Anna

Anna was born in the Belgian city of Leper (more commonly known by its French name “Ypres”) on December 26, 1891, into an aristocratic family. Her father, Paul, was a highly respected pioneer in engineering who sent her to Paris in the spring of 1914 to complete her studies.

When war broke out the following summer, Anna quit school to help the war effort by working in a munitions factory, but left Paris immediately after discovering that her father had been forced into service by the German army after the occupation of Ypres.

Selfless and ready to shun her life of entitlement to help serve the less fortunate, Anna left Paris on September 6, 1914, during a famous moment in WW1 history: the Battle of the Marne as a field medic.