Sergeant Flora Sandes

[Jim]

Sergeant Flora Sandes was a remarkable woman - especially for her time. She fought with the Serbian army and was wounded several times and was awarded the Cross of the Order of Kara George. If you have more info on Sergeant Flora Sands, please let us know.

[Jim]

Flora Sandes, the daughter of Samuel Sandes, a Scottish clergyman, was born in 1876. On the outbreak of the First World War, Sandes joined an ambulance unit in Serbia on the Eastern Front.

In November, 1915, the Serbian Army was unable to stop Austro-German and Bulgarian forces advancing deep into Serbia. Sandes joined the army when it retreated into Kosovo and by the end of November, the forces had reached the Albanian mountains.

Although nearly forty years old, in December 1916, was promoted to the rank of sergeant-major. In an effort to raise funds for the Serbian forces, Sandes wrote and published, An English Woman-Sergeant in the Serbian Army (1916).

After the war, Sandes remained in the Serbian Army and had reached the rank of major by the time she retired. In 1927 Sandes married the former White Army general, Yurie Yudenich. After her husband's death in September, 1941, Sandes returned to England. Flora Sandes died at her Suffolk home in 1956.

[Jim]

The Book, "An English Woman Sergeant In The Serbian Army" by Flora Sandes; with an introduction by Slavko Y. Grouitch, is available to members in the download category Ebooks of war44.com.