16:18.809 --> 00:16:21.750 The list of notable VAD alumni is essentially 00:16:21.750 --> 00:16:24.789 a cross -section of early 20th century excellence. 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:27.330 Some of the names will absolutely shock you. 00:16:27.409 --> 00:16:30.899 For instance, Amelia Earhart. No way. Yes. Long 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:33.039 before she was a legendary aviation pioneer, 00:16:33.480 --> 00:16:35.960 she served as a VAD in Canada, treating wounded 00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:37.919 soldiers returning from the front. That is incredible. 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:40.120 And she wasn't the only household name. We also 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.980 have Agatha Christie, the iconic British mystery 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:46.480 author herself. She actually utilized the deep 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.480 knowledge of poisons and pharmaceuticals she 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.139 gained in the hospital dispensary to write her 00:16:52.139 --> 00:16:55.059 famous murder mysteries. That makes perfect sense. 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:58.279 We also see major literary figures like Vera 00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:00.850 Brittain. whose best -selling memoir, Testament 00:17:00.850 --> 00:17:04.849 of Youth, remains one of the most poignant, heartbreaking 00:17:04.849 --> 00:17:07.710 accounts of World War I. She worked at five different 00:17:07.710 --> 00:17:10.089 hospitals during her service. I also read about 00:17:10.089 --> 00:17:12.809 Enid Bagnold in the accounts. She wrote the famous 00:17:12.809 --> 00:17:15.250 novel, National Velvet. the one that was adapted 00:17:15.250 --> 00:17:18.390 into the 1944 film with Elizabeth Taylor. She 00:17:18.390 --> 00:17:20.549 actually wrote a deeply critical memoir about 00:17:20.549 --> 00:17:23.509 her time as a VAD called A Diary Without Dates. 00:17:23.869 --> 00:17:26.369 It ruffled so many feathers in the medical establishment 00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:28.269 that she was dismissed from the organization. 00:17:28.630 --> 00:17:31.210 They did not take kindly to whistleblowers. But 00:17:31.210 --> 00:17:33.089 if we're talking about unbelievable life stories 00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:35.269 that intersect with the VAD, we have to talk 00:17:35.269 --> 00:17:37.369 about Viola Jessup. Her biography just jumps 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:39.210 off the page. Oh, this is my absolute favorite 00:17:39.210 --> 00:17:40.829 one from the source material. Tell the story. 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:43.500 Violet Jessup was an ocean liner stewardess. 00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:46.619 In 1912, she was working aboard the RMS Titanic 00:17:46.619 --> 00:17:49.220 when it struck the iceberg. She survived the 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:51.519 sinking, floating in a lifeboat until she was 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:54.380 rescued. Which is a lifetime of trauma and drama 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:57.059 all on its own. But she doesn't stop. The First 00:17:57.059 --> 00:17:59.900 World War breaks out, and she volunteers to train 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:02.759 as a VAD nurse. Because of her maritime background, 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.200 the Red Cross assigns her to a hospital ship, 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:08.720 and the ship they assign her to is the HMHS Britannic. 00:18:08.829 --> 00:18:11.289 The literal sister ship to the Titanic. Yes. 00:18:11.849 --> 00:18:14.250 And in 1916, while carrying wounded soldiers, 00:18:14.690 --> 00:18:17.009 the Britannics struck a deep sea naval mine in 00:18:17.009 --> 00:18:19.609 the Aegean Sea. The ship sank in less than an 00:18:19.609 --> 00:18:22.029 hour, and Viola Jessup survived that sinking 00:18:22.029 --> 00:18:24.269 as well. She survived two of the most famous 00:18:24.269 --> 00:18:26.569 maritime disasters of the 20th century the second 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:29.599 time while serving actively as a VAD nurse. That 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:32.740 is an astonishing level of resilience, and it 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:35.019 perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the organization. 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:38.339 Let's just rapid fire a few more notable names 00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:40.940 to show the breadth of talent. You have sportswomen 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:43.519 like Lottie Dodd, a five -time Wimbledon tennis 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:46.539 champion who volunteered. You have pioneers like 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:49.079 Aileen Preston, who became the head of the first 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:51.900 autonomous British women's ambulance unit. And 00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:54.720 you even have brilliant scientific minds like 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.559 Marjorie Stevenson. a biochemist who eventually 00:18:57.559 --> 00:18:59.680 became one of the first two women ever elected 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.559 to the prestigious Royal Society. It was an incredible 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.059 nexus point. You had suffragettes, painters, 00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:07.920 explorers and future leaders all converging in 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:11.140 these bloody chaotic wards unified by a desire 00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:13.539 to serve. When you step back and look at the 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:16.059 entire arc of the voluntary aid detachment, it 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:19.220 is a story of profound, undeniable transformation. 00:19:19.500 --> 00:19:22.940 You have this massive group of wealthy civilian 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:25.440 women who were initially dismissed out right 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:28.079 by the patriarchal military establishment. They 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:30.420 were told they were too delicate, too sheltered, 00:19:30.420 --> 00:19:32.680 and too emotionally fragile to be of any use 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:36.220 in a real crisis. But they utterly refused to 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:38.759 accept that narrative. And when the moment came 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:40.900 when the medical system was pushed to the absolute 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:43.420 breaking point, they stepped into the abyss. 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:46.299 They went from being restricted to boiling water 00:19:46.299 --> 00:19:49.779 to becoming indispensable battle -hardened medics. 00:19:50.119 --> 00:19:53.539 They braved artillery fire. They endured unimaginable 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:56.990 physical and emotional and they proved that courage 00:19:56.990 --> 00:19:59.630 and capability are not dictated by social class 00:19:59.630 --> 00:20:02.210 or gender. That's beautifully said. So the next 00:20:02.210 --> 00:20:03.890 time you are facing a massive new challenge, 00:20:04.069 --> 00:20:06.029 the next time you feel completely unqualified 00:20:06.029 --> 00:20:07.650 or someone tells you that you simply don't have 00:20:07.650 --> 00:20:09.650 the right background or credentials for the task 00:20:09.650 --> 00:20:13.390 at hand, I want you to remember the VADs. Remember 00:20:13.390 --> 00:20:16.089 the women who transformed from Edwardian socialites 00:20:16.089 --> 00:20:19.029 to combat medics overnight. This raises an important 00:20:19.029 --> 00:20:21.319 question though. and it's one that the history 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.319 of the VAD highlights perfectly. We discussed 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:27.119 how, despite their decorated service, despite 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.359 mastering trauma care under the most grueling 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.920 conditions imaginable, the professional nursing 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:34.559 establishment ultimately banned these women from 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:36.440 the professional register the moment the war 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:39.980 ended. It leaves you wondering. In times of desperate 00:20:39.980 --> 00:20:42.519 crisis, society is so quick to celebrate the 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:45.259 passionate, untrained volunteer who steps up 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:47.839 to the plate. We rely on them to save the day. 00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:51.039 But once the dust settles and normalcy returns, 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.119 why are we so quick to discard that battle -tested 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:56.819 real -world experience simply because it lacks 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:59.920 a formal piece of paper? That is a fascinating 00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:02.640 complex thought to leave on. The tension between 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.059 lived experience and formal credentials is very 00:21:05.059 --> 00:21:06.859 much something we are still navigating in our 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:09.799 institutions today. Thank you so much for joining 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:12.079 us on this deep dive into the extraordinary history 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:14.440 of the voluntary aid detachment. It's been an 00:21:14.440 --> 00:21:16.559 absolute privilege exploring the story with you. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.759 Keep learning, keep questioning the world around 00:21:18.759 --> 00:21:20.299 you, and we will catch you next time.