Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Preferred Citation:

Lina Nancy Potter WWII Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.

Acquisition Information:

Purchase

Processing Information:

Processed by Zachary R. Jones in 2007.

Biographical Information:

Lina Nancy Potter (1901-1975) of Narragansett, Rhode Island, enlisted in the United States Armed Forces in 1942 and served as a 2nd Lt. A.N.C. nurse in a military hospital in India from 1943-1945. Further information about this individual or organization may be available in the Special Collections Research Center Wiki: .

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, photographs, and military papers concerning the World War II service of 2nd Lt. A.N.C. Lina Nancy Potter (1901-1975) of Narragansett, Rhode Island. Potter enlisted in the United States Armed Forces in 1942 and served as a nurse in a military hospital in India from 1943-1945. This collection consists of 23 letters of her outgoing wartime correspondence to family (her Aunt Harriet E. Weaver and Uncle Charles Weaver of Rhode Island) in the United States, her military papers, and three wartime photographs of Potter and her fellow nurses. Potter's correspondence is of special interest because Potter was allowed to censor her own letters (perhaps because she was an officer) before they were sent to the United States. Thus, Potter's correspondence contains a log of wartime conditions at a hospital near Burma, India. Her letters discuss poor food and housing conditions, status of her work in India, the war in India and China, and aspects relative to women's history during the Second World War.

Arrangement of Materials:

Collection has been arranged into three series: Series I: Correspondence, Series II: Military Papers, and Series III: Photographs. Correspondence has been arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Certificates
• Correspondence
• India--History--20th century
• Medicine, Military--India.
• Photographs
• United States--Women--History
• World War, 1939-1945
• World War, 1939-1945--Medical and sanitary affairs.
• World War, 1939-1945--Pacific Area