Courage Under Fire: The Story of Elaine A. Roe at Anzio

Courage Under Fire: The Story of Elaine A. Roe at Anzio

I have been learning about some of the amazing people who served during the wars. Elaine A. Roe, and her story made me pause and really think about the courage of the people who served behind the front lines.

She was born in Whitewater, Wisconsin, and joined the United States Army in 1942, during the height of the World War II. She would have known that that she would be working dangerously close to combat.

By 1944, she was serving in Italy during Operation Shingle. On the 10th of February, her field hospital came under intense enemy shelling. In th darkness and chaos, with power cut and explosions all around her, she and another nurse began to evacuate the patients by torchlight. It must have been frightening, but she stayed calm, and guided and reassured the wounded.

She was awarded the Silver Star, becoming one of the first women to receive it.

The Maid Who Lived: Ellen Bird and Titanic’s Final Farewell

The Maid Who Lived: Ellen Bird and Titanic’s Final Farewell

I have been learning about some of the people who were on board the Titanic, and I wanted to tell you a little about Ellen Bird.

She was born on the 8th of April 1881 in Old Buckenham in Norfolk, into a large rural family. Like many women in her position, she began working at a young age, she moved into domestic service and then settled in London. By 1912, her life took an unexpected turn when she was hired as a maid by Isidor Straus and Ida Straus, they were an elderly and very devoted couple that were returning to America.

On the night of the 14th of April 1912, everything changed. As the Titanic hit the iceberg and the evacuation began, Ellen followed her employers onto the deck. When Lifeboat 8 was being boarded, Ida was urged to leave, but she refused to go without her husband. Isidor also chose to remain behind, insisting others should go first. Ida turned to Ellen and encouraged her to board the boat instead, giving her a fur coat to keep warm.

Ellen thankfully survived, rescued by the Carpathia the next morning. After arriving in New York, she gave testimony about the Strauses’ final moments and later offered to return the coat, but was told to keep it in memory.

She remained in the United States and married in 1914, and she tragically list  her young daughter. She became an American citizen in 1938, and spent her later years in Newport, Rhode Island, where she died on the 11th of September 1949 at the age of 68.

Do you think Ellen Bird ever truly came to terms with surviving that night?

Gods of Ancient Egypt: Death, Rebirth, and the Journey Beyond pt.1

 

Gods of Ancient Egypt: Death, Rebirth, and the Journey Beyond pt.1

I have been learning about medieval Nine Worthies and the belief in chivalry, and it got me to thinking about beliefs of other eras of history. So I started to find out about some of the  ancient Egyptian gods. It is a world where life, death, and rebirth were all connected. It is a belief system that focuses on journeys. For the ancient Egyptians, death was not something to fear in the same way some see it today. It was thought of as a transition.

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Book of the Dead showing the Weighing of the Heart 

One of the figures I came across was Anubis. He was the guardian of the dead and is often depicted with the head of a jackal. His role was important. He guided souls through the first stages of the afterlife and oversaw the weighing of the heart. It is a lovely thought, that in death you are not alone.

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representation of the Egyptian God Osiris 

From there, the belief moves to Osiris, whose fate was what influenced how the Egyptians understood death. Osiris had once been a king, he brought order and prosperity, but he was betrayed and killed by his brother Set. But through his devotion of Isis, Osiris was restored, not to the world of the living, but as ruler of the underworld.

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Artist: Ägyptischer Maler

Date: 1380-1335

Isis is one of the more well known Egyptian Gods, she is one that stands out for her strength and determination. Her search for Osiris, and her use of magic to bring him back, shows us so much about how the Egyptians viewed love and loyalty. She was not passive in her grief. She refused to accept it. As a mother, she represented both power and compassion.

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The sun god Ra seated on a throne, from a painting on the wall of the Tomb of Roy

Date: 1300 BC

Ra, was the great sun god, who shaped each day. He ruled the sky, he brought light and warmth. Each night though he travelled through the underworld, through the chaos before rising again at dawn.

The journey of the sun god tied everything together. Life, death, and rebirth were not separate ideas, but part of a continuous cycle. The sun’s rising was not just a new day, it may have been seen as proof that even after darkness, there could be light again.

When I look at these stories, it seems the gods represent to some extent emotions, fear of the unknown, grief at loss, hope for renewal, and a deep desire for protection and meaning.

 

If you had lived in ancient Egypt, do you think you may have found comfort in these beliefs about what comes after death?

First Woman to Earn Both Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

First Woman to Earn Both Bronze Star and Purple Heart

I have been finding out  about some of the amazing people who served during the World Wars, and today I want to tell you about Cordelia E. Cook.

