Monuments and Commemorations
Public monuments honouring nurses exist in various cities, including a famous statue of Florence Nightingale in central London and a well-known monument to Jeanne Mance in the center of Montreal.
A request for funds to restore a stained-glass window honouring World War I Nursing Sisters in Vancouver’s Canadian Memorial Church led Nina Rumen of the BC History of Nursing Group to start a project, in mid-1991, to begin to identify and document nursing memorials in Vancouver. By May 1992, she had identified and photographed eight public memorials to nurses – three stained glass windows, three statues, a frieze, and a hospital building. Nina’s photographs, originally compiled into a booklet album by Glennis Zilm, showed these eight memorials. The monuments represent nursing sisters esteemed by the public or by individuals who knew and admired the nursing profession.
In 1996, Nina Rumen was joined in the project by E. Brenda Flynn and the two continued to identify and document other monuments. A poster version of the monuments was made by Brenda to show at the International Conference on Nursing History held in Vancouver June 12-15, 1997.
Another version of the album was prepared later by Glennis Zilm at the request of Lt. Col. (Retired) Harriet (“Hallie”) Sloan, Honourary Chair of the Nursing Sisters’ Association of Canada, for a project involving the history of Nursing Sisters in Canada. This smaller version of the album merely showed the monuments that were specifically dedicated to the Nursing Sisters.
Copies of these early booklets can be found in the BC History of Nursing Society archives.
During the next decade the BC History of Nursing Society expanded its website and Sheila Zerr and her grandson Patrick created a digital version of the monument booklets for an online exhibit. More photographs and information about other monuments located in the Vancouver area were added by Beth Fitzpatrick and Helen Shore.
The BC History of Nursing Society continues to seek out and identify other public “images of nursing” across the entire province. In 2020 when the Monuments to Nurses web document was reviewed it was apparent that many “commemorations” such as schools, street names and mountains honoured nurses and the web document was expanded to include these tributes.
For further information or if you know of a Nursing Monument please use the Contact Us page.
Corner Statues Cathedral Place
Built in 1929, the Vancouver Medical-Dental Building showcases art deco style and honors WWI Nursing Sisters with terra cotta statues on its facade. Designed by veteran architects McCarter and Nairne, these statues symbolize deep gratitude for the nursing care received during the war.
Ethel Johns
In 2007, the BC History of Nursing Practice Group sponsored a plaque for Ethel Johns, recognized in 2009 as nationally significant. Placed in 2019 at UBC Hospital, it honors Johns as the first director of UBC’s School of Nursing, the first in the Commonwealth to offer a universitynursing degree.
Jean Matheson Memorial Pavilion
Built in 1946, the Shaughnessy Hospital pavilion served as a tuberculosis unit for WWII veterans. Named the Jean Matheson Memorial Pavilion, it became the Mental Health Unit of BC Women’s and Children’s Hospital in 2008, with Matheson’s name later removed.
Memorial Fountains
Unveiled in 2006, the Isabelle Maude Hill Fountain honors Vancouver’s first VON nurse. Nearby, a memorial for Nurse Mildred Neilson, who died tragically in 1925, stands in Ocean View Cemetery.
Both fountains serve as lasting tributes to these pioneering nurses and their contributions to healthcare.
Memorial Plaques
Parks Canada erected a plaque at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse, Esquimalt BC, honoring women’s contributions to the war effort and suffrage. Nearby, another at Saanich BC commemorates WWI Bradshaw Nursing Sisters, Trixie and Nance, for their service and post-war contributions to community health.
Memorial Sculptures/Statues
Two notable statues in British Columbia honor nurses. Herbert Apt’s marble statue, once at St. Paul’s Hospital, now resides at UBC Library. A second, commissioned in 2003 by Royal Jubilee Hospital’s alumnae, stands at the chapel entrance, celebrating nursing graduates’ impact.
Memorial Stained Glass Windows
Stained-glass windows across Vancouver honor nursing history. The Nurse Memorial Window (1928) and others celebrate WWI nurses and Florence Nightingale. Fundraising through note cards supports scholarships and archives, preserving a rich nursing legacy.
Monument to Military Medical Services
Beatrice Lennie’s 1940 marble frieze at Shaughnessy Hospital portrays medical wartime efforts. Another monument honors BC Military Medical Services personnel, celebrating their contributions in peace and war, now located in the garden of Brock Fahrni Pavilion.
Royal Jubilee Hospital
The Royal Jubilee Hospital Chapel, a historical site since 2003, serves as a refuge, earning a Heritage Building Restoration award in 2004. Nearby, a commemorative window installed in 1985 honors nursing heroes like Florence Nightingale, while a statue in the chapel recognizes RJH nursing graduates.
Schools Named After Nurses
Several schools in British Columbia are named after notable nurses, celebrating their contributions to healthcare and community. These include a new elementary school in Fort St. John named after pioneer nurse Anne Roberts Young, Edith Cavell School in Vancouver, and Florence Nightingale School, both of which uphold the legacy of nursing dedication through their educational commitments.
