Patient Experience and the Treatment of Venereal Disease in Toronto’s Military Base Hospital during the First World War

During the First World War, the Canadian Espeditionary Force (cef) was infamous for having the highest rates of venereal infection among the Allies. Soldiers could be inspected at random, questioned about the source of their infection, and held in quarantine in hospital until cured. While medical officers published research on the prevalence and treatment of venereal disease, little has been written on the experiences of patients. This paper examines the experiences of venereal patients in Toronto’s Military Base Hospital in 1916. Soldiers’ correspondences reveal their perspectives, along with the ways in which the military’s management of venereal disease was laden with the prevailing beliefs concerning sexually transmitted infections