Noteworthy NursesDuring the First World War, women did not have many opportunities to enlist. At the beginning of the war, women who wished to enlist were turned away and informed that “war was not a place for ladies.” In 1915, after much protesting by the fairer sex, the government eventually caved and allowed women to join the war effort (although females were still only allowed to enrol as nurses.) 2, 139 Australian nurses were sent overseas to join the war effort, 25 women losing their lives.
The “roses of no-man’s land*” slaved in appalling conditions, working in makeshift hospitals, set up in trenches*, while bombs exploded and bullets whizzed past their heads. Life was not made easy for the nurses of World War One as the nation failed to provide them with food or shelter; the necessary means for living. |
Nurses were some of the hardest workers during the war and some of the least appreciated. In fact, at the beginning of the war, the Director of Medical Services was quoted saying “the female nurse (as a substitute for the fully trained male nursing orderly) does little toward the actual saving of life in war... although she might promote a more rapid and complete recovery.” By the end of the war this had been proven extremely untrue and this was made evident by the 388 nurses that received military honours.
|
"I've been a soldier now for nearly three years, and please God I will go right to the end ... if anything happened, and I too passed out, well, there would be no finer way, and no way in which I would be happier, than to lay down one's life for the men who have given everything." -Sister Narelle Hobbs, Australian Forces, Gallipoli |
Courageous Cavell
A shining example of just one of these determined nurses is Edith Cavell, a British nurse who performed great feats during world war I. Edith is revered for providing help to men of all nationalities and assisting over 200 men in escaping from German concentration camps. She is renowned for providing the wounded soldiers with fake identification which assisted them in reaching the Dutch frontier undetected.
Edith was able to perform so many escapes because she was working with people on the inside. The risk factor in this proved too high and by August 1915 Edith had been betrayed by one of her German collaborators. She was charged with treason and admitted to harbouring over 175 men in her quest to help them escape.
There was international pressure on Germany to show Cavell mercy, as she had done so much for both sides however, the German military refused and Edith, having acted directly against their law, was executed on October 12, 1915 by a 16-man firing squad.
Edith Cavell will forever be remembered as one of the bravest and most selfless individuals to serve in World War One, and is part of a group of invaluable women who served as nurses in the war.
Edith was able to perform so many escapes because she was working with people on the inside. The risk factor in this proved too high and by August 1915 Edith had been betrayed by one of her German collaborators. She was charged with treason and admitted to harbouring over 175 men in her quest to help them escape.
There was international pressure on Germany to show Cavell mercy, as she had done so much for both sides however, the German military refused and Edith, having acted directly against their law, was executed on October 12, 1915 by a 16-man firing squad.
Edith Cavell will forever be remembered as one of the bravest and most selfless individuals to serve in World War One, and is part of a group of invaluable women who served as nurses in the war.
*Definition in glossary © 2013 Sarah Jennison