At the 30th November meeting of the Rotary Club of Pinjarra, Jeffrey Peirce was introduced as our guest speaker by Richard Hordacre.
Jeff told the meeting that his after life as a bank officer (retirement) has turned into a passionate research project, writing about the forgotten heroes from the Great War (WW1), as a way to honour the memory of his grandfather. His research has led to a number of books. His first, a 92-page book - containing 14 individual stories - "of our men from the South West Towns of Western Australia in the Great War."
"Great War Stories 1914-1918 Gallipoli"  has been accepted as a reference book by the Australian War Memorial.
 
However, Jeff's talk this evening related to his new, soon to be published work, "Great War Stories 1914-1918 Nurses of the South West" which focuses on the extraordinary lives of our First World War Nurses who all have some connection to the South-West of Western Australia.
At a time when women (whose "worth" was not recognised as much as that of their male counterparts) were not expected to put themselves in potentially hazardous wartime situations, some 3000 women signed up to the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS).
Of these, more than 2500 Australian women served overseas during the war. These courageous and dedicated women worked in difficult and sometimes terrifying conditions. They cared for patients in military clinics and hospitals near battlefields and on ships and trains.
Australian War Memorial Records show that 2861 women in the AANS served overseas during World War I. Of those women, 25 died during their service. The nurses worked in many countries, including Belgium, Egypt, England, France, Greece and India:
  • at Australian and Allied hospitals near the action and behind the lines in England;
  • in casualty clearing stations close to the front line;
  • on board hospital ships and trains.

Nurses were essential in the complex triage created by British forces to transport and treat sick and wounded soldiers. Australian nurses also trained to work in veterans' hospitals back home in Australia. Many returned soldiers needed health care after the war.

The nurses were subjected to extraordinary restrictions that they had to meet in order to serve in the war – they had to pass medicals to prove their sound health; be capable of hard work; be unmarried or widowed; capable to serve in fatigue situations; whereas men simply had to be fit and able to serve.

Like most working women of the time, nurses had to be unmarried. They were mostly:

  • aged between 25 and 40;
  • educated;
  • qualified (at least 3 years of training);

In early 1916, the Australian Army gave officer rank to the AANS nurses along with badges of rank. Despite the equal rank, the Army paid the nurses around half what the male officers received. Nurses' wages were so low that they often received financial support from their families while they were away.

It took a while for Australian nurses to be allowed to be permitted to serve at the various war fronts, as the British military hierarchy was of the opinion that "women didn’t belong in war zones".

Once enlisted, the nurses faced very difficult conditions – They had to work 13hr shifts day and night (or longer) in heavy casualty conditions. They endured virtually no time off and rare (if any) breaks during shifts.
Sometimes they were sent to a rest station for a week – this was the most time they’d have off. This says nothing of the horrific injuries sustained by their patients, and to whose comfort and well being these dedicated nurses devoted themselves to providing. The nurses were dealing with a large range of injuries that were completely new to them, as they had never been exposed to anything like the war injuries during their previous work in Australia.

Jeff gave us brief introductions to the nursing careers of  Henrietta Eyre Mauncell Blake, Irene Kiernan, and Eulalie Margaret Hamersley; three extraordinarily courageous women who epitomised the definition of wartime nursing;

(One can read the details in Jeff's soon to be published book-"Great War Stories 1914-1918 Nurses of the South West")

Florence Nightingale is considered the mother of modern nursing. After observing men dying in military hospitals during war, Nightingale worked to make changes that improved sanitation and conditions for patients in both military and civilian hospitals. She also founded the first nursing school, which formalized education for nurses. This ensured that certain standards could be followed and specific nursing techniques and procedures taught to nurses, which provided better care for patients. Nursing remained a helping profession within the field of health care, but with the changes made by Nightingale, it became recognized as a professional field rather than charity or opportunity for volunteer work. Many of her techniques are still in primary practice today.

Rotarian Julie Gray thanked Jeff for his talk, noting that it is fantastic that younger generations of girls and young women can read or be exposed to stories of women who have shown that they are as capable as anyone.

* Information about how to purchase Jeff's book/s can be obtained by email to: peircefamily_aus@hotmail.com