The Quiet Courage of Colonel Ruby Bradley

The Quiet Courage of Colonel Ruby Bradley

I have been learning about some of the remarkable individuals who served during the world wars, and today I want to talk about Ruby Bradley.

She was born on the 19th of December 1907 in Spencer, West Virginia. She entered the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1934 as a surgical nurse.

During the Second World War she was stationed in the Philippines. Just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, she was captured by the Japanese. She was eventually held at Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila. Her time there was harsh. She suffered hunger and illness. But, she continued to care for others. She helped in hundreds of operations and assisted in bringing new life into the world. She risked punishment by smuggling food and medical supplies.

By the time the camp was finally liberated in February 1945, she was dangerously underweight, but she returned home and even continued her service. During the Korean War, she refused evacuation until every wounded soldier had been safely loaded onto a plane. She only just escaped, moments before the danger closed in.

She rose through the ranks, becoming a colonel before she retired in 1963. Even then, she continued to work as a nurse for many years.

Ruby Bradley died on the 28th of May 2002 at the age of 94.

He Played On: The Quiet Courage of Titanic Cellist John Woodward

He Played On: The Quiet Courage of Titanic Cellist John Woodward

I have been learning about some of the people on board the Titanic. Yesterday we found out a little about one of the musicians, Roger Bricoux and today I want to learn a little about John Wesley Woodward, another one if Titanic’s musicians.

He was born on the 11th of September 1879 in West Bromwich. He was the youngest of ten children. He grew up to become a professional cellist, performing in places like Oxford. He played at the Grand Hotel in Eastbourne and with the local orchestra.

He went on to join the musicians on transatlantic liners. On the 10th of April 1912, he boarded the Titanic at Southampton.

Only five days later, everything changed for him and everyone else on board that night. As the ship sank, Woodward and his fellow musicians continued to play. He may have felt afraid but he decided to use music to bring calm to others in their final hours. He tragically died that night and his body was sadly never recovered.

Today, he is remembered in Eastbourne and in West Bromwich.

Do you think the musicians realised the comfort they were giving in those final moments?

Ma’at: The Quiet Force of Balance, Truth, and Order in Ancient Egypt

Ma’at: The Quiet Force of Balance, Truth, and Order in Ancient Egypt

I have been learning a little about the ancient Egyptian gods, and I found Ma’at.

In the earliest beliefs, Ma’at was not just a goddess, she was the idea of order, truth, and balance. It was believed that when the world was first created, it emerged from chaos, and Ma’at was the god that kept that chaos from returning.

As Egyptian society changed, Ma’at became even more influential. She shaped behaviour, decisions, and even the way justice was carried out. The pharaoh, in particular, was seen as responsible for upholding Ma’at. Ensuring that harmony remained.

Ma ’at was often symbolised by a single feather, something that is so light and delicate, but carries immense meaning to so many. That feather appears in one of the most important moments in Egyptian belief, at the weighing of the heart after a persons’ death. A person’s heart was measured against it, and if it was heavier, weighed down by wrongdoing, they could not pass into the afterlife. Every action, every choice, must have felt so important, influencing what came after.

As other gods changed and evolved in importance, she remained constant. She was not defined by dramatic stories or conflicts like other gods. She was stability.

Ma’at, seems to be a reflection of something people still struggle with today, the need to live honestly and fairly. And the need to keep some sense of balance in a world that can feel ever changing and uncertain.

Do you think people found comfort in the idea that even the smallest actions could help maintain balance in the world?

 

 

Image info: Ma’at kneeling over lilies. Scene from tomb of Ramses III.

 

 

From Nurse to Leader: Florence Blanchfield’s Remarkable Wartime Journey

From Nurse to Leader: Florence Blanchfield’s Remarkable Wartime Journey

As many of you may know, I have been learning a little about the some of the incredible people who served during the world wars. Today I want discover Florence Aby Blanchfield.

