In this book we follow the lives and careers of nurses from Australia and New Zealand who cared for sick and wounded soldiers during the First World War (1914-1918). The nurses were members of Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), while the soldiers came from Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
Peter Rees - the author of the book - has been a reporter for many years, writing for publications such as the Melbourne Sun, the West Australian, and the Sunday Telegraph. He is the author of several books, including Desert Boys: Australians at War from Beersheba to Tobruk and El Alamein (2012) and Bearing Witness: The Remarkable Life of Charles Bean, Australia's Greatest War Correspondent (2015).
The first edition of his book (published in 2008) is called The Other Anzacs. It is based on a wide range of primary sources, including diaries and letters written by the nurses during the First World War. It is fortunate that the nurses wrote so many letters and made so many entries in their diaries. It is even more fortunate that this unique evidence has been preserved until today so Peter Rees was able to use it to write his account about the nurses.
The book inspired the television series Anzac Girls which was shown on Australian television (ABC1) in 2014. A second edition of his book was published in that year in order to coincide with the drama that was being broadcast on television. The second edition of his book has the same title as the tv series, "Anzac Girls." A statement on the front cover explains that this is "The book that inspired the ABC1 tv series."
The main text is divided into three parts and 32 chapters, which follow a more or less chronological line from the beginning of the war in 1914 to the end of the war in 1918. Here is a brief overview:
*** Part one
GALLIPOLI - from April to December 1915
Chapters 1-13
*** Part two
THE MARQUETTE - October 1915
Chapters 14-17
*** Part three
THE WESTERN FRONT - from 1916 to 1918 and beyond
Chapters 18-32
At the end of the book we find the following short sections:
** Australian World War I nurses honour roll
** New Zealand World War I nurses honour roll
** Notes
** Bibliography
** Acknowledgements
** Index
The index, which covers 15 pages, is useful, but incomplete. Several persons and places mentioned in the main text are not listed here. Examples of persons not listed in the index are Norval "Pat" Dooley and Gordon Carter. Examples of places not listed in the index are Fromelles and Trois Arbres. It is a shame the index is incomplete.
What about illustrations? There many illustrations in this book, but they are not numbered (I counted 98) and they are all placed in one block in the middle of the book (between chapters 19 and 20). This method is used because the illustrations are printed on 48 pages of glossy paper. All pictures are in black-and-white, because they were taken during the First World War. The pictures are well-chosen and support the text very well. The author has found many pictures in private collections. Unfortunately, they are never mentioned in the text. There are no cross-references from the text to the illustrations or the other way around.
The story of Anzac has been told before in books and documentary films. But most of them focus on the politicians, the generals and the soldiers who are all men. Peter Rees has a different approach. In this book the focus is on the nurses who were until recently virtually forgotten.
Nurses from Australia and New Zealand played an important role during the First World War, working in military hospitals in Cairo and Alexandria in Egypt, on the Greek island of Lemnos (only 60 km from Gallipoli), on hospital ships in the Mediterranean Sea, and in various field hospitals along the western front in France. While they did not serve at the front, they were not far from it (casualty clearing stations were very close to the front), and they saw the consequences of war when sick and wounded soldiers arrived at a hospital to be treated.
In this book we follow them from one location to the next. Their assignments were hard and heavy and in many cases they had to carry them out under horrible conditions. Being a nurse was demanding and distressing. Danger was never far away. Not all nurses survived the war.
GALLIPOLI
The first part of the book is about Gallipoli. The Anzac troops landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915. It was the beginning of a long and devastating campaign which finally ended eight months later, in December 1915. The date 25 April is known as Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.
The level of casualties was high, much higher than the high command had expected. The resources available for hospital equipment and staff were hopelessly inadequate. Doctors and nurses had to cope with whatever they had while they tried to help and save as many soldiers as possible.
Three of the six episodes of the Australian television series are connected with the Gallipoli campaign.
THE MARQUETTE
The second part of the book is about the sinking of the Marquette. In October 1915, no. 1 New Zealand Stationary Hospital and its staff were being transported across the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt to Greece on the Marquette. Since the ship was also carrying ammunition and troops, it was a legitimate target for the enemy. On 23 October 1915 the Marquette was hit by a torpedo from the German submarine U-35 and sank in about ten minutes. More than one hundred persons lost their lives, including ten nurses from New Zealand.
Following this disaster, the government of New Zealand insisted that hospital equipment and staff from New Zealand should be transported on hospital ships marked with a red cross. At the time the German government had promised to respect the red cross.
The sinking of the Marquette is mentioned in the Australian television series, but it is very brief. In fact, less than three minutes are devoted to the disaster. In the book there are four chapters about the episode, so Peter Rees can provide more details and more discussion about the case.
THE WESTERN FRONT
The third part of the book is about the war on the western front in France. This part of the book covers the time from 1916 to the end of the war in 1918 and beyond. The war in France was a war of attrition. The frontline between the two enemies remained in almost the same place for several years.
Sometimes the German army would push a bit forward, but both sides would pay a terrible price, i.e. heavy casualties. Later the allied forces would push back, and again both sides would pay a heavy price. Many soldiers were killed or wounded on the battlefield. There were several cases of gas attacks which had devastating effects.
Airplanes were used to bomb the enemy behind the frontline. Even field hospitals located well behind the frontline were attacked in this way. No one was safe as long as the war continued.
Three of the six episodes of the Australian television series are connected with the war on the western front.
