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The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) referred to a voluntary unit providing field nursing services, mainly in hospitals, in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units were during World War I and World War II. The VAD system was founded in 1909 with the help of the Red Cross and Order of St. John. By the summer of 1914 there were over 2,500 Voluntary Aid Detachments in Britain. Of the 74,000 VAD members in 1914, two-thirds were women and girls.〔(History of the VAD )〕〔(Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) ) at Spartacus.com Accessed May 2008〕 At the outbreak of the First World War VAD members eagerly offered their service to the war effort. The British Red Cross was reluctant to allow civilian women a role in overseas hospitals: most volunteers were of the middle and upper classes and unaccustomed to hardship and traditional hospital discipline. Military authorities would not accept VADs at the front line. Katharine Furse took two VADs to France in October 1914, restricting them to serve as canteen workers and cooks. Caught under fire in a sudden battle the VADs were pressed into emergency hospital service and acquitted themselves well. The growing shortage of trained nurses opened the door for VADs in overseas military hospitals. Furse was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the detachments and restrictions were removed. Female volunteers over the age of twenty-three and with more than three months' hospital experience were accepted for overseas service. VADs were an uneasy addition to military hospitals' rank and order. They lacked the advanced skill and discipline of professional trained nurses and were often critical of the nursing profession. Relations improved as the war stretched on: VAD members increased their skill and efficiency and trained nurses were more accepting of the VADs' contributions. During four years of war 38,000 VADs worked in hospitals and served as ambulance drivers and cooks. VADs served near the Western Front and in Mesopotamia and Gallipoli. VAD hospitals were also opened in most large towns in Britain.〔 Later, VADs were also sent to the Eastern Front. They provided an invaluable source of bedside aid in the war effort. Many were decorated for distinguished service. ==Famous VAD nurses== Famous VAD nurses include: *Enid Bagnold, British author of the novel ''National Velvet'', on which the 1944 film with Elizabeth Taylor was based. Her account of her experiences are related in her memoir ''(A Diary Without Dates )'' published in 1918. *Mary Borden, Anglo-American novelist *Vera Brittain, British author of the best-selling 1933 memoir ''Testament of Youth'', recounting her experiences during World War I *Agatha Christie, British author who briefly details her VAD experiences in her posthumously published ''Autobiography'' *E.M. Delafield, British author of the "Diary of a Provincial Lady" series and some 30 other novels; her experiences working at the Exeter Voluntary Aid Hospital provided her with material for one of her most popular novels, ''The War Workers'', published in 1918 〔The Life of a Provincial Lady by Violet Powell, p. 32〕 *Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer *Hattie Jacques, English comedy actress *Violet Jessop, British ocean liner stewardess trained as a VAD nurse after the outbreak of World War I. She had been a stewardess aboard the RMS ''Titanic'' when it sank in 1912 and was also aboard the hospital ship HMHS ''Britannic'' (the ''Titanics sister ship) as a Red Cross nurse when it sank in 1916. *Naomi Mitchison, Scottish writer *Olivia Robertson, British author and co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis * Freya Stark, explorer and travel writer. *May Wedderburn Cannan, British poet *Anna Zinkeisen, Scottish painter and illustrator〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Paintings by Doris Zinkeisen (1898-1991) )〕 *Doris Zinkeisen, Scottish painter, commercial artist and theatrical designer〔 *Jessie Traill, Australian painter 〔http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/traill-jessie-constance-alicia-8840〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Voluntary Aid Detachment」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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