JENNER Lenna Mae

Lenna Mae Jenner was born on 17th November 1889 in Brookfield, Queens County, Nova Scotia, Canada, the daughter of Reverend John Hugh Jenner and his wife Mary. She had two older siblings, Hugh, and Ada. Her father was ordained as a Baptist Minister in Brookfield in 1889, the same year that she was born. After graduating from Acadia College in 1891 he went on to gain an MA from Newton Seminary, Massachusetts, USA in 1893. The family remained in the USA until October 1901 when they moved to Halifax, Canada where John became a Minister at North Baptist Church.

When war broke out Lenna’s brother Hugh enlisted in the Canadian Army on 30th December 1914 and later served overseas. Lenna eventually followed in her brother’s footsteps and enlisted as a Nursing Sister in The Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 25th June 1918. At the time of her attestation she was resident with her parents at 133 Prince Street, St John West, New Brunswick and had been working for 14 months as a graduate nurse with the Army Medical Corps. Two short weeks later on 10th July 1918 she left Canada for overseas service in England where she was posted to Westcliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital at Folkestone, Kent. Sadly her war service was to be tragically short. On 24th September 1918 Lenna was admitted as a patient to her place of work suffering from left sided abdominal pain and weight loss. She was diagnosed with tubercular peritonitis and after 3 weeks of treatment she was discharged from the hospital on 18th October 1918. Her health continued to decline and she was admitted to Clarence House, North Finchley, a private nursing home in North London, where she underwent abdominal surgery on 10th December 1918. Her condition continued to deteriorate and on 12th December 1918 she died at the nursing home from septicaemia.

Lenna was buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, Grave No III. J. 5.

LENNA M JENNER (WWC H22-37) Lenna M Jenner, Canadian Army Medical Corps. Died December 1918 12 December 1918. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205380604