Katharine McLennan (1892 – December 8, 1975) was a Canadian who served her community through volunteerism during World War I, in supporting the reconstruction of the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, and in aiding community organizations. Early life and upbringing Katharine's father, John Stewart "J.S." McLennan (1853-1939), was a Montreal-born industrialist, historian and publisher who first came to Cape Breton Island to manage the early coal and steel industries of the area. He married artist Louise Ruggles Bradley of Chicago in 1881, and together they welcomed five children into the world - Frances, Isabel, Hugh, Margaret, and Katharine. By 1898, J.S. moved the young McLennan family to Sydney, Nova Scotia, permanently. They lived in several residences during these early Cape Breton years, including Havenside in Louisbourg and Brookdale in South Bar, but none as grand as Petersfield, their Westmount estate, built in 1902. The McLennans enjoyed many happy years at Petersfield, entertaining visiting dignitaries and famous guests, as well as beloved friends and relatives. During this time, Katharine was educated by private tutors and through travel. She studied art in Paris with Percyval Tudor-Hart and spent time researching the Fortress of Louisbourg with her father, who would later write the seminal text, Louisbourg From Its Foundation to Its Fall. The family suffered a terrible loss when Louise was stricken with appendicitis and died at the age of 51 on February 27, 1912 leaving Katharine, the family's only unmarried daughter, with the responsibility of becoming the lady of the house. World War I Shortly after her brother was killed in battle near Ypres, Katharine McLennan decided she wanted to join other young women overseas as a nurse's aide in the military hospitals. Her father, however, would not hear of his youngest daughter tending to sick and dying soldiers. Frustrated by his refusal, Katharine enlisted the help of her sisters to convince him to let her go to France with the Red Cross Society, the Secours aux Blessés Militaries. J.S. eventually relented and she headed overseas in the spring of 1916. Katharine's first commission was in Hospital de l'Alliance in Yvetot from May 10 to December 28, 1916. This was followed by Hospital Auxiliaire No.109 in Pont-Audemer from January 18 to September 18, 1917. From there it was on to Vasseny at a hospital referred to only as HOE 18; she was there from October 13, 1917 to February 28, 1918.