she rocked a gas mask like a boss!!!
The Rhode Island Historical Society’s latest display at the Arcade building in Providence showcases the Gertrude Bray and her service during World War I.
Gertrude Cottrell Bray (1888-1975) was the daughter of Ferdinand and Mary T. (Cottrell) of Pawtucket, R.I. and was a graduate of Pawtucket High School and Wheaton College (1909). Prior to her deployment to France, Bray worked from approximately 1909-1917 as a clerk for William H. Haskell Mfg. Co. , a nut and bolt manufacturer located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. On January 26th, 1918, Bray began her service as a militarized member of the Armed Services YMCA of the American Expeditionary Force in France and Germany. As a canteen worker, Bray was attached to the 167th Regiment of the famous 42nd Infantry “Rainbow” Division under Colonel Douglas MacArthur. She spent over a year in the front lines during World War One as a volunteer in the American Red Cross and for the Y.M.C.A. After the war, she worked as a psychiatric investigator for the Veterans Administration.
Former RIHS Staff members have shared some awesome stories of Ms. Bray in the past…
James Damico:
https://rihs.wordpress.com/2012/04/18/hot-doughnuts-and-the-front-rhode-island-and-the-first-world-war/
Kirsten Hammerstrom:
https://rihs.wordpress.com/2011/03/15/somewhere-in-france%e2%80%a6part-1/
https://rihs.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/somewhere-in-france%e2%80%a6part-2/
MSS 144 Gertrude Bray Papers:
http://rihs.minisisinc.com/rihs/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/RIHS_M2A/LINK/SISN+1046?SESSIONSEARCH
–Jennifer L. Galpern, Special Collections Research Associate
