Interview of Florence Failing Kenny on her service in the British Volunteer Army Division during World War I

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Description:

Florence Failing Kenny discusses her service in the British Volunteer Army Division during World War I. Kenny says that she found out about the VAD through newspaper stories in Syracuse, NY where she was attending college and decided to join up and go overseas. Kenny talks about taking convalescing soldiers to have tea with the royal family, meeting Princess Alice, the differences between the English socialites who were in the VAD and the Americans and says that all VAD uniforms were tailor-made because the English socialites wouldn't accept generic sizing for their uniforms. She also remembers being reprimanded by a colleague's parents for taking the English girls to a cocktail bar in London and ending up in a rest home after the war because she had lost so much weight. Kenny is interviewed by Genevieve Hill Cadmus and Thelma Norris.

Date Issued:

1983-05-28T00:00:00Z

Data Provider:

Michigan State University. Libraries

Collection:

Women's Overseas Service League Oral History Project

Place:

England

Subject Topic:

World War, 1914-1918, Veterans, Women veterans, World War, 1914-1918, World War, 1914-1918, Participation, Female, Military service, Voluntary, and Military uniforms

Subject Name:

Kenny, Florence Failing, 1891-1983, Kenny, Florence Failing, and 1891-1983

Subject Genre:

Interviews, Anecdotes, Interviews, Interviews, and Personal narratives, American

Language:

English

Rights:

In Copyright

URL:

https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5nm69