© 2020, Christian Cassidy
This
series tells the stories of some of the Manitobans who died fighting the
"Spanish" Influenza pandemic of 1918 -1919. For the complete list and an
introduction to the series, see part one.
Lillian M. Campbell (1883 - 1918)
The second Winnipeg volunteer nurse to die of influenza was 35-year-old Lillian Campbell.
Campbell had taken a year of nursing training earlier in life but dropped out due to poor health. The 1918 street directory shows her renting a room in a house at 276 Colony Street with no occupation listed.
When the call went out for nurses, she volunteered to look after patients at St. John's College. She fell ill barely a week into her duties and died four days later, November 13th, at the home of her sister, Mrs. H. G. Goodwin of 42 Bannerman Avenue.
Campbell had taken a year of nursing training earlier in life but dropped out due to poor health. The 1918 street directory shows her renting a room in a house at 276 Colony Street with no occupation listed.
When the call went out for nurses, she volunteered to look after patients at St. John's College. She fell ill barely a week into her duties and died four days later, November 13th, at the home of her sister, Mrs. H. G. Goodwin of 42 Bannerman Avenue.
Image source: Nov. 14, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune
Annie McIntyre Wisley (1883 - 1918)
Annie Wisley, 35, was born in Scotland and came to Canada with her family around 1908. She and her father, a CNR employee, settled in Winnipeg and she had siblings in Scotland, Vancouver, and Colorado. Three of her brothers were serving overseas.
Wisley served on the isolation ward at Brandon General Hospital and died on November 8th. She was the second nurse-in-training in the city to to die from influenza.
Wisley's father came from Winnipeg for her funeral. She was then buried in Brandon Cemetery. Sadly, Mr. Wisley had already lost another daughter in Colorado to the pandemic.
Image sources
Headline from Nov. 9, 1916, Brandon Sun
Headstone courtesy of Brandon General Museum and Archives
Headstone courtesy of Brandon General Museum and Archives
Elsie Kaufman, 29, was the third volunteer nurse to die of influenza. The
British native was the wife of Sidney Kaufman, merchandise manager for
Winnipeg's HBC department store on Main Street, and known in the business social
circles.
Kaufman was providing home care to a family where the parents and children were all ill. She contracted the disease and died at Victoria Hospital on November 14, 1918.
Image source: Nov 18 1918 Tribune
Kaufman was providing home care to a family where the parents and children were all ill. She contracted the disease and died at Victoria Hospital on November 14, 1918.
Image source: Nov 18 1918 Tribune
Marguerite Pocock (ca. 1891 - 1918)
Another volunteer nurse who gave her life was Marguerite Pocock.
Pockock was a nurse in her native London, Ontario before marrying Alfred Pocock in October 1916. The couple then moved to Winnipeg and settled in an apartment on Lilac Street. Alfred began work at a family business called Pocock's Family Shoes located on the main floor of the Somerset Building on Portage Avenue.
In August 1917, the Pococks started a family with the birth of their son, John. A few months later they moved to a new house at 87 Donald Street near Broadway in what was an upscale residential neighbourhood.
Pocock was among the first to answer the call for volunteer nurses. A Tribune story noted that she saw on average 15 to 20 cases a day and as many as 27 on the day before she fell ill. She brought the disease back to her home and her husband and 15-month-old son also fell ill.
Pockock was a nurse in her native London, Ontario before marrying Alfred Pocock in October 1916. The couple then moved to Winnipeg and settled in an apartment on Lilac Street. Alfred began work at a family business called Pocock's Family Shoes located on the main floor of the Somerset Building on Portage Avenue.
In August 1917, the Pococks started a family with the birth of their son, John. A few months later they moved to a new house at 87 Donald Street near Broadway in what was an upscale residential neighbourhood.
Pocock was among the first to answer the call for volunteer nurses. A Tribune story noted that she saw on average 15 to 20 cases a day and as many as 27 on the day before she fell ill. She brought the disease back to her home and her husband and 15-month-old son also fell ill.
After battling the disease for eleven days, Pocock died on November 19, 1918 at the age of 27. Her husband and son recovered.
Pocock's father and sister came to Winnipeg from London, Ontario when they received word of her worsening condition. After a funeral at the Pocock residence, the body was sent back to London where she was buried in St. Paul's Cemetery.
Pocock's father and sister came to Winnipeg from London, Ontario when they received word of her worsening condition. After a funeral at the Pocock residence, the body was sent back to London where she was buried in St. Paul's Cemetery.
Image sources:
Portrait from Oct. 14 1916, Winnipeg Tribune
Portrait from Oct. 14 1916, Winnipeg Tribune
headline from: Nov. 15, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune
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