Exhibition: Spanish Flu: nursing during history's deadliest pandemic

Building on Florence Nightingale’s work during the Crimean war, WW1 ushered in a new era for military nursing. Women from all walks of life were filled with a desire to serve their country. But in 1918, as WW1 approached its end, nothing could have prepared them for what was to come – the deadly Spanish Flu.

Infecting up to half of the world’s population, the death toll from this lethal pandemic far outstripped that of the war, with victims suffering from often terrifying and gruesome symptoms. A type of Avian Influenza, which is still a danger today, there was no cure for Spanish Flu, and doctors were at a loss to know how to prevent or treat it. Good nursing was the only thing that helped and therefore it was typically women that bore the brunt of trying to halt this deadly killer.

Journey back in time to a field hospital in 1918 and explore the experiences of those that lived and died during the deadliest pandemic in human history, and discover if a similarly devastating pandemic could happen again today.