MONTREAL — We know their names. Some of them are Margaret "Pearl" Fraser of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia; Mary Agnes McKenzie and Carola Douglas of Toronto; Alexina Dussault of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec; and Margaret Fortescue of York Factory, Manitoba. Among them was Minnie Follette, whose portrait hangs in Age of Sail Heritage Centre and Museum in Port Greville, Nova Scotia.
Follette also is remembered with a monument in the Anglican cemetery in Fox River, Nova Scotia — and in the historical memory of Canadians who to this day mourn the deaths of 14 nursing sisters, all but two of them Canadians, who survived a submarine attack on the British hospital ship Llandovery Castle, only to perish when a German U-boat circled back to sink their lifeboat. History being ironic as well as instructive, a look into Follette's life provides a jarring marriage of mathematics and mortality: Her 34th birthday would have been on Nov. 11, 1918, the day of the armistice.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.