IODE Canada
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The Great War  1914 - 1918

When Britain went to war on 04 August 1914, all colonies and dominions of the British Empire, including Canada and Newfoundland, were automatically at war. In August 2014 the world marked the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The war touched almost everyone’s life in some way or another. Women became directly involved, picking up the pieces of industry and agriculture as the men went off to fight. 

In Canada, over 30,000 women worked in munitions factories, more than 5,000 were employed in the civil service, thousands more worked in banks, offices, factories and on farms, while over 1,000 women were employed by the Royal Air Force (motor transport work, mechanicalwork and as ambulance drivers). In homes, women sewed and knitted items like pillows, sheets, flannel shirts, socks, balaclavas and scarves to be sent overseas.


Many women joined IODE during the war to find support and friendship while their male relatives were overseas. They found the strength and skills to raise money, fund projects and make a difference. 

IODE chapters donated ambulances, wheel chairs, stretchers and machine guns; established field kitchens and clubs for returned, disabled soldiers; and established centres in Canada for making hospital supplies and field comforts. Exclusive of the value of material used for comforts, a total sum of approximately $5,500,000 was raised and expended by chapters during 1914-1918. That sum of money would be significant today, but it was an extraordinary contribution for a charitable organization in 1914.

The war ended at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918. Canada's total casualties were 67,000 killed and 173,000 wounded, out of an expeditionary force of 620,000 people mobilized. 

After the war, funds were raised by IODE members for a lasting memorial to those men who had sacrificed their lives – the War Memorial Scholarships. Initially created to assist the children of soldiers in their educational endeavours, this fund endures and now allows any Canadian to apply for graduate student funding through the IODE War Memorial Scholarships.

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Picture1916 picture of "motor ambulance" on active service, contributed by IODE Manitoba.

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Contact IODE
  • Welcome
    • From the desk of the National President Jane Cushing 2022 >
      • From the desk of the National President Carol McCall 2019-2022
    • 122nd National Annual Meeting
    • Express News & Press Releases
  • Education
    • IODE War Memorial Scholarship Application >
      • 2022 IODE War Memorial Scholarship Award Recipients
      • IODE War Memorial Scholarship - Past Recipients
    • IODE Violet Downey Book Award Recipients >
      • 2022 Violet Downey - Short List
    • IODE 100th Anniversary Grant Program >
      • ​Past Award Winning Programs
    • IODE Labrador Bursary Application >
      • IODE Labrador Recipients
    • IODE Ursula E. Bangs Awards in Cardiology Recipients
    • IODE Silence to Sound Award McGill University Recipients
    • IODE Montreal Children's Hospital Bursary for Nursing Recipients
    • IODE Joan Butler Award in Perinatal Intensive Care Nursing Recipients
    • IODE Wilhelmina Gordon Foundation Scholarship Queen's University Recipients
    • IODE National Theatre School of Canada Recipients
    • IODE Canada's National Ballet Award Recipients
  • Community Service
    • IODE Snack Pack Program
    • IODE Snack Pack Shop to Give Campaign >
      • IODE Shop to Give Instructions
    • IODE Canadian Disaster Fund
  • Citizenship
    • 2022 IODE RCMP Community Service Award
    • Supporting Canada's Armed Forces
  • Membership
    • Who is IODE
    • ​Alumni Chapter and E-Chapter
    • Become a Member
    • Badge of Membership
    • ECHOES >
      • ECHOES Submission Form
      • ECHOES 2022
      • ECHOES 2021
      • ECHOES 2020
      • ECHOES 2019
      • ECHOES 2018
      • ECHOES 2017
      • ECHOES 2016
      • ECHOES 2015
      • ECHOES 2014
      • ECHOES 2013
      • ECHOES 2012
      • ECHOES 2011
      • ECHOES 2009 & 2010
      • ECHOES 2007 & 2008
    • IODE Member Resources
    • IODE Express News - Subscribe Now
  • Contact Us
    • National Chapter in Session
    • IODE Chapter Directory
    • IODE in Yukon
    • IODE in British Columbia >
      • IODE British Columbia Arts Award
    • IODE in Alberta >
      • IODE Alberta Coronation Bursaries
      • IODE Alberta Master's Bursary
    • IODE in Saskatchewan
    • IODE in Manitoba
    • IODE in Ontario
    • IODE in Quebec
    • IODE in New Brunswick
    • IODE in Nova Scotia
    • IODE in Prince Edward Island
  • About Our Work
    • National Presidents
    • Support IODE
    • Together for Tomorrow
    • Our Contribution to Canada and the World