11/11/2025
https://www.facebook.com/share/1EwjfJWTH8/?mibextid=wwXIfr
This 11 November we remember the Australian nurses and VADs who gave their lives while on active service or as a result of their service.
(Service / date of death / cause or place of death. AANS = Australian Army Nursing Service, QAIMNSR = Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve, RAAFNS = Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service, VAD = Voluntary Aid Detachment)
• Lieutenant Margaret Adams (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Marguerite Atkinson (AANS / 13 Dec 1942 / Illness)
• Staff Nurse Blanche Atkinson ARRC (QAIMNSR / 9 Dec 1916 / Tuberculosis)
• Staff Nurse Elaine Balfour Ogilvy (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Vima Bates (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister Alma Beard (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Charlotte Berrie (QAIMNSR / 8 Jan 1919 / Pneumonia)
• Staff Nurse Louisa Bicknell (AANS / 25 Jun 1915 / Septic poisoning)
• Staff Nurse Edith Blake (QAIMNSR / 26 Feb 1918 / Lost at sea)
• Adele Brennan (VAD/Red Cross / 24 Nov 1918 / Influenza leading to sepsis)
• Sister Joyce Bridge (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Nell Calnan (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister Florence Casson (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Emily Clare (AANS / 17 Oct 1918 / Pneumonia following influenza)
• Sister Mary Clarke (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister Joan Connell (RAAFNS / 17 May 1942 / Pulmonary laryngeal tuberculosis)
• Staff Nurse Beryl Corfield (QAIMNSR / 2 Feb 1916 / Pneumonia following influenza)
• Captain Florence Cox (AANS / 30 Dec 1945 / Illness)
• Sister Marie Craig (RAAFNS / 18 Sept 1945 / Air crash)
• Sister Beth Cuthbertson (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Captain Winnie Davis (AANS / 19 Jul 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Sister Margaret De Mestre (AANS / 19 Feb 1942 / bombing of Manunda)
• Staff Nurse Ruby Dickinson (AANS / 23 Jun 1918 / Illness)
• Staff Nurse May Dickson (QAIMNSR / 4 Oct 1917 / Vascular disease of the heart and chronic nephritis)
• Lieutenant Doris Doidge (AANS / 26 Apr 1944 / Illness)
• Captain Ellen Donohue (AANS / 30 Nov 1946 / Breast cancer)
• Sister Millie Dorsch (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Matron Irene Drummond (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Annie Egan (AANS / 3 Dec 1918 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Sister Buddy Elmes (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Caroline Ennis (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister Marion Eunson (AANS / 8 Dec 1942 / Illness)
• Sister Lorna Fairweather (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Peggy Farmaner (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Nancy Finch (AANS / 15 Nov 1940 / Head injuries after fall from horse)
• Lieutenant Francesca Foulkes (AANS / 17 Jan 1946 / Disease)
• Sister Dot Freeman (AANS / 8 Aug 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Lieutenant Shirley Gardam (AANS / 4 Apr 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Staff Nurse Jean Gay (AANS / 13 Feb 1941 / Ruptured brain aneurism)
• Sister Hilary Glazebrook (QAIMNSR / 18 Nov 1941 / Car accident, fractured skull)
• Staff Nurse Pearl Goodman (AANS / 6 Mar 1919 / Tuberculosis)
• Lydia Grant (VAD/Red Cross / 1 Apr 1917 / Measles)
• Staff Nurse Dollie Gregory (AANS / 3 Sept 1923 / Illness following malaria)
• Sister Clarice Halligan (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Nancy Harris (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Lieutenant Cynthia Haultain (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Captain Blanche Hempsted (AANS / 19 Mar 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Staff Nurse May Hennessy (AANS / 9 Apr 1919 / Acute nephritis caused by malaria)
• Sister Narrelle Hobbes (QAIMNSR / 10 May 1918 / Liver cancer)
• Sister Minnie Hodgson (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Lieutenant Gladys Hughes (AANS / 31 May 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Sister F***y Hines (Imperial Service / 7 Aug 1900 / pneumonia/enteritis)
• Sister Margaret Jackson (AANS / 30 Sept 1942 / Illness)
• Major Anne Jewell (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sergeant Wendy Jones (Medical Assistant, RAAF / 2 Apr 2005 / crash of Sea King helicopter on Nias Island, Indonesia)
• Sister Nell Keats (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Jenny Kerr (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Eva King (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Kath Kinsella (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Staff Nurse Hilda Knox (AANS / 17 Feb 1917 / Meningitis)
• Sister Sheila Long (RAAFNS / 15 Jan 1946 / Illness)
