Heroic behaviour is by no means an exclusively male preserve. Women also behave courageously in times of war and peace, although their acts of valour are not always recognized.
One such valiant woman was Hannah Baird. Mere hours after Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, the unarmed passenger liner Baird was working aboard was torpedoed by a German submarine, U-130. Although she was the first Canadian casualty of the Second World War, Baird's name is not well known.
Canadian nurses who volunteered their services during wartime confronted terrible dangers, often working near the front lines. They were also present on hospital ships, where they daily faced the threat of torpedo attacks. Many of them lost their lives on the job.
Mollie Entwistle was awarded the British Empire Medal (Military) for her "conspicuous coolness and courage" in saving her Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC) colleagues from an Ottawa hotel fire in 1942.
CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum honours all these women of courage, and the many whose names will never be known.
