Public History students launch new exhibit
From now until early summer, visitors to the J.A. Schweitzer Gallery in Western’s Weldon Library can view a new student-led exhibit on a highly significant yet little known part of Canadian wartime medical history. Three undergraduate history students in HIS3813E: Public History worked with Western Archives to curate an exhibit on Western University’s No. 10 Stationary Hospital. Through several themes including medical work, nursing, and daily life, the exhibit highlights the enormous level of volunteerism and humanitarianism among the members of the hospital unit formed under the command of Western’s Dr. Edwin Seaborn for overseas service during the First World War.
Among the personnel recruited for the unit were Western faculty and alumni physicians, graduating nurses from Victoria Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital, Western students, and London area residents. Between June 1916 and April 1919, the unit admitted well over 16,000 patients. Stationed for most of the war in Calais, France near the Western Front, the hospital continued operations despite sustaining numerous German bombardments. The story behind the unit’s formation and deployment is emblematic of the region’s massive support for the Canadian war effort, for Western and the wider London community raised the modern-day equivalent of $4 million to fund the overseas mission.
Each of the third-year history students noted the real benefits of this experience. Paige Milner enjoyed the hands-on component of the course and the project, leading her to consider public history as a future career path. Abigail Parsons hopes to pursue an interest in archival studies, which she further developed during the project, while aspiring history teacher Joseph Weber was particularly excited about the exhibit’s educational component.
Mining the materials contained within the No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital Fonds at Western Archives and borrowing an impressive variety of photos and objects from both the Archives and the Western University Medical Artifact Collection, the student team’s final exhibit exemplifies the kind of Community-Engaged Learning and Experiential Learning emphasized in the public history program. “These students made the challenging leap from researching and presenting a topic to their classmates, to curating this material as a public exhibit,” says Professor Mike Dove. “The course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to work in small groups and collaborate with the local community on historical topics. This group proved committed to tell the fascinating story of No. 10 Stationary Hospital beyond our classroom through a medium that really engages people.”
The students wish to thank Western Libraries Archivist Anne Quirk, Professor Michelle Hamilton, Professor Shelley McKellar, and Professor Mike Dove for their assistance and guidance throughout the project.
