New
New
Year 6
The experiences of nurses during the Second World War
I can describe how nursing saw great change during the Second World War.
New
New
Year 6
The experiences of nurses during the Second World War
I can describe how nursing saw great change during the Second World War.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Nursing in the Second World War brought new people to Britain and helped new medical techniques to succeed.
- At the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead new plastic surgery techniques were trialled on badly injured soldiers.
- Sister Mary Meally ran the burns ward, where she looked after badly burnt airmen who were receiving treatment.
- Many West African and Caribbean women travelled to, and trained as nurses in Britain during World War II.
- These included Princess Ademola, daughter of the Alake of Abeokuta, an important king in Nigeria.
Keywords
Plastic surgery - surgery that involves the reconstruction or repair of the body is called plastic surgery
Nigeria - Nigeria is a country in West Africa and at the time of the Second World War was part of the British Empire
Common misconception
Pupils may think that nurses only did tasks like cleaning wards and providing meals.
Nurses did three years of training and had to pass exams in anatomy and physiology. They handled weapons on the front line and ran the hospitals caring for the injured in Britain.
Show students photos of the medals won by nurses during the Second World War and the stories behind them.
Teacher tip
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Starter quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
Complete the sentence: A person who has been moved to another place for safety is an .
Q2.
What were some of the areas that civilians were evacuated from?
Wales
Somerset
Q3.
On what date did Operation Pied Piper (the plan for evacuating civilians) begin?
1st September 1940
1st September 1938
1st September 1941
Q4.
Complete the sentence. The night-time bombing attacks on major British cities by Nazi Germany from September 1940 is known as ‘The ’.
Q5.
What was one of the main reasons that Nazi Germany focused their bombing attacks on cities?
destroy farmlands
destroy churches
destroy museums
Q6.
How many homes had been damaged or destroyed during WWII?
two thousand
two hundred
Exit quiz
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6 Questions
Q1.
True of false: During the Second World War, nurses only did tasks such as cleaning wards and providing meals.
True
Q2.
Who discovered new methods to store and transport blood during WWII?
Charles Darwin
Charles Dickens
Q3.
What is the method of surgery that Archibald McIndoe used at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead called?
Q4.
What was the name of the nurse who ran the burns ward at Queen Victoria Hospital, where she looked after badly burnt airmen who were receiving treatment.
Mollie Lentaigne
Princess Ademola
Q5.
What was the nickname given to wartime nurses?
WAAF
QAs
Q6.
Which statements about nurses in WWII are correct?
They only served in England.
They only worked in hospitals.
Additional material
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