Northern Ireland’s nurses in the Second World War

Nurses from Northern Ireland worked throughout the Second World War, serving in Europe, in the Far East, and in Blitzed cities across the United Kingdom.

Eleanor Ida Sinclair Collen

Civilian

Eleanor Ida Sinclair Collen of Dungannon, Co. Tyrone was a nurse in England. She died on 23rd May 1943 when Luftwaffe bombers attacked Bournemouth, Dorset.

Ruth Hannah Dickson

Sister | 223772

Sister Ruth Hannah Dickson of Eglish, Co. Tyrone died on 24th December 1944. The Presbyterian Missionary served as a field nurse in China and Singapore.

Emma Duffin

Emma Duffin

Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse

Emma Duffin is best known in Northern Ireland as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment during The Great War and particularly through the Belfast Blitz.

Emma Fleck

Sister | 345058

Sister Emma Fleck of Dervock, Co. Antrim died on 22nd November 1947 having served with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service in Singapore.

Emma Florence Frazer

Civilian

State Registered Nurse Emma Florence Frazer of Warrenpoint, Co. Down died on 16th November 1943 at 1 Lonsdale Villas, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.

Annie Mary Gardner

Sister | 218360

Sister Annie Mary Gardner of Stranocum, Co. Antrim died on 7th December when passenger steamship SS Ceramic went down after a torpedo attack from U-515.

Arrival of the GIs in Ulster

'Settling In - American Troops in Northern Ireland' shows the GIs acclimatising to life in Ulster. In the short film, nurses from Northern Ireland watch the arrival of the young men from across the Atlantic with great interest.

Recommended Reading

A Nurse in the Belfast Blitz : The Diary of Emma Duffin 1939-42

A Nurse in the Belfast Blitz : The Diary of Emma Duffin 1939-42

By

9th April 2020

Emma Duffin was a nurse who saw service in both World Wars and wrote in great detail in journals during this time. This is her account of wartime Belfast.