Mary Milner was born and raised in the West Midlands of England, nestled between Coventry and Birmingham. At the age of 12, her life took an unexpected turn. It was 1939, and war had gripped Europe. She was set to begin senior school that September, but when she arrived, the school was gone, destroyed by a bomb. Instead of classes and homework, her days were now filled with the harsh reality of a world at war.

Adapting to the harsh reality of war
With her senior school in ruins, Mary did what many wartime children had to do — adapt. At just 13, she began working at a local hospital, a place that would become a critical part of her life. Here, she found herself surrounded by soldiers returning from D-Day, each with a story of survival and loss, each carrying the physical and mental scars of battle. These men, still labeled with tags noting their injuries and treatments, became Mary’s first patients.
"They came in, and they'd have labels on their toes, like luggage labels, what treatment they'd had and what drugs they'd had," Mary said. It was a world of triage, where operations took place through the night, and where a young girl found herself maturing far beyond her years.

The war effort: Nursing the troops
Mary’s entry into wartime nursing was not just a matter of duty—it was a calling. At the age of 17 she joined the Royal Naval Voluntary Aid Detachment (RN VAD). It wasn’t easy to secure a place in this prestigious group; most of her colleagues came from titled or privileged backgrounds. Yet Mary’s compassion and determination won her a spot, thanks in part to a glowing reference from none other than the Countess of Shrewsbury, whom Mary had helped during a tour of local factories.

Once enlisted, Mary’s nursing career took her to the south of England, Sherborne in Dorset to be specific, where she nursed prisoners of war returning from Japanese camps. These men were skeletal and frail, unable to eat even the simplest foods. "The prisoners of war were just coming back from Japan. And they were in a terrible condition. They were just skeletons," she said. For weeks, Mary and her team slowly weaned them back to health, feeding them milk in tiny amounts, like one would care for a newborn. The work was gruelling, but rewarding. Mary later recalled how the prisoners regained their strength under her care. It was then she understood and witnessed how vital her role was as a nurse in such volatile and chaotic times.

Her next assignment took her to Dartford in Kent, where she worked in a hospital treating soldiers with tuberculosis. Despite the risk to her own health, Mary continued her work, demonstrating the kind of bravery that defined so many wartime nurses.

Serving abroad and finding love
One of Mary’s most memorable experiences came when she was drafted to Malta, where she ended up staying for over four years.  "I wouldn't have changed that job for really anything," Mary said of her time as a nurse. The small Mediterranean island, a strategic military base during the war, was an epicentre of activity. It was here, during long shifts in surgical wards, that Mary met her future husband, William, who was serving in the Royal Marine Commandos. Their relationship grew amidst the chaos of war, and soon they were planning their wedding.

But as with so many wartime plans, things didn’t go smoothly. Initially set for a grand wedding in November, complete with a tiered wedding cake and a beautiful white dress, Mary and William’s nuptials were thrown into disarray when William’s unit was called away to deal with rising tensions in the Middle East. Undeterred, the couple (pictured below) married in a simple civil ceremony, followed by a church service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Malta. Mary’s wedding dress, hastily sewn together in a day, still had pins in it as she walked down the aisle.

A life after war: Mary’s return to England
After the war, Mary and William or “Bill”, as he's known, returned to England, where they started a family. In 1964, they emigrated to Canada in search of new opportunities. While William sought work in law enforcement, Mary quickly found herself back in a hospital setting. Her transition to Canadian life was almost seamless; within a day of arriving, she was already working at Calgary’s Children’s Hospital. Though it was a private facility run by the Shriners, Mary’s experience as a wartime nurse made her an invaluable addition to the team.

Despite the challenges of adjusting to a new country, Mary thrived in Canada. She continued to work as a nurse, taking on roles that spanned from pediatrics to elder care. Eventually, her career led her to a supervisory position at a new care home in the Yukon, where she was tasked with setting up the facility from scratch. Once again, Mary rose to the occasion, managing everything from staffing to ensuring the home was fully operational for its residents.

Living with strength: Surviving cancer
Mary’s resilience extended far beyond her wartime service. Later in life, she was diagnosed with lymphoma, a diagnosis that would strike fear into anyone’s heart. But Mary faced it head-on, just as she had faced every other challenge in her life. Her strength and positivity confounded her doctors. Despite the severity of the disease, she has lived with lymphoma for over 30 years, defying all medical expectations.

At her last appointment at the cancer clinic, Mary was discharged, much to the amazement of the medical staff. Her long-standing doctor joked that she must have gained superpowers during her years of nursing, a testament to her remarkable will to live and her seemingly unshakable health.

A legacy of care
Mary’s life — from her early days as a child nurse during World War II to her later years as a grandmother and cancer survivor — was defined by her unwavering dedication to helping others. She saw soldiers through some of the darkest days of the war, tended to sick children, and supported her fellow nurses and caregivers through decades of service.

Today, her story serves as a powerful reminder of the sacrifices made by wartime nurses, whose contributions often go unnoticed. Mary was more than just a nurse; she was a healer, a caretaker, and a survivor, someone who lived through unimaginable challenges and emerged with grace and strength. This Remembrance Day, we honour Mary and the countless others like her who gave so much to care for others in the face of war.