Early years
Elizabeth was born in Carlton, Melbourne on 24th August, 1884. She trained as a nurse at Launceston General Hospital and worked at Royal South Sydney Hospital.
Military career
The First World War effort needed nurses so Elizabeth joined on 3rd August 1915. They posted her to the 2nd Australian General Hospital. By July 1916 her hospital was at Wimeroux near Calais in France. She also served in Egypt for a short time.
For the next 18 months she served either at this hospital or as a member of a Casualty Clearing Station.
Casualty Clearing Stations operated close to front lines and triaged the wounded. These units did whatever they could to treat soldiers until they reached hospital.
Elizabeth served for 5 years under these conditions. She appears in the records of dispatches several times.
For example, General Sir Douglas Haigh, noted on 7 November 1917 “her distinguished and gallant service and devotion to duty in the field for a continuous period of seven months”.
They mentioned her again from the 42nd Casualty Clearing Station in France.
Recognition
King George presented Elizabeth with the Royal Red Cross (RRC) for her service. The RRC was an award for women who showed 'exceptional devotion or competency in performance of nursing duties' in the field. Queen Victoria established this award in 1883.
Life after the war
The Army released Elizabeth from service in May 1919. She then nursed at the No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield Park England during the Spanish Flu pandemic.
On her return to Australia she worked as the Matron at Guildford Boys Grammar School in Perth.
Death
She returned to Melbourne after her retirement. She died of a heart attack at her home in Camberwell in 1945 at the age of 60.
Bibliography
Adapted from material supplied by historian Dr Jan Penney, GMCT Trust member 2010-2020 and by the Friends of Coburg Cemetery Inc.
Australian Women’s Register (n.d.) Australian Women and Imperial Honours 1901-1989 [website]
De Vries S (2013) Australian Heroines of World War One, Pirgos Press
Rees P (2008) The Other Anzacs: Nurses at War 1914-1918, Allen & Unwin
Schultz B (1991) A Tapestry of Service: The Evolution of Nursing in Australia, Harcourt Publishers
