By Aaron Cordy
WHEN Australia called its young men to arms in August 1914, the wave of patriotism that swept our young nation to support Britain in the Great War was not only answered by the men, but thousands of young women joined the ranks as army nurses.
The story of the vital role Australian nurses played in WW1 and WW2 is largely unheralded, and the deserved recognition of those brave women has been absent for far too long.
Part of that injustice was rectified last Tuesday, November 11, at the Shepparton Remembrance Day Ceremony, when a plaque was unveiled to honour 30 women from the Goulburn Valley who served on battlefields in Europe during the Great War.
Local Bernie Squires was looking into his family history when he came across the name of a lady who was not related to his mother but shared the same surname, who served in WWI, and was shocked that no one knew anything about her. So, his search began.
After some research, Bernie learnt that little is known about Australian Army Nurses and where they come from. The records show where the nurses were trained and not where they were born. Some women who were born and raised in the region have never been recognised locally because they trained in Melbourne and Bendigo. So, Bernie began to research where these women were born.
It is thanks to Bernie that these 30 brave women have now been recognised with a plaque at the Shepparton War Memorial. Not only them, but he has also had four women from Kyabram recognised by its RSL branch with a plaque and will continue researching to have more women honoured.
Retired Colonel Jan McCarthy, who served in Vietnam, spoke of the courage and sacrifice of the WW1 nurses.
“They were a magnificent group of nurses; two and a half thousand to 3,000 nurses left the shores of Australia. They went overseas. Some of them even went to England to join up, because they couldn’t join up here. And wherever the boys were, they were,” said Colonel McCarthy.
“Their whole role was to care for the boys, no matter what. And they worked in horrendous conditions, as did the boys with their service, but they were there.”
