Monica M. Stanley (fl. 1915) was a hospital head cook who served with the Stobart Field Hospital in Serbia during World War I.
In May 1915, Stanley took a three-month leave from her job, which was later extended to six months in view of her important work, to travel with the WomenâÂÂs Imperial Service League to establish a field hospital at Kragujevac. The hospital was established by Mabel Stobart and overseen by Kate King-May. Stanley was in charge of provisioning and overseeing the kitchen.
In the summer of 1915, Stanley contracted typhus and was treated at the Berry Unit in Kragujevac, then the British Fever Hospital in Belgrade. She transferred from running the kitchen to handling the field hospitalâÂÂs accounts. After being evacuated during a shelling attack in August, she returned to England in October.
Stanley published an account of the time, My Diary in Serbia, which is useful for study of the field hospital and the experience of women volunteers in the Balkan front, including the chaplain's wife, writer Mable Dearmer, who died of typhoid during her time there. Stanley's position as head cook and provisioner means her diary also gives a glimpse into Serbian food practices at the time.