She was born on the 1st of April 1884 in Shepherdstown in West Virginia. Her mother was a nurse and she had relatives who were physicians. After completing her nursing training in 1906, she moved into hospital roles, as a surgical nurse. She later worked in places as far away as the Panama Canal area.

When the First World War started, she joined the Army Nurse Corps and served in France from 1917 to 1919. Although she briefly returned to civilian work after the war, she was compelled back in to military service.

By the late 1930s, she was working in Washington and was rising slowly through leadership roles. During the Second World War, she became a superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps. She oversaw its growth from just a few hundred nurses to tens of thousands. She was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1945 and played a key role in securing full military status for nurses in 1947. She also became the first woman commissioned into the regular U.S. Army. In 1951 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal recognising her work in nursing.

Florence died on the 12th of May 1971 at the age of 87.

A Musician’s Final Performance: The Lost Story of Roger Bricoux

A Musician’s Final Performance: The Lost Story of Roger Bricoux

I have been finding out about the people on boarx the Titanic. And I want to tell you the story of Roger Bricoux.

He was born on the 1st of June 1891 in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, France, into a musical family. As a child, his family moved to Monaco, and he was educated in Catholic schools in Italy. He began playing in orchestras and even won a first prize at the Conservatory of Bologna.

After he spent time studying in Paris, he moved to England in 1910, in order to continue his career. He then returned to France. By 1912, he had joined the musicians on Titanic, having previously served on Carpathia. He was just 20 years old.

When the ship sank on the 15th of April 1912, he was tragically lost and his body never found. For years, he was wrongly listed as a deserter, only being officially recognised as dead in 2000.

Ptah: The Creator Who Shaped the World Through Thought and Word

Ptah: The Creator Who Shaped the World Through Thought and Word

I have been learning a little about some of the many ancient Egyptian gods and I want to tell you a little bit about Ptah.

Ptah was seen as a creator god and he was mainly worshipped in the city of Memphis. Memphis was one of the first capital of a unified Ancient Egypt. Ptah was believed to have brought everything into existence. It is said he imagined the world in his heart and then spoke it into being.

As Egyptian belief developed and evolved, Ptah became closely associated with craftsmen, builders, and artisans and he was seen as their patron.

Ptah was often depicted as simple and composed, wrapped like a mummy, holding a staff that combined symbols of stability, life, and power. Unlike some gods who were shown in dramatic or aggressive poses.

Over time, Ptah became connected to other creator figures and became part of a broader understanding of how the universe was formed. But his main identity remained the same. He was still the god who created through thought and word.

 

Do you think people felt closer to gods like Ptah because they could see his influence in the work of their own hands?

 

Image info:

Ptah, the God of the Metal Workers, the designer of all things on Earth, with the Egg of the World.

Date: 1917

 

The Nurse Who Took Flight and Changed Wartime Medicine

The Nurse Who Took Flight and Changed Wartime Medicine

I have been learning about individuals who served during the world wars and today I want to talk about Elsie Ott.

 She was born in 1913 in Smithtown, New York, and trained as a nurse in New York City. Before the war she worked in several hospitals. In September 1941, she joined the Army Nurse Corps and was quickly given the rank of second lieutenant. She was first posted to Louisiana and Virginia, then she was sent to India.

In January 1943, with only 24 hours’ notice, no formal air evacuation training, and having never having flown before, she was assigned to care for wounded soldiers on a flight from Karachi. Over the course of a week, she helped transport injured men across continents to Washington, D.C., a journey that would normally have taken months by sea.

After the flight, she carefully recorded what had worked and what had not. Just two months later, she became the first woman to receive the Air Medal.

She later rose to captain and left service in 1946. She went on to serve in the Vietnam War. Elsee died in 2006 at the age of 82 or 83.

Image info:

 Lt. Elsie Ott being awarded the Air Medal by Brig. Gen. Fred Borum