She was born on the 17th of March 1919 in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.  She was known as “Betty” and she trained as a nurse in Cincinnati. She graduated in 1940, and started working as a civilian. She chose to enlist in the United States Army Nurse Corps in around 1941.

She was sent to North Africa and then served during the invasion of Sicily in 1943, working close to the front lines. Her unit was recognised for its bravery, and she continued into mainland Italy, where the fighting was intense.

In 1944, while serving near the front at Presenzano, she earned the Bronze Star, becoming the first woman to receive it. Not long after, a bombing raid hit her hospital, and she was wounded by shrapnel. She later received the Purple Heart, becoming the first woman to hold both honours.

After the war, she returned to nursing for many years. She died on the 19th of June 1996 at the age of 77.

Frederic Kimber Seward: A Titanic Survivor’s Duty Beyond the Disaster

Frederic Kimber Seward: A Titanic Survivor’s Duty Beyond the Disaster

I have been learning about some of the people who were on the Titanic, and I tell you the story of Frederic Kimber Seward.

He was born on the 23rd of March 1878 in Delaware. He studied at Columbia University and then went on to study at New York Law School. By the early twentieth century, he had built a career as a corporate lawyer in New York.

In April 1912, he was returning from Europe on board the Titanic. On the night of the tragic disaster, he had been in the first-class lounge playing cards, he was likely relaxed and unaware of how quickly everything would change. He was lucky enough to escape in Lifeboat 7, one of the first lifeboats to leave.

After that terrible night, he became involved in legal actions connected to the disaster and hr helped to honour the crew of the RMS Carpathia, recognising their courage.

He continued his professional life, and contributed to wartime efforts during the Second World War, before his death on the 7th of December 1943 at the age of sixty-five.

How do you think survival might have shaped his views for the rest of his life?

Godfrey of Bouillon: From Crusader to the “Tenth Worthy”

Godfrey of Bouillon: From Crusader to the “Tenth Worthy”

I have been finding out about the Nine Worthies From a medieval perspective, Godfrey of Bouillon was considered one of the Christian heroes who seemed to embody the ideals that were later associated with the Nine Worthies

 Chroniclers portrayed him as pious, brave, and also reluctant to seek glory. He was born around 1060, and was the second son of a noble family in the Ardennes. He grew up in a world where loyalty, warfare, and faith was so important. These would shape how medieval writers later remembered him.

Godfrey served the Holy Roman Emperor and he gained experience in regional conflicts. His reputation as a capable knight slowly began to develop. When news spread of the Council of Clermont in 1095, where Pope Urban II was calling for a campaign to reclaim the Holy Land, Godfrey took the cross. Medieval writers often emphasised his devotion, suggesting that he saw the journey not as a conquest, but as a sacred duty.

He joined the great expedition known as the First Crusade in 1096. The march eastward was extremely long and difficult. The armies were forced to struggle with the hunger and the harsh terrain. Chroniclers describe Godfrey as both steady and dependable, helping to maintain unity. He fought during major moments, including the brutal fighting around Antioch. These victories, were costly, but did strengthen his reputation. To the people of the Middle Ages, this perseverance was seen as knightly.

By 1099, the crusaders had reached Jerusalem. The siege was intense as you can imagine but it was also emotionally charged. When the city finally fell, Godfrey emerged as a leading figure. But, rather than taking the title of king, he accepted the title of Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. Medieval writers really admired this decision, they saw it as showing humility before God. It also reinforced the idea that he fought not for a crown or personal gain, but for his faith.

Godfrey ruled only briefly before his death in 1100. In later medieval tradition, he became an ideal Christian knight, courageous and loyal to his cause, and humble in victory. Through this lens, he seemed to stand beside the Nine Worthies as a model of faith and honour. He was not originally one of the medieval Nine Worthies, but was later added as a “tenth worthy” in some traditions.

Do you think that the medieval writers shaped Godfrey into an ideal, or did he truly live up to that image?

Clarice Halligan: The Australian Nurse Killed in the Bangka Island Massacre

Clarice Halligan: The Australian Nurse Killed in the Bangka Island Massacre

I have been learning about some of the amazing people who served during the world wars. Today I want to tell you a little about Clarice Halligan. She was born on the 17th of September 1904 in Ballarat, Victoria, in Australia. She grew up in a large family with seven siblings. She trained as a nurse in Melbourne and worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In 1934, she travelled to Papua New Guinea as a missionary.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, she enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service in July 1940. She went on to serve with the 2/13th Australian General Hospital in Malacca, Malaysia, and Singapore as Japanese forces were advancing. In February 1942, she was evacuated on board the SS Vyner Brooke, but the ship was bombed and sunk. The injured survivors reached Bangka Island, where Halligan and other nurses were captured. On the 16th of February 1942, they were forced into the sea and tragically shot. She was only 37 years old.