15 Facts About Elizabeth Bertram

Elizabeth Bertram was a nursing sister with the Scottish Women's Hospital for Foreign Service in Serbia and Corsica.

Elizabeth Bertram was born in Hawick on 4 January 1874.

Elizabeth Bertram decided to undertake formal training as a nurse, training in the Cumberland Hospital Carlisle and the Royal Maternity Hospital in Edinburgh.

Elizabeth Bertram gave at least two series of publicly advertised lectures in nursing in Hawick; the latter in 1912.

Elizabeth Bertram was posted to Serbia, where she worked as a sister and fever nurse under Dr Elsie Inglis.

Elizabeth Bertram chronicled the fate of the wounded and the many young boys who lost their lives.

The Edinburgh Evening News of 22 December 1915 notes that Elizabeth Bertram was one of 28 nursing and ancillary staff who had lately arrived safely in Turin, The paper lists all of their names; relatives would be anxious to scan it to see who was on the list and therefore safe.

Elizabeth Bertram shared her experiences in different media; for example in detail in The Hawick News and Border Chronicle from a talk she gave in St James Hall, Hawick.

Elizabeth Bertram explained that she had arrived in Kragujevac in May 1915.

Elizabeth Bertram concluded her account by noting that their challenges were nothing compared to those of the Serbian men, women and children, who had lost their entire country.

Elizabeth Bertram gave lectures in Bonnybridge and Dennyloanhead; the latter to the local British Women's Temperance Association.

Elizabeth Bertram was then appointed as a local district nurse for the area; however after the death of her brother, she instead went out to Corsica to help Serbian refugees who had been evacuated to the island.

Elizabeth Bertram served in the Scottish Military Hospital situated in Ajaccio.

On 4 May 1916, Elizabeth Bertram became a Red Cross volunteer, according to that organisation's records.

Elizabeth Bertram returned permanently to Scotland later in life, dying in Hawick in 1954.