Topic: BW - Vic - AAMC
VAMC
Victorian Army Medical Corps
Nurses Contingent Outline
Nursing Sisters Departing.
[Rear - Sister Langlands; centre - Sister Ivey, Sister Walker, Sister Rawson, and Sister Bernard Smith; and front - Sister Dorothy Smith, and Sister Thompson. From The Australasian, 17 March 1900, p. 588.]
In 1911, Lieutenant-Colonel P. L. Murray, produced a marvellous Boer War reference detailing all the contingents sent from Australia to South Africa, giving a brief history of the formation and finally, listing all the soldiers who saw service in South Africa with that unit. The book was called, Official Records of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa. It is now the standard reference and starting place for any person interested in pursuing information about Australian involvement in the Boer War.
Murray, P. L., Official Records of the Australian Military Contingents to the War in South Africa, p. 241.
Nursing Sisters
The following nursing sisters proceeded to South Africa with this Contingent, for service under the Imperial Government, in terms of the cablegram from the High Commissioner of the Cape, dated 3rd February, 1900.
Rawson, Marianne (in charge).
Tiddy, Diana.
Smith, Ethel Mary Bernhard.
Langlands, Eleanor Augusta Victoria.
Smith, Dorothy F.
Hines, Frances Emma.
Anderson, Julia B.
Walter, Ellen.
Thomson, Annie Eliza Helen.
Ivey, Isabel.
These ladies were all single. They did excellent work in the hospitals, developing the best qualities of professional nurses. Sister Hines died in South Africa. Sister Rawson was awarded the Royal Red Cross. Sister Ivey was mentioned in Commander-in-Chief s despatches, 26th June, 1902. In both cases, despatches, London Gazette, 29th July, 1902.
Departure
The Contingent left on 10th March, 1900.
Further Reading:
Victorian Army Medical Corps, Nurses Contingent, Roll of Honour
Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920
Citation: Victorian Army Medical Corps, Nurses Contingent
