‘Theatres of War’: An Exploration of the experiences of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals Serbian Units during the Great War, 1914-1920

In 1914 the women’s suffrage movement and its fight for women’s economic, social, and political equality was temporarily derailed in Britain by the commencement of the Great War. Women who had battled hard to have their voices heard agreed to halt operations so that the country could maintain a united, patriotic focus on the men at the Front. The world’s collective Great War memory is, therefore, dominated by male politicians and servicemen. Some women, however, were determined not to let this stop them from contributing to the war effort. Though societal opposition to female doctors in Britain was strong, a group of women, who history has largely forgotten, volunteered to provide medical aid to Allied soldiers on the frontlines as part of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH).