The hand-drawn scene here isn’t from the perspective of war we often see – it’s from a Red Cross volunteer nurse, Edith Maud Drummond Hay who served for the whole of war, first in Scotland and later at several hospitals closer to the frontline in France.

Volunteer Laura Ridgway said about this object “Usually archives of the war are official documents, memoirs or photographs. But with this source, it is unusual to have such a colourful and vivid snapshot of a woman’s interpretation of events. The illustrations give an insight into the experiences of the 90,000 normal men and women who volunteered with the British Red Cross during the First World War, especially volunteer nurses like Edith who cared for wounded soldiers. Looking through the different sketches and imagination of Edith makes the object easy to relate to, familiarising an every-day person’s experience of war.”

It's a part of the Museum’s online exhibition 150 Voices, created in 2020 to mark the 150th anniversary of the British Red Cross.