Solving a Photo Mystery...

In mid-July, the nurses of Base Hospital 50 received their orders to travel to New York in preparation for their departure for France. The nurses had been posted to Army camps across the U.S. for training before their deployment, gathering as a unit for the first time following their arrival in New York. While waiting for their overseas orders, the nurses had daily roll calls and training at a nearby Armory. 

They also gathered for a unit photo and a flag dedication service on August 15, 1918, before their departure. The photo's location, however, wasn't recorded in the annals of The History of Base Hospital Number Fifty. Looking at other nursing unit photos, it quickly became clear that this was an important and standard location for unit photos. As it turns out, this "mystery" wasn't much of a mystery, after all. 

Other units noted where the photo had occurred, St. Paul's Chapel, located in Lower Manhattan at 209 Broadway, New York. Adjacent to the chapel is St. Paul's graveyard, and sharp eyes will note the headstones visible in several of the unit photos, such as this group of American Red Cross nurses. The nurses were seated along a curved path, which can be seen more clearly in this view of the churchyard from the 1940s.

The identities of the two clergymen pictured in the photo with the Base Hospital 50 nurses were also of interest. An email query to the Trinity Church archives quickly yielded an identity for the rector pictured on the far left, "with the impressive facial hair", as William Montague Geer, an Episcopal vicar who was named vicar emeritus of St. Paul's in 1918. The Base Hospital 50 history provided the key to the other man, which included this detail:

“Dr. Crosby of the St. James Chapel, was a very good friend of all nurses. We had an opportunity to join French classes organized by him, and each Unit had a Dedicatory service in his Chapel.” (pg. 76.)

Thomas James Crosby served as the assistant rector of St. Paul's until 1918. In addition to serving as the chaplain to Army nurses, he was also the chaplain for the Guild of St. Barnabas for Nurses, a social and religious society founded in 1886, as an offshoot of the Anglican (Church of England) organization of the same name. Dr. Crosby can also be seen in this photo of nurses receiving French language instruction. 

Built in 1766, St. Paul's Chapel is the oldest surviving church in Manhattan. Miraculously spared from damage during the 9/11 attacks, the chapel served as a community gathering place, Red Cross center, and refuge. It continues to serve as a beacon for visitors to New York to this day, but its role during World War I as a haven for nurses en route to France is just one of the ways this historic site has witnessed history.

Photo Credit: Colin W  CC BY-SA 3.0