• Sister Myrtle McDonald (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Joan McEwin (VAD / 22 Nov 1941 / Meningitis)
• Captain Mary McFarlane (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Ellie McGlade (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Elizabeth McGregor (Australian Voluntary Hospital / Red Cross / 5 Dec 1918 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Lieutenant Bernie McMahon (AANS / 3 Sept 1945 / Illness)
• Staff Nurse Elaine McPhail (AANS / 1 Sept 1941 / Car accident)
• Staff Nurse Irene McPhail (AANS / 4 Aug 1920 / Tuberculosis)
• Matron Jean Miles Walker RRC (AANS / 30 Oct 1918 / Pneumonia)
• Captain Pearl Mittelheuser (AANS / 18 Aug 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW – illness)
• Sister Edith Moorhouse (AANS / 24 Nov 1918 / Pneumonia)
• Staff Nurse Gladys Moreton (AANS / 11 Nov 1918 / Enteric (typhoid) fever)
• Sister Mary Morton (AANS / 16 Dec 1941 Car accident)
• Lieutenant Myrle Moston (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Norma Mowbray (AANS / 21 Jan 1916 / Pneumonia)
• Sister Gertrude Munro (AANS / 10 Oct 1918 / Pneumonia and malaria)
• Sister Kath Neuss (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Lily Nugent (AANS / 21 Feb 1918 / Tuberculosis)
• Lieutenant Alice O’Donnell (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Staff Nurse Amy O'Grady (AANS / 12 Aug 1916 / Cholera)
• Staff Nurse Rosa O'Kane (AANS / 21 Dec 1918 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Matron Dot Paschke (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister Katherine Porter ARRC (AANS / 16 Jul 1919 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Staff Nurse Kate Power (AANS / 13 Aug 1916 / Cholera)
• Lieutenant Nita Prideaux (AANS / 19 Oct 1943 / Illness)
• Lieutenant Mina Raymont (AANS / 8 Feb 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Staff Nurse Edith Reed (AANS / 3 Aug 1921 / Tuberculosis)
• Staff Nurse Doris Ridgway (AANS / 6 Jan 1919 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Louie Riggall (VAD/Red Cross / 31 Aug 1918 / Cerebral haemorrhage)
• Sister Gwen Robertson (RAAFNS / 7 May 1945 / Complications of myocarditis)
• Matron Gertrude Ronayne (AANS / 11 Jul 1945 / Illness)
• Sister Ursula Roper (Imperial Service / 6 Apr 1918 / Pneumonia)
• Staff Nurse Elizabeth Rothery (AANS / 15 Jun 1918 / Acute appendicitis)
• Flight Lieutenant Lynne Rowbottom (Nursing Officer, RAAF / 2 Apr 2005 / crash of Sea King helicopter on Nias Island, Indonesia)
• Sister Jean Russell (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Lieutenant Eileen Rutherford (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Florence Salmon (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Staff Nurse Nellie Saw (QAIMNSR / 31 Mar 1919 / Tuberculosis)
• Sister Marjorie Schuman (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Lieutenant Edna Shaw (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Sister Verdun Sheah (RAAFNS / 15 Nov 1945 / Air crash)
• Lieutenant Rene Singleton (AANS / 20 Feb 1945 / Vyner Brooke – POW illness)
• Lieutenant Lillian Smith (AANS / 17 Jun 1945 / Illness)
• Staff Nurse Mary Stafford (AANS / 19 Mar 1919 / Lymphatic leukaemia)
• Sister Winifred Starling (QAIMNSR / 10 Oct 1918 / Lost at sea)
• Staff Nurse Annie Steadman (AANS / 23 Mar 1923 / Heart failure)
• Lieutenant Frances Stevenson (AANS / 14 Mar 1944 / Illness)
• Lieutenant Heather Stevenson (AANS / 25 Nov 1945 / Illness)
• Sister Jean Stewart (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Mona Tait (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Cynthia Thiedeke (AANS / 27 Sept 1942 / Illness)
• Matron Gwladys Thomas (AANS / 1 Sept 1941 / Car accident)
• Staff Nurse Ada Thompson (AANS / 1 Jan 1919 / Pneumonic influenza)
• Sister Merle Trenerry (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Sister F***y Tyson (AANS / 20 Apr 1919 / Cerebral haemorrhage)
• Lieutenant Jenny Walker (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
• Staff Nurse Beatrice Watson (AANS / 2 Jun 1916 / Cerebral haemorrhage)
• Sister Joan Wight (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Blodwyn Williams (AANS / 24 May 1920 / Pneumonia leading to pleurisy)
• Sister Bessie Wilmott (AANS / 16 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – Bangka Island)
• Sister Myrtle Wilson (QAIMNSR / 23 Dec 1915 / Pneumonia)
• Sister Mona Wilton (AANS / 14 Feb 1942 / Vyner Brooke – lost at sea)
• Lieutenant Joyce Wyllie (AANS / 14 May 1943 / Centaur – lost at sea)
There are others.
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Notes on rank:
In February 1942 the rank of staff nurse was abolished in the AANS with effect from 1 December 1941. From that date, staff nurses became sisters group 2. After 12 months’ continuous and satisfactory service (including service as a staff nurse prior to 1 December 1941) they became sisters group 1. Here I have used 'sister' to mean either group 1 or group 2.
