A night of remembrance celebrating Matron Georgina Fane Pope’s military career
Join us at Trinity United Church in Charlottetown on Thursday, November 1, 7 p.m., for a night of remembrance dedicated to Prince Edward Island’s own Georgina Fane Pope, Canadian Military Nursing Heroine. Due to its popularity, the event is a reprise of the performance in May, which was held in the Atrium of the Daniel J. MacDonald Building in Charlottetown.
Born into privilege, inspired by Florence Nightingale, and firmly of the belief that she was called by God to serve, Pope ascended to the top echelons of Canadian Military Nursing power. Whether nursing in a South African “nor’easter” dust storm, fending off snakes and scorpions during the South African (Boer) Wars, commanding nurses in busy English hospitals, nursing in the First World War battlefields of France, or enduring night after night of air raids and bombings, Georgina Pope’s story is a powerful one.
The story was written by author Katherine Dewar, based on her recently published book entitled Called to Serve: Georgina Pope, Canadian Nursing Military Heroine (Island Studies Press). The story is told through readings from Pope’s First World War Matron’s Diary, as well as her letters and other writings. Bringing Pope’s words to life are Barbara Rhodenzier as Matron Pope, Hank Stinson as Col. Robert Langford, Commanding Officer of the Royal Canadian Regiment, and Doug Gallant as Georgina’s nephew, Lt. General Maurice Pope. Laurie Brinklow weaves the narrative, interspersed with music from the PEI Regiment Band and The Canada Remembers Chorus. The already poignant story is made even more so with images from Pope’s own South African photo album.
Trinity United is located at 220 Richmond Street, Charlottetown. Coincidently, Georgina Pope’s family figured significantly in the early history of the Methodist Church in Charlottetown. From her Grandfather Thomas DesBrisay, one of the trustees who procured the land for the first church, to her great uncle, Rev. Henry Pope, a minister in the 1820s, to her cousin Rev. Henry Pope Jr. who preached one of the dedication sermons November 1864, and was a minister in what is now the present day Trinity United Church. Admission is a free-will donation to the PEI Family Military Resource Centre, and everyone is welcome to attend.
For more information, please contact Katherine Dewar at dewar.katherine3@gmail.com.