Agatha Christie: A very Elusive Woman 3 (Pages 61 - 72)

 

After the outbreak of the Great War, Agatha volunteered as a the Voluntary Air Detachment at the Red Cross. She worked in the hospital dispensary, where she gained extensive knowledge of poisons, which became a staple of her detective novels. 

The Town Hall in Torquay became a 50-bed auxiliary hospital. Staffed by volunteers, it provided roughly 50 beds initially, expanding to 156 by 1917. 

The women who along Agatha Christie volunteered in the Voluntary Aid Detachment were called Queer Women. The group was close-knit, and the friends created a magazine during their time at the Devon hospital. One of these women was Eileen Morris.