Georgina Pope

Georgina Pope (1862 - 1938) was a Canadian nurse who served with distinction in the Second Boer War and First World War. Georgina Pope was born in 1862 in Prince Edward Island. In 1899, after completing nursing studies at Bellevue Hospital in New York City, she volunteered for nursing service in the Second Boer War. Placed in command of the first group of nurses to go overseas, she served for more than a year in South Africa. She returned there in 1902 as commander of the Canadian Army Nursing Service. In 1903, she became the first Canadian to receive the Royal Red Cross, awarded to her for conspicuous service in the field. In 1908 she was appointed first Matron of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, and served in England and France during the First World War. Georgina Pope died in 1938. She is one of fourteen figures from Canada's military history commemorated at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa.