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GRAHAM, Florence Beatrice

War
1st World War
Date of Birth
Date Attested
Attested at
New York - New York - USA
Date of Death
Age at Death
33 years 11 months
Cenotaph
Biographical Summary

Florence was born at Sheppardton - Township of Ashfield - County of Huron on June 25, 1885. She would have received her primary education at Ashfield School SS No. 11 in Sheppardton and her secondary education at the Goderich High School. 
If Florence was interested in nursing it is quite possible she took her schooling at the Alexander and Marine Hospital in St. Catharines.

On April 12, 1916 at the age of 30 years  9 months, Florence entered the United States at Buffalo - New York and proceeded to New York - New York to live with her sister Nina and they resided at 535 West 11th Street. Florence then took her nursing training at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City.

The United States Army Nursing Corps was formed in 1901 and by the time the United Stated entered in World War I they had been in operation 17 years. Nurse Graham was called into active service on May 23, 1918 and began serving overseas from July 5, 1918 at the 4th Camp Hospital based at Joinville le Point located in Paris. This facility was established in late April of 1918, in a small group of old school buildings. 

When hospital became operational it lacked any modern plumbing or sewer connections. There was no hot water and patient baths were prepared from pots on small oil stoves. When it first became operational the bed capacity was 300 which increased to 800 beds at the end of the war. 

The first patients began arriving in May and the casualties of the war arrived in July of 1918. The largest one day increase here numbered 450 men. This facility also acted as a hospital for the Paris district and they received all the sick and venereal cases from the military prisons in the Paris District. 

On September 8, 1918 the patient count was 825. While it was a hospital during the war it admitted 9,800 patients with 2,450 of those being battle casualties. On June 5, 1919 the 4th Camp Hospital closed its doors.

The Registered Nurses serving with the United States Army Nursing Corps did not have a commission or rank and they were appointed into the service of the Army Nursing Corps. Florence had been appointed the Head Nurse at 4th Camp Hospital.

Head Nurse Florence Graham was a passenger in a car with two other nurses when their vehicle was involved in a collision resulting in Nurse Grahahm and the two other nurses being killed. Florence is resting in Suresnes American Cemetery - Suresnes - Paris - France. She was survived by her family in Sheppardton and her sister Nina in New York City.