Letter from Anne Dike to Dr. Hazel Bonness

The armistice that ended the war in Western Europe on November 11, 1918, did not change conditions in the areas devastated by the war. The doctors of AWH believed that the end of war did not mean the end of their services. People who had experienced the deprivations and devastation of war continued to suffer from its effects long after the fighting had ended. In June of 1919, the hospital was moved to Blérancourt, a town about 75 miles north of Luzancy, as French doctors returned to Luzancy and its surrounding areas and living conditions improved greatly. As in Dr. Hurrell did in Luzancy, the new AWH director, Dr. Bonness, faced difficulties when the doctors at Blérancourt began returning. The AWH doctors had to negotiate with the French doctors, assuring them that they would see patients only with the approval of the mayor or the French doctors. These negotiations were made easier with the help of the American Committee for Devastated France. The American Committee for Devastated France was founded by Anne Morgan and Anne Dike in 1919. The organization sent nearly 350 volunteers to aid the population of war-torn France, and supported the work of the American Women’s Hospitals. The Committee employed French doctors, paying them well if they would cooperate with the doctors of AWH.

Although the returning French doctors did not seem happy about the presence of the AWH, the villagers and mayors realized that the post-war conditions of disease, poor food supply and shelter, combined with the upcoming winter, meant that the French doctors would be in need of assistance themselves. The American Committee for Devastated France asks for the AWH to remain throughout the winter and promises to aid them in working with the newly-returned French doctors.