Dave Scharf, Centretown News
The Canadian War Museum has acquired a 100-year-old locket given to Georgina Pope by the citizens of Ottawa in the 1900s. Pope’s bust is one of the nine commemorating key figures in Canadian military history at the Valiants Memorial located by the Château Laurier.The Canadian War Museum has received an “extraordinary” century-old gold locket given to a pioneering military nurse as a gift from residents of Ottawa.
The locket is large for its kind, made of 18 karat-gold with the symbol of the British Union on the front. Gracing the back is an inscription that dedicates the locket to Georgina Pope “from the citizens of Ottawa,” for her service in the Boer War.
The locket was one of the 180 made locally by A. Rutherford, a jeweller based on Rideau Street, and all were given to returning veterans from that war.
Nicknamed the “Florence Nightingale of Canada,” Ottawa resident Georgina Pope was one of four military nurses sent on the first tour of South Africa with the British Armed Forces. After a year of service, Pope came home with her fellow volunteer nurses to be honoured with the engraved lockets.
Each Canadian city had a different gift waiting for returning veterans. Some cities, such as Winnipeg and Halifax, created “Welcome Home” medals.
“There was an implied competition between Canadian cities,” says City of Ottawa archivist Harriette Fried. “Ottawa thought that the locket was the best gift to give.”
Even though the pendant was given to several veterans, Arlene Doucette, collections specialist at the LeBreton Flats museum, said that the artifact “adds a lot of value” to what society knows about Pope.
While overseas, Pope dealt with more than 235 cases of typhoid fever and helped other wounded soldiers with few supplies.
Pope returned in 1901 to serve on the home front for the duration of the South African War, and at the age of 52 also served in the First World War as Matron of the first Canadian Army Nursing Service.
She was decorated for her service in both wars, and was the first Canadian awarded the international Red Cross First Class for exceptional service in the field.
Doucette said that while the national honours are great awards, the local prizes were also valuable to veterans.
“This is a different level of appreciation,” Doucette said. “It’s a specific gift that demonstrates that people were invested in what Canadians were doing overseas.”
The late Louise Birkett-Krapt, a descendant of Pope’s, asked that the family heirloom be given to the Canadian War Museum.
After her passing in 2015, Birkett-Krapt’s goddaughter Louise Schwartz gave the artifact to the museum as a way of fulfilling her duties as a beneficiary.
Schwartz said her godmother was very proud of her heritage.
“She couldn’t believe that she was related to such a strong woman,” Schwartz said in an interview. “She hoped that this locket will keep her memory alive.”
Georgina Pope kept the locket close until her death in 1938, even adding a picture inside, of a woman who Schwartz believes to be Pope’s mother.
Anne Sutherland Boal, CEO of the Ottawa-based Canadian Nurses Association, said that Pope “remains an inspiration” to nurses who came after her.
However, nursing historian Cynthia Toman said that Pope receives a lot of credit for the efforts of all women overseas.
“Her influence came from her prestige,” the retired University of Ottawa nursing professor said in an interview. “She was ahead of her time though in the sense that she made a place for herself where there was no room for a woman.”
As for the locket, the museum has not decided what will be done with it yet, but Schwartz hopes it will be featured in the exhibit on the Boer War along with Pope’s other medals.