XXVI
MRS. HARLEY
Mrs. Harley, sister of Field-Marshal Viscount French, commenced her nursing service at the beginning of the war, and was still carrying on fine work for the sick and suffering when she met her death in their cause on March 7, 1917. The shell which burst near Monastir has robbed the world of a noble and heroic lady.
In 1914 Mrs. Harley went to France as administrator of the first unit sent out by the Scottish Women’s Hospitals. She proceeded to establish a wonderful hospital in the historical Abbaye de Royaumont—“one of the most beautiful haunts of ancient peace in the world.” Under the direction of Dr. Frances Ivens, this hospital to-day is one of the finest and most complete in France, an important feature being the possession of a perfect X-ray installation, specially chosen by Madame Curie.
The work of the first Scottish unit was so successful that the French Government soon asked for a second, and Mrs. Harley took over the administration, and went to Troyes to start a hospital there in May, 1915. This hospital was known as the “Girton and Newnham Unit,” the past and present students of those colleges having raised a large sum towards the equipment. The first hospital undercanvas to be used by the French, it received General Joffre’s sanction as a French military hospital.
MRS. HARLEYBassanoTo face page132
MRS. HARLEY
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When later in the year the French Expeditionary Force was sent to Salonika, the military authorities requested that this unit of Scottish women should go with the expedition, and Mrs. Harley again accompanied them as administrator. On arrival they were despatched to Gevgheli in Serbia, but had to retire in the Serbian retreat. They then established a hospital at Salonika, which is still open.
In July, 1916, Mrs. Harley came to England to take over a flying column of motor ambulances for service in the Salonika district. She returned to Serbia accompanied by Dr. Agnes Bennett, who was in charge of the American unit of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals, equipped with funds subscribed by supporters in America as a result of Miss Kathleen Burke’s appeal. Mrs. Harley’s column consisted of a number of light ambulance lorries and two field kitchens. Its object was to facilitate the more speedy transport of wounded Serbians, whose sufferings were greatly increased by the shortage of motor ambulances. The column was sent to work near the Macedonian front, quite close to the firing-line. Writing home, Mrs. Harley said: “Now to tell you of our first venture. A few days ago a British officer, just down from the front, came to tell me that the wounded Serbs were in great need of nourishment when they were carried down from the field, and asking if I would take up my motor kitchen and start a canteen for them. In a few hours all was arranged, and the next morning I started off.... We are fairly near the front and in hearing of the guns. It is sad seeing the poor men struggle in, andit is good to be able to give them some help.” A little later, Dr. Bennett of the American unit wrote: “We are now engaged on very difficult work here, getting all the most serious cases direct from the dressing station; these we bring into hospital ourselves with the aid of Mrs. Harley’s flying column. This is very difficult and often very dangerous work, owing to the bad roads and heavy hill-climbing. Our women chauffeurs have done splendid service, and Mrs. Harley’s have been equally helpful. We have had a hard day, and many of the wounded are still lying out on the hillside awaiting transport, which is very scarce.” It must have been a strange enough sight in the midst of the lonely, barren mountain country, and along the rough, precipitous roads, to come upon a van of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals driven by a sunburnt girl of the unit bringing her load of Serbian wounded, collected with danger and difficulty, down to the safety of the hospital.
In January, 1917, Mrs. Harley turned her energies to helping the population of Serbian civilian refugees at Monastir, who were in dire need of food and medical assistance. She also established an orphanage at Monastir, where she collected more than eighty children, and looked after them at her own expense. It was when engaged on her errand of mercy that Mrs. Harley met her death. She was wounded in the head by a shell splinter, during one of the periodical Bulgarian bombardments of Monastir—an open town—at the moment when she was actually distributing food to starving Serbians in front of her house.
The touching scenes at Mrs. Harley’s funeral are evidence of the esteem and gratitude with which she was regarded in Serbia. She was buried at Salonikawith full military honours, and her coffin, covered with the Union Jack, was followed by a great concourse, which included a large proportion of Serbians. In the funeral oration pronounced over her grave, the Serbian Minister of the Interior said: “Noble daughter of a great nation, though not a sister of ours by birth, still dear to us as a true sister, your tender soul is followed and ever will be followed by our fervent prayers, and by the everlasting gratitude of the Serbian nation. Thanks and glory be to you.” That her spirit and courage live on is manifest in the declaration by one of her two daughters, both engaged in hospital work in Serbia, that after her mother’s funeral it was her intention to return to Monastir to carry on Mrs. Harley’s work.
As a recognition of her services to the French, Mrs. Harley was decorated by General Sarrail with the “Croix de Guerre with palm leaves”—one of the highest of French decorations.