Liverpool: First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

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The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) was established in 1907 as a link between the front line and the field hospital. This all female volunteer uniform corps were entirely self-funded and were trained in first aid, cavalry, camping and signalling. In October 1914, it was the Belgian and French armies that first welcomed the women where they worked as paramedics, drivers, and welfare support - bridging that vital gap. It was in 1916 that the British Army officially enlisted their help. Doris Russell Allen lived in Davenham Hall near Northwich and became an ambulance driver on the Western Front with the FANYs in 1916. Although this was dangerous work, it was also unpaid, meaning it was generally women, like Doris - who could afford it - who volunteered. They are sometimes described as posh, horsey and pushy; and also very plucky. Doris received the Croix de Guerre from the French for her bravery. Her sister Geraldine joined her the following year as a nurse, but it is unlikely she was officially trained. Both survived the war and returned to their family home in Northwich. Another local sign up was Phyllis Lovell, who lived in Gambier Terrace in Liverpool. At the beginning of the war, she was involved with the Women's War Service Bureau, an initiative offering help to those on the home front as well as on the front line. In 1915, she was involved in starting the Female Police Aid Detachments at the request of the Chief Constable of Lancashire - resulting in the first female police force in the country in 1917 set-up in Birkenhead, in which she was sergeant. The women of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry seemed to have been very highly rated in this man’s world; winning many awards for gallantry. The convoy Phyllis joined in March 1918 is the most decorated women's unit of the Great War. Location: Liverpool L1 7BJ Image: ‘FANYs’ with an ambulance, courtesy of FANY Archives