What nursing organisations where formed in World War One and where were these women sent?
During the years of 1914 to 1918 many Australian women were also sent to war. However not to fight but to serve as medical purposes. As written in the Australian War Memorial 2,139 nurses joined the Australian Army Nursing Services, and 130 joined the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service. Then around 423 nurses worked in hospitals within Australia. (Orange city council, 2014). The Australian Army Nursing Service Reserve was founded earlier on the 1st of July 1902 by the Australian Army Medical Corps. It was established for nurses that were prepared to work in Field Hospitals (Mobile military hospital close to fighting zones) in times of war.
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These locations were in: Egypt; India; Mesopotamia; Lemnos; Palestine; Germany; England; Turkey; Italy; France; Greece; Salonika and Belgium. (Orange city council, 2014). By the end of 1914 around 300 of the Australian Army Nursing Service members had arrived in Egypt. On the way the nurses assisted with vaccinations and training males to care for other patients. Upon arriving in Egypt the nurses where sent to either the 1st or 2nd Australian General Hospitals located in Cairo at the Grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel or at Mena House in Giza. (Australian War Memorial, …show more content…
He said that hot drinks and warm blankets were delivered to the battlefield by nurses. And that they saved more lives than doctors and drugs. (Orange city council, 2014)
However what motivated these nurses to join the war ranged from craving adventure to some wanting to broaden their knowledge and also from feeling patriotism for their nation to some just seeking independence. (Orange city council, 2014). However some also had hopes that they would be closer to loved ones fighting. (Australian War Memorial, 2016)
Australian nurses worked nonstop to: aid soldiers in shock; help in preventing dehydration alongside blood loss; limit the chances of infection and disease; help with depression, self-struggle and other mental illnesses. All while working in dehumanising conditions. (Orange city council (2014). Also considering that Military Nurses were also paid poorly as their wages were lower than the wages of a normal residential job. (Orange city council (2014)
In Salonica, Greece. Australian nurses worked mainly in tent hospitals, while most of the people they treated suffered from malaria, dysentery and black water fever. These nurses also worked through hot, mosquito- ridden summers and the freezing cold