ACTIVITY 3 : Australian Women in WWI

ACTIVITY 3 : Australian Women in WWI

Nurses and Nursing Aides

Of the 3000 women who served as nurses or doctors during WW1 2139 enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) during WW1. They served in many different theaters of War.  The Australian Nurses worked along side the New Zealand Army Nursing Service and 259 enlisted with the British Army's Queen Alexandria's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS).

Another 790 Australian nurses and some women doctors joined private medical units in Europe and Britain. Those who joined the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit worked in dreadful conditions in Serbia. Those who served with the Red Cross or the American Red Cross saw equally terrible conditions working with the French Army (P. Reeves, 2008, The Other Anzacs).

The women served in locations,  Egypt, England, France, Gallipoli, Italy, Burma, Salonica and India.  Many worked in British hospitals or in British army nursing units, and later with Australian units, as well as hospital ships and in Australian hospitals for the wounded. Overseas, it was not practicable for Australian nurses to treat only Australians: they treated and nursed the wounded of many nations.

Voluntary Aid Detachment

Those women who volunteered as nurses and joined the Australian Imperial Forces had to be qualified nurses aged twenty-one and un-married. They had to purchase their own uniforms. Not only were they  poorly paid and they were not entitled to any service benefits on their return.

Nursing Aides known as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) were part of the Red Cross.  While some served overseas many performed formed a vital nursing services in hospitals and convalescent homes.

Ambulance Train.

Marion Leane Smith : Indigenous Nursing Sister.

There were many restrictions on Indigenous women gaining entry into Nursing.  Marion Smith served in the Canadian Army and in the QAIMNS. She was living in Canada for much of her early life and completed her nursing training in America. She was born in Liverpool, NSW, in 1891 and belonged to the  Cabrogal (Liverpool) clan of the Darug. 

 She worked in ambulance trains, ferrying wounded to hospital.

 

Military Medals and Service Medals.

Many of them were decorated, with eight receiving the Military Medal for bravery. Twenty-five died during their service.



The Red Cross also awarded medals to Nurses who had shown extraordinary courage. The Royal Red Cross Decoration was established by Queen Victoria. Florence Nightingale was the first to receive this prestigious award. Forty-four (44) Australian Army Nurses received the highly sort after award. Another 143 were awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross.

The award is made to a fully trained nurse of an officially recognised nursing service, military or civilian, without restriction to rank who have:
 'shown exceptional devotion or competency in performance of nursing duties with the Army in the field, or in Naval and Military or Air Force hospitals or in an Auxiliary War hospital over a continuous or long period or who has performed some exceptional act of bravery or devotion to the post of duty'.

Sister Pratt 

Military Medal : Sister R Pratt,

 Following a period in Britain, Sister Pratt was transferred to France in May 1917 and attached to No1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul.

At 3.40 am on the night of 3-4 July, Pratt was on duty attending to a patient when a bomb dropped and exploded close to the tent. Despite suffering serious penetrating shrapnel wounds in the right shoulder and lung she continued to attend to her patient. '[I] felt no pain immediately,' said Pratt later, 'but just the consciousness of having been hit by some terrific weight.' It was reported that 'throughout the whole proceeding she exhibited the utmost coolness and bravery, and by so doing was a conspicuous example to the patients and others, whose confidence was thereby absolutely maintained.'AWM.

 Nurses Under Fire

The AWM article "Wartime issue 50 - feature article: Nurses Under Fire"  gives a brief summary of the actions taken by the 8 recipients of the Military Medal.

Alice Ross King; Dorothy Cawood ;Mary Jane Derrer ; Clare Deacon; Rachel Pratt; Alicia Mary Kelly; Eileen King and Pearl Corkhill. 

  The Other ANZACS (video)

  

 The Red Cross 

The International Committee of the Red Cross was formed in 1862. The Australian Red Cross was formed in Melbourne at the beginning of 1914. In the beginning the Red Cross was concerned humanitarian needs for people regardless of race or religion. Red Cross volunteers raised millions of pounds (dollars) in funds and in relief parcels for soldiers and civilians.

In 1916 after the Battle for Verdun and the heavy losses to the French Army the NSW Red Cross offered its sister organisation the Criox-Rouge twenty Australian Nurses to assist France's medical and nursing capability. With more than 377,000 casualties and 162,000 men killed the French hospitals were near breaking point. Red Cross Nurses wore a different uniform.  With their dark blue shirts and jacket with pale blue piping and a dark blue hat they were quickly dubbed "the Bluebirds".
Some of the Bluebirds were ex AANS nurses who had married. Their career with the Army over, the Red Cross offered the women an opportunity to continue Nursing.

 While similar organisations such as the Salvation Army and local Comfort Groups also raised money and sent relief packages to soldiers the Red Cross became the most efficient.

The Red Cross formed a Wounded and Missing Persons Information Bureau in each state, so relatives could write to find out what had happened to their missing soldiers.

The Red Cross also supported Prisoners of War sending them information and relief packages.

The Red Cross and other organisations were supported by thousands of volunteers.

 Research Activity 

The following Nurse's are named in the Australian World War 1 Nurses Honour Role, they all died while serving over seas.

1. BICKNELL, Louisa Annie 
• Read the correspondence between the Army and Sister Bicknell's next of kin (NOK). What were the family wanting from the Army?
2. BLAKE, Enid QAIMNS



Portrait of Matron Jean Miles Walker







• Investigate Sister Blake's death and find similar tragedies that claimed the lives of other Nurses. 
3. MILES-WALKER Jean, Matron

•  What was a Matron? How was this different to the role of a Sister? Page 70 of Matron Miles-Walker's records describe her funeral. What does it say about the regard in which she was held?

    
Place your answers in your Folio

You will be assessed on

1. your spelling and grammar, 
2. your ability to find information and present that information clearly.
3. your ability to infer reasons based on primary sources.