THE HARSH REALITY OF WAR
When we read about the high level of casualties, we can see that the high command of the allied powers did not care much for the lives of the ordinary soldiers. Whenever a thousand soldiers were killed in action and another thousand were wounded, their response was simple: they must be replaced. And then they carried on in the same way as before. It did not occur to them that they should change the way they conducted the war or perhaps stop the war altogether.
The soldiers who fought for Anzac had volunteered. Later, when the number of volunteers began to drop, some politicians wanted to introduce conscription, but they never succeeded. Chapter 28 is devoted to this topic.
Many soldiers suffered from what what we call post-traumatic stress disorder. In chapter 19 Peter Rees explains:
"People did not yet understand the causes of what is now termed post-traumatic stress disorder, or how caring for these cases of so-called shell shock affected the nurses themselves."
In chapter 23 he returns to this topic:
"In addition to the physical effects of shell fire there was the psychological damage. Men who had to endure a prolonged bombardment would often suffer debilitating shell shock, a condition that was not well understood at the time... The sisters soon discovered that they too, were were considered at risk."
Sometimes it was difficult for the nurses to carry on. In chapter 25 Peter Rees quotes from the diary of nurse Alice Ross-King:
"The battle to save the wounded often seemed futile. 'The last post is being played nearly all day at the cemetery next door to the hospital. So many deaths', Alice lamented. With so much carnage from the Ypres Offensive, her faith began to falter. The padre was always praying that 'Right will prevail', but Alice was beginning to wonder. 'I can't believe there is a God. It is too awful for words'."
During the war the nurses had to face some unexpected problems. Some male officers did not respect them and did not think that they were needed. After a while most of them were forced to change their minds. Nurses from Australia and New Zealand also found that some British nurses looked down on them as colonials. On page 212, Peter Rees quotes Australian Matron Grace Wilson:
"It seemed at times to the Australian Sister that the Q. A. [Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service] Sister laid more stress on the care of equipment - the orderliness of her ward - and the filling in of Military Forms than the actual nursing of her patients."
After the war the nurses also had to face some unexpected problems. While the governments of Australia and New Zealand were prepared to offer economic assistance to veterans from the war, nurses who had been in the war did not receive any such assistance. The Anzac myth that grew up after the war was mostly about the soldiers, while the nurses were virtually forgotten.
ROMANCE, LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Matters of the heart is a topic that pops up many times in the book. In spite of the war - or perhaps because of it - some nurses thought about romance, love and marriage. Here are a few examples:
*** Elsie Sheppard and Sydney "Syd" Cook met and married in Australia in 1914. Both of them went to war. Elsie as a nurse and "Syd" as a soldier. Since a nurse was not allowed to be married, Elsie signed up under her maiden name. Later when her marital status was discovered, the matron wanted to send her home, but she refused to go and they realised that they needed every nurse they could get, so they allowed her to stay on for a while. Once she returned to Australia, she had to resign. But she wanted to be close to her husband, so she signed up with the French Red Cross. Since the uniform of this organisation included a blue cape, these nurses were known as Bluebirds. Elsie and "Syd" survived the war and returned to Australia. They both died in 1972. Elsie and "Syd" Cook are two of the main characters in the Australian television series.
*** Katherine "Kath" King and Gordon Carter met during and because of the war. He proposed to her and they were married. When she married him, she had to resign. "Kath" and Gordon survived the war and returned to Australia. Gordon died in 1963, while "Kath" died in 1972. They do no appear in the Australian television series.
*** Olive Haynes and Norval "Pat" Dooley met during and because of the war. He proposed to her and they were married. When she married him, she had to resign. Both survived the war. Both died in 1978. Olive and "Pat" are two of the main characters in the Australian television series.
*** Alice Ross-King and Harry Moffitt met during and because of the war. Judging from his letters and several entries in her diary they were soul mates, but fate was cruel to them: Harry was killed in action at Fromelles in 1916. It is heart-breaking to read about this couple whose chance of happiness was destroyed by war. Alice survived the war. After the war she married a man who had been a military doctor during the war (he understood what she had been through). She died in 1968. Alice Ross-King and Harry Moffitt are two of the main characters in the Australian television series.
On the last page of the last chapter Peter Rees writes:
"Alice lived a full and accomplished life, both professionally and personally in a loving relationship. However, there was a part of her that stored a private grief for Harry Moffitt. Each year on the anniversary of his death, she would spend the day quietly, retiring to her bedroom for a time. After her death her children discovered a shoebox under the bed in which she kept her most personal possessions. Inside was Harry's last letter."
CONCLUSION
Two things stand out when you read this book. The first thing is the futility of war, in particular the madness of the First World War. The other thing is the commitment, devotion and loyalty of the Anzac Girls, the nurses from Australia and New Zealand.
In the midst of war, surrounded by death and destruction, they tried to keep up their spirits, help their patients and preserve some kind of humanity.
It is obvious to compare the book and the television series. Having read the book, and having watched the television series, I wish to recommend both. The book can provide details, documentation and background information which you will not find in the television series.
The television series, on the other hand, can offer a visual aspect which you cannot find in the book. I think the book and the television series complement each other very well.
The book is well-written and well-documented. The First World War seen from the perspective of a nurse is a horrible story, but one that is worth knowing and worth telling. Peter Rees has done a great job with this book, making the story available to the public and reminding us about the significant contribution which the nurses made during the First World War.
Therefore it is highly recommended.
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Peter Rees,
Anzac Girls:
The Extraordinary Story of Our World War I Nurses,
Allen & Unwin, 2014, 363 pages
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