Ethel Gertrude Dickinson (1880-1918)

1. Start the tour at Cavendish Square directly across from the Sheraton Hotel. Here you will find a monument honouring teacher and nurse Ethel Dickinson.

Ethel Dickinson was born in St. John's and educated at Methodist College. After taking a domestic science course in Guelph, Ontario, Ethel returned to St. John's to operate the interdenominational Domestic Science School on Harvey Road. The school followed no religious creed, nor did it confine itself to serving any particular class of students. Children from the poorer homes attended the school along with classmates from the homes of the rich. The school focussed on plain, wholesome cooking - bread, vegetables, eggs, soups - using good local, economic ingredients. Classes were always full.

Ethel Gertrude Dickinson
Ethel Gertrude Dickinson
Teacher and nurse.
Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections (Collection MF-329), Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL.

In 1915, while visiting England, Ethel began working as a Volunteer Aid Detachment nurse to Newfoundland soldiers wounded in World War I. Three years later she returned St. John's and to the school, but in 1918 an outbreak of the Spanish flu forced the school to close. Ethel began caring for the sick at the emergency hospital established at King George V Institute on Water Street. Already in poor health, she contracted the Spanish flu and died on October 26, 1918. She is remembered for her selfless caring for others. This monument was raised in her honour by public subscription two years after her death and was unveiled by Governor Sir Charles Harris and Lady Harris.

Base of the Monument Erected for Ethel Dickinson
Base of the Monument Erected for Ethel Dickinson
This monument on Cavendish Square in St. John's was raised by public subscription two years after her death.
Photo by Duleepa Wijayawardhana, 1998.

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