In October 1942 the grade of senior sister was introduced in the AANS.
On 23 March 1943 members of the AANS became commissioned officers. Sisters (groups 1 and 2) became lieutenants; senior sisters became captains; matrons became majors; principal matrons became lieutenant colonels; and the matron-in-chief became a colonel.
The nurse's final rank, therefore, depends on her date of death.
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PHOTO
Left to right, top row: Lieutenant Alice O’Donnell, Lieutenant Gladys Hughes, Staff Nurse May Dickson, Lieutenant Edna Shaw, Sister Nell Calnan, Lieutenant Joyce Wyllie, Sister Nancy Harris, Sister Joyce Bridge, Sister Nell Keats.
Second row: Sister Clarice Halligan, Adele Brennan, Staff Nurse Pearl Goodman, Sister Jean Stewart, Sister Kath Neuss, Sister Marjorie Schuman, Sister Millie Dorsch, Matron Irene Drummond, Lieutenant Rene Singleton.
Third row: Staff Nurse Beryl Corfield, Staff Nurse Hilda Knox, Sister Florence Salmon, Sister Hilary Glazebrook, Louie Riggall, Sister Kath Kinsella, Lieutenant Cynthia Haultain, Matron Gwladys Thomas, Sister Norma Mowbray.
Fourth row: Matron Gertrude Ronayne, Sister Lorna Fairweather, Sister Caroline Ennis, Sister Mona Tait, Captain Florence Cox, Sister Marie Craig, Staff Nurse Jean Gay, Sister Merle Trenerry, Sister Jenny Kerr.
Fifth row: Sister Edith Moorhouse, Staff Nurse Ruby Dickinson, Sister Beth Cuthbertson, Lieutenant Myrle Moston, Sister Gertrude Munro, Sister Jean Russell, Staff Nurse Mary Stafford, Captain Pearl Mittelheuser, Major Anne Jewell.
Sixth row: Lieutenant Shirley Gardam, Staff Nurse Annie Steadman, Sister Peggy Farmaner, Staff Nurse Nellie Saw, Sister Gwen Robertson, Sister Buddy Elmes, Captain Mary McFarlane, Sister F***y Tyson, Sister Myrtle McDonald.
Seventh row: Sister Ellie McGlade, Captain Winnie Davis, Sister Minnie Hodgson, Staff Nurse Irene McPhail, Staff Nurse Gladys Moreton, Lieutenant Eileen Rutherford, Staff Nurse Edith Blake, Staff Nurse Elizabeth McGregor, Staff Nurse Nancy Finch.
Eighth row: Sister Florence Casson, Sister Margaret de Mestre, Sister Katherine Porter ARRC, Sister Cynthia Thiedeke, Lieutenant Bernie McMahon, Staff Nurse Elaine McPhail, Lieutenant Lillian Smith, Lieutenant Heather Stevenson, Staff Nurse Annie Egan.
Ninth row: Staff Nurse Ada Thompson, Sister Bessie Wilmott, Sister Margaret Jackson, Captain Ellen Donohue, Lieutenant Jenny Walker, Staff Nurse Edith Reed, Staff Nurse Blanche Atkinson ARRC, Staff Nurse May Hennessy, Lieutenant Nita Prideaux.
Tenth row: Lieutenant Mina Raymont, Joan McEwin, Captain Blanche Hempsted, Sister F***y Hines, Sister Blodwyn Williams, Matron Jean Miles Walker RRC, Sister Vima Bates, Sister Mary Clarke, Lydia Grant.
Eleventh row: Sister Narrelle Hobbes, Staff Nurse Elaine Balfour Ogilvy, Sister Mary Morton, Sister Dot Freeman, Sister Joan Wight, Sister Eva King, Sister Verdun Sheah, Staff Nurse Rosa O'Kane, Staff Nurse Louisa Bicknell.
Bottom row: Staff Nurse Emily Clare, Staff Nurse Doris Ridgway, Matron Dot Paschke, Staff Nurse Beatrice Watson, Staff Nurse Kate Power, Sister Myrtle Wilson, Sister Mona Wilton, Staff Nurse Elizabeth Rothery, Sister Alma Beard.
Not pictured: Lieutenant Margaret Adams, Sister Marguerite Atkinson, Staff Nurse Charlotte Berrie, Sister Joan Connell, Lieutenant Doris Doidge, Sister Marion Eunson, Lieutenant Francesca Foulkes, Staff Nurse Dollie Gregory, Sergeant Wendy Jones, Sister Sheila Long, Staff Nurse Lily Nugent, Staff Nurse Amy O'Grady, Sister Ursula Roper, Flight Lieutenant Lynne Rowbottom, Sister Winifred Starling, Lieutenant Frances Amy Stevenson.
