‘Taking the Long Journey’ Australian women who served with allied countries and paramilitary organisations during World War One Selena Estelle Williams January 2016 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University This thesis contains no material which has previously been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or institution and, to the best of my knowledge, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made. SIGNED DATE: ii Philip Maurice Turnedge 20 June 1935 - 7 March 2015 iii CONTENTS CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF IMAGES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xi ABSTRACT xiii INTRODUCTION 1 RESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN’S SERVICE AND EMPLOYMENT 4 THE ANZAC LEGEND AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 7 HISTORIOGRAPHY 10 THE RETURN HOME 18 DETERMINING THE NUMBERS 19 FICTION, NON-FICTION, TELEVISION AND INTERNET 22 METHODOLOGY 25 CHAPTER ONE 31 THE ORGANISATIONS AND SERVICES OF WAR 31 VOLUNTARY AID DETACHMENTS 37 FEMALE DOCTORS 46 NURSES AND NURSING SERVICES 53 MASSAGE AND MASSEURS 70 PARAMILITARY UNITS AND WOMEN’S SERVICES 72 ENQUIRY UNITS FOR PRISONERS OF WAR AND MISSING PERSONNEL 76 CONCLUSION 83 CHAPTER TWO 85 TRAVELLING THE ROAD TO WAR 85 THE NOTION OF THE ‘AUSTRALIAN GIRL’ 89 MUSIC AND THEATRE: WOMEN ENTERTAINERS – A BOOST TO MORALE 103 ARTISTS IN WAR 112 WRITERS IN WAR 122 GENDER, WAR AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 127 CONCLUSION 130 CHAPTER THREE 132 THE MEDICAL SERVICES IN WAR - DIVERSE LOCATIONS, ENVIRONMENTS AND PROFICIENCY 132 THE ALLIED NURSING SERVICES: KINSHIP, CO-OPERATION AND STATUS 134 THE CHALLENGES OF MILITARY NURSING 143 USING MASSAGE FOR HEALING 151 MEDICAL ADMINISTRATORS 156 THE PROFESSIONALISM OF FEMALE DOCTORS IN WAR 159 ENDELL STREET: A HOSPITAL RUN BY WOMEN 174 iv THE VALUE AND PROFICIENCY OF VOLUNTARY AID DETACHMENTS 180 CONCLUSION 185 CHAPTER FOUR 187 PARA-MILITARY SERVICE, MUNITIONS WORKERS, VOLUNTARY WORK AND HUMANITARIAN CARE 187 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN WITH THE BRITISH ARMY 189 THE CALL TO WAR 192 WORKING IN MUNITIONS 207 WORKERS’ HEALTH AND WELFARE 213 MAKING HOME CLOSER: BUFFETS, CANTEENS AND COMFORT STATIONS 216 PRISONERS, WOUNDED AND MISSING SOLDIERS 227 A VARIETY OF WAR SERVICE: THE WAR OFFICE AND THE BANK 234 CONCLUSION 239 CHAPTER FIVE 241 THE TRAUMA AND DANGER OF WAR 241 DANGEROUS WORK - NURSING IN A CASUALTY CLEARING STATION 242 DUTY, DEATH AND HONOUR 248 TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT 259 BACKGROUND TO THE WAR IN SERBIA 262 INTERNMENT 270 DANGERS AT SEA: MINES AND TORPEDOES 273 THE WAR AGAINST HOSPITAL SHIPS 277 CONCLUSION 290 CHAPTER SIX 291 THE JOURNEY HOME AND THE AFTERMATH OF WAR 291 WAITING TO RETURN HOME 294 MOURNING, LOSS AND GRIEF 297 THE MENTAL TRAUMA CAUSED BY WAR 303 DEBILITATING PHYSICAL HEALTH 309 WAR PENSIONS, GRATUITIES AND REPATRIATION BENEFITS 314 THE NEED FOR A SUITABLE STANDARD OF LIVING 319 RETURN AND RECOVERY 325 CIVILIAN AND NON-MEDICAL WOMEN 327 HOMECOMING FOR FEMALE DOCTORS 330 AWARDS AND DECORATIONS 336 WHAT CHANGES DID THE WAR BRING ABOUT FOR WOMEN? 339 CONCLUSION 340 CONCLUSION 343 BIBLIOGRAPHY 356 PRIMARY SOURCES 356 SECONDARY SOURCES 368 v LIST OF TABLES Australian VADS who left on the Osterley 42 Allied Medical Services and Corps 137 Female Doctors 161 Munitions workers, supervisors, health & welfare Inspectors 209 Australian women who died serving with an allied nation 250 Hospital ships attacked by the German navy 277 Nurses who died on the Glenart Castle 282 Nurses treated for different levels of mental debility 306 Australian Women who served outside Australia in Voluntary Aid Detachments 389 Independent, Bureau, Munitions, Comfort Workers, Merchant Navy 398 Nurses and Masseurs with Allied Services 404 Paramilitary Workers 405 Australian Nurses with Allied Nations 407 vi LIST OF IMAGES World War One Land Army Recruitment Poster 36 BRCS Certificate - Mary Beatrice Crowle 43 First Aid Qualifications - Mary Beatrice Crowle 44 Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Recruitment Poster 73 Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau - London 1916 78 Passport photograph - Douska Kahan 91 Foreign Service Certificate - Douska Kahan 92 Roslyn Newel Rutherford 1918 and in Uniform SHHFS 99 Vida Lahey and her brothers 102 The Anzac Buffet (1) 105 The Anzac Buffet (2) 107 ‘Anzac Medal’: In Eternal Remembrance 1914-1918 115 Troops arrive at Anzac Camp Étaples, June 1916 119 Sentries at Prisoner’s Tent Étaples, Spring 1915 119 A night at Gifford House c1915 120 Quex Park Territorial Red Cross Hospital in Kent 1914-1918 125 Scheme of Medical Evacuation 134 British soldiers waiting to enter the tented casualty clearing station 146 Francis Agnes Bennett 148 Beaufort War Hospital, Autograph book 153 Dr Elsie Dalyell 163 Dr Eleanor Bourne: Department of Public Instruction on tour QLD 1911 164 Dr Lilian Violet Cooper and Mary Bedford 173 Vera Scantlebury Brown 178 Ex-Prisoners of War and London Staff of the Prisoner of War Bureau 228 Memorial plaque Louise Riggall 249 The funeral of members of Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps 256 Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps marching in the funeral procession 256 Twin summits of Kaimaktsalan 265 Third Serbian Relief Fund Unit 269 Map of route take by the German Raider Wolf 275 vii Alice Cashin 279 Glenart Castle 281 Rejoicing and Remembrance Armistice Day 1918 326 Wedding of Frank Colin Craig and Nancy Birdwood 328 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Almeric Paget Military Massage Corps APMMC American Red Cross ARC Army Medical Services Museum Archives Aldershot AMSMA Australian Army Medical Corps AAMC Australian Army Nursing Service AANS Australian Army Nursing Service Reserve AANSR Australian Comforts Fund ACF Australian Imperial Force AIF Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force AN&MEF Australian Red Cross Society ARCS Australian Voluntary Hospital AVH Australian War Memorial AWM British Expeditionary Force BEF British Red Cross Society BRCS Cameroon Expeditionary Force CEF Canadian Army Nursing Corps CANC Casualty Clearing Station CCS Edith Cavell Trust Fund ECTF First Aid Nursing Yeomanry FANY French Flag Nursing Corps FFNC French Red Cross FRC Imperial War Museum IWM John Oxley Library Brisbane JOL National Archives of Australia NAA National Archives of the United Kingdom NAUK National Library of Australia NLA New Zealand Army Nursing Service NZANS New Zealand Medical Corps NZMC New Zealand Medical Corps Nursing Reserve NZMCNR New Zealand Medical Services NZMS Public Record Office of Victoria PROVIC Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service QAIMNS Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve QAIMNSR Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps QARANS Royal Army Medical Corps RAMC Scottish Hospitals for Home and Foreign Service SHHFS South African Military Nursing Service SAMNS State and Mitchell Library of New South Wales SMLNSW State Library of South Australia SLSA State Library of Victoria SLV State Library of Western Australia SLWA Territorial Force Nursing Service TFNS Voluntary Aid Detachments VADs Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps WAAC Women’s National Land Service Corps WNLSC ix Women’s Royal Air Force WRAF Women’s Royal Naval Service WRNS Women’s Social and Political Union WSPU Women’s Volunteer Reserve WVR Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA Young Women’s Christian Association YWCA x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The assistance of many people has been vital to this thesis and I owe them a special debt. Dr Kirsty Harris from the University of Melbourne has provided guidance on many civilian and military nursing protocols. This has been fundamental to my understanding of Australian military nursing during World War One. That someone could be so generous with their knowledge is a gift to a writer of history. I would also like to thank Sherayle McNab for her help compiling a list of Australians who served with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service (NZANS) and Cynthia Toman from the University of Ottawa who provided the names of Australian nurses who served with Canada. A special thanks also to Dr Judith Godden who informed me that her relative Ruth Murray-Prior had been a member of a Voluntary Aid Detachment during the war. I would also like to thank Dr Amanda Andrews for providing a Nominal Roll of sisters and nurses who served with the Australian Voluntary Hospital. Heather Ford (aka Frev) has always been extremely generous providing information and newspaper reports about nurses during the war. Heather Sheard from the University of Melbourne also, very kindly assisted with compiling a list of Australian female doctors who served outside their own country during the war. I have been extremely fortunate to have as my supervisor Professor Angela Woollacott who has been with me throughout this journey, personally and professionally. The support given to me by Angela and her husband Carroll Pursell has extended far beyond the duties of a PhD supervisor. Dr Carolyn Strange and Professor Joan Beaumont have provided comprehensive direction in relation to gender and World War One respectively. To have such expertise and knowledge in support of my research and thesis has been invaluable and I thank you both. Throughout Australia and the United Kingdom, librarians, archivists and research staff have provided assistance locating sometimes obscure documentation relating to Australian women who served outside their own country during World War One. Without the help of these professionals, this thesis would be greatly lessened. I would like to particularly thank Sara Cox former Archivist at the British Red Cross Society in London who made my visit there particularly enjoyable and rewarding. Lisl Bladin who replaced her was also extremely helpful. xi I would like to thank librarians at the Royal College of Physicians in Edinburgh and at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow who provided access to a wide range of archival documents. On my two visits to the Mitchell Library, the professionalism of staff and their wish to help me was outstanding.