Elsie Seetoo’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Service

Elsie Seetoo’s Extraordinary Journey Through War and Service

I have been learning about some of the remarkable people who served during the wars, and today I want to share a little about Elsie Chin Yuen Seetoo.

She was born on the 14th of September 1918 in Stockton, California. His parents were Chinese immigrants. During the Great Depression, her family returned to Guangdong in China, where she continued her education. She began her nurses training in Hong Kong in 1938.

Everything changed in December 1941 with the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific. As Hong Kong came under attack, she worked caring for the wounded and qualifying as a nurse in the midst of all chaos. When the city fell, she made her escape. She disguised herself and travelling over 700 miles to reach Free China.

She then joined the Chinese Red Cross, working in hospitals and training medical staff, before eventually enlisting in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in 1944. Becoming the first Chinese-American to serve in the Corps. She worked all across China and then in the United States until 1946.

She married Joseph Yuen in 1946, and they had four children, and then later married Ben Seetoo after she had been widowed.

After the war, she continued her work in medicine and her education, using her abilities as a translator and writer to bridge the gap between cultures. Her service was recognised with the Congressional Gold Medal in 2020.

Wallace Hartley: The Music That Carried Courage Into Titanic’s Final Moments

Wallace Hartley: The Music That Carried Courage Into Titanic’s Final Moments

I have been learning more about the people who on board the RMS Titanic, and over the past few days I found out a little about the musicians. Today I want to tell a little bit about  Wallace Hartley, he was the man who led the band in those final moments.

He was born on the 2nd of June 1878 in Colne, Lancashire. His family were both musical and religious. His father was a choirmaster, so music would have been around him from a very young age. Although he started his working life in a bank, he eventually started working with orchestras and then on ocean liners.

By 1909, he was playing on major ships when he was offered the role of bandleader for Titanic’s maiden voyage in April 1912. He initially hesitated as he had recently gotten engaged to Maria Robinson, and leaving her must have been difficult.

On the night of the 14th of April 1912. After the iceberg hit, Hartley and the other musicians began to play. It is often said they continued to play until the very end. He must have felt fear but music was his way of bringing calm.

Hartley tragically did not survive, his body was later returned home. Thousands came to pay their respects. His violin which was a gift from the woman he loved, has since become a symbol of that night.

 

Do you think you would have found strength in music, if you had been there that night?

Amun: The Hidden God Who Rose to Power in Ancient Egypt

Amun: The Hidden God Who Rose to Power in Ancient Egypt

As some of you may know, I have been learning a little bit about some of the many ancient Egyptian gods. So, I wanted to talk about Amun.

In the earliest periods, Amun was not one of the more dominant gods. He started as a local deity in Thebes. Thebes was one of the most important cities in ancient Egypt. Amun was known as a god of the air or of the unseen. His name is often understood to mean “the hidden one.” Unlike gods who revealed themselves through strength or a visible force, Amun’s presence was something that could not be seen but felt.

During the Middle and New Kingdoms, Amun’s importance grew further. Thebes rose to power, and with it, so did its god. Amun then became associated with creation and kings and eventually he merged with the sun god Ra to become Amun-Ra. It is as if a once local presence stretched into something much more universal, connecting what is unseen with the clear and visible power of the sun.

He became closely connected to the pharaoh, who was believed to rule with Amun’s support. Temples were built in his honour, especially at Karnak, and his influence spread across Egypt. There is something that feels quite mysterious about Amun.

Do you think that people found comfort from a god like Amun, whose power was felt rather than seen?

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.