The City of Kragujevac and the Red Cross marked the 105 anniversary of Dr Elisabeth Ross’ death. The first doctor of the foreign medical missions, who cured casualties and typhus patients, died on February 14, 1915, at the hospital in Kragujevac.
On that occasion a reception attended by the British Ambassador H.E.Mrs. Sian MacLeod, the Australian Ambassador H.E.Mrs. Ruth Stewart, representative of the Canadian Embassy Ms. Peggy Steele, the State Secretary of the Serbian Ministry of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Svetozar Aleksov, representatives of the Ministry of Defense, International Committee of the Red Cross, the Red Cross of Serbia, and other institutions, was held at the City Hall of Kragujevac.
Dr Gordana Damnjanovic, the City Council Member for Health and Social Care, welcomed the guests on behalf of the City’s government.
It is with distinct piety, feelings of valor and love, but also as a pledge for the future, that Kragujevac is remembering our English women Dr Elisabeth Ross and other 20th century heroines, who reached out to the Serbian people giving their lives in defense of freedom and profession, said Dr Damnjanovic. For Kragujevac, professionals and everyone else fighting for freedom, dignity, humanity, and foremost for the future of our country and the entire planet, this day is an important one, she added noticing that the Serbian people were remembering their noble feats and striving to treat others with same goodness, affection and dedication.
The British Ambassador H.E.Mrs. Sian MacLeod expressed both her gratitude to the City of Kragujevac and its citizens for everything they did to preserve the memory of these great women, and her attention to discuss prospects of future cooperation considering that this was her first visit to Kragujevac.
Kragujevac is the city I regularly visit, nevertheless, every time I am moved by kindness and warmth not only of its officials but also its citizens, humanitarian organizations and young people, who remember and pay their respects to brave nurses and doctors from the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, said the Australian Ambassador H.E.Mrs. Ruth Stewart. She expressed her pleasure that such events build close and unbreakable connections that continue to develop.
The representative of the Canadian Embassy Peggy Steele stated that regretting the huge Serbian loses during the Great War, the courage of the Serbian people who joined forces in the fight against evil and everything that befall it had to be pointed out, too. Together with the Canadian volunteers and medical staff they did the most honorable thing – saving human lives, she said expressing her satisfaction that everyone present were dedicated to preserving the memory of every single person who lost their lives helping in that moment.
Serbia and the Board for cultivation of the liberating wars tradition pay their respects to everyone who gave their lives in the country and abroad throughout the whole year, thus, drawing its citizens’ attention to the values and ideals to be aspired to, said the State Secretary Svetozar Aleksov. Female doctors of the foreign missions who had come to Serbia to help our citizens at difficult times in 1915, did not lay down their lives for their homeland but for the greater ideal – for the mankind, that is why the state of Serbia is honoring them, Aleksov further remarked.
Remembering brave women who generously aided the Serbian people at the hardest times, the Red Cross put on display the photo exhibition about all these women from Australia, Canada and Great Britain, while at the City’s cemetery, where Dr Elisabeth Ross, Mable Dearmer and Lorna Ferris rest, a religious service was held and the wreaths were laid.
