Lenna Mae Jenner, Class of 1913
Lenna Mae Jenner was born on November 17, 1889 in Brookfield, Queen’s County, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of the Reverend John Jenner and Mary F. Jenner (nee MacIntyre).
She graduated from Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing 1913 and enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on June 25, 1918 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In April 1917, Lenna began working in a military hospital in Canada – likely the hospital in Kentville, Nova Scotia.
In July 1918, nursing sister Jenner was posted overseas and arrived in England. She was sent to a CAMC Training Depot and then assigned to the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone. In October 1918, she fell ill and was admitted to Clarence House, North Finchley, where she underwent an abdominal operation for “tubercular peritonitis.” She died of septicemia on December 12, 1918.
Nursing sister Jenner is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Emily Abalinda Parker, Class of 1913
Emily Abalinda Parker was born on November 2, 1889 in Morden, Manitoba. She graduated from Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing 1913 and was employed as a School Nurse by the Winnipeg School Division.
Parker joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) in 1916. After serving with the QAIMNS for one year, she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in October 1917 and was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton.
After the war, she resumed her position as a School Nurse for the Winnipeg School Division. In 1937, she was also on staff at the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing. When the city school nursing service amalgamated with the Public Health Department, Parker accepted the position as District Supervisor of the Public Health Nursing Department in 1941 – a position she held until her retirement in 1959.
She passed away on September 22, 1970 in Winnipeg.
Please click on the links below to read about other graduates from Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing, 1913, that served as nursing sisters during World War I.
HSC Archives/Museum 