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Australian Army Nursing Service
Australian Army Nursing Service
	AANS nurses in Brisbane during 1940
Active	1902–1951
Country	Australia
Branch	Australian Army
Type	Medical reserve
Part of	Australian Army Medical Corps
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Evelyn Conyers (1915–20); Grace Wilson (1925–1940); Annie Sage (1943–51)

The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was an Australian Army Reserve unit which provided a pool of trained civilian nurses who had volunteered for military service during wartime. The AANS was formed in 1902 by amalgamating the nursing services of the colonial-era militaries, and formed part of the Australian Army Medical Corps.^[1]

World War I

During World War I, 2861 women joined the AANS AIF for overseas service.^[2]^[3] To enlist, women had to be between 25 and 40, unmarried and needed to be educated with a minimum of a 3 year qualification.^[2] The AANS deployed nurses to many countries such as Belgium, Egypt, England France, Greece and India. They worked in a variety of settings, such as in the Allied hospitals behind the front line, and in Casualty Clearing Stations, which were up close to the front line, as well as on hospital transports such as ships, trains, and barges.^[2]^[4] Hundreds more served in the AANS AMF on home service in Australia.^[5]

When the first 25 nurses, led by Matron Nellie Gould embarked with the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in November 1914, they had no military ranks, and the nurses and the AIF were unclear about how the AANS might fit in with the AIF.^[6] At the time, the military's senior medical staff were reluctant to enlist women in nursing roles, preferring to train male soldiers as nursing orderlies. Major General Neville Howse, the director of the medical services in the AIF stated:

"The female nurse (as a substitute for the fully trained male nursing orderly) did little toward the actual saving of life in war... although she might promote a more rapid and complete recovery”^[7]

Jane Bell had been the Lady Superintendent of the Third Military district, and when the war broke up she was responsible for enlisting the Victorian contingent of the 1st Australian General Hospital (1AGH). She departed Australia in December 1914 as the Principal Matron on the hospital ship Kyarra. She put pressure on the Army Medical Service to clarify the roles of the AANS staff, and allow them autonomy over the control and discipline of their own members.^[8] She had a number of serious disagreements regarding the control of the nurses with the commanding officer of the 1AGH, Lieutenant-Colonel William Ramsay Smith, and the Registrar, James Barrett, an ophthalmologist from Melbourne.^[6] In June 1915 she was promoted to Matron Inspectress. In July 1915 she submitted staffing recommendations to Smith which he rejected, so she requested transfer or to be returned to Australia. Both Bell and Smith were recalled to Australia in August 1915. An inquiry into 1AGH was called to the attention of an Inquiry, and the court found that clearer roles and greater AANS autonomy was required.^[8]^[9]

In early 1916 there was an restructure of the AANS, and the members were given military ranks equivalent to officers.^[10] Matrons wore two crowns on their shoulders as Majors did, the Sisters wore two star like the 1st Lieutenants, however, they were still only paid half of what the men received, and often required financial support from their families back at home. At this time, Evelyn Conyers was appointed as the Matron-in-Chief, and was responsible for running the service.^[6] Conyers was a New Zealand born nurse who had immigrated to Australia, and had been part of the AANS since its inception in 1903.^[11] Conyers was awarded the Royal Red Cross "for conspicuous services rendered" and later a Bar "in recognition of her valuable nursing service". On 1 January 1919 King George V appointed Conyers a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1921 she was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal with diploma.^[12]

21 AANS nurses died during their war service and a number shortly thereafter. Nurses were present on the Western Front, and in Greece, England, India, Egypt, and Italy. They served not just in Australian military hospitals but also in British hospitals and in ships at sea. The AANS comprised trained nurses, trained masseuses, 14 ward assistants and 1 bacteriologist.^[13] After enlisting with the AANS, Fannie Eleanor Williams, a trained nurse, worked as a bacteriologist in laboratories at the No. 3 Australian General Hospital in Lemnos from 1915, the Lister Institute in London from 1917, and the No. 25 British Stationary Hospital in France in 1918. She was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross for her work.^[14]

In 1917, four AANS nurses won the military medal for demonstrating bravery under fire: Sister Dorothy Cawood from Parramatta, New South Wales;^[15] Sister Clare Deacon from Burnie, Tasmania;^[16] Staff Nurse Mary Jane Derrer from Mackay, Queensland;^[17] and Staff Nurse Alice Ross-King from Ballarat, Victorian, who was also awarded an Associate Royal Red Cross in 1918.^[18] They were working on the Western Front, at the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station which was near the trenches at Trois Arbres near Armentières when on 22 July 1917, there was a German raid and five bombs hit the hospital.^[19] The four nurses rescued patients who were trapped in the burning building.^[18]

Pearl Corkhill (1887-1985) nurse, who was awarded a Military Medal for showing courage when attending to wounded during an enemy air-raid. Rachael Pratt (1874–1954) a nurse who was awarded the Military Medal for courage under fire.^[20] Alicia Mary Kelly (1874–1942) Irish born, Australian nurse who won the Military Medal for gallantry under fire, and the Royal Red Cross, 2nd class (A.R.R.C.).^[21]

After WWI, the AANS reverted to a Reserve.

World War II

The AANS was mobilised again during World War II, and many of its members served overseas. By this time, the Australian Imperial Forces had developed additional women's army auxillary services in addition to the AANS: The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force; The Women's Royal Australian Naval Service; and the Australian Women's Army Service. Additionally new nursing services were also created, including the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service and the Royal Australian Naval Nursing Service, as well as the Australian Army Medical Women's Service which provided nursing assistance to the army nurses. With all these opportunities nearly 36,000 women enlisted during World War II, and of those, 3,500 served in the AANS, in general hospitals and clearing stations. The women in the AANS had the most casualties of all the auxiliary services, with 72 deaths. These were due to the ships they were on being torpedoed, or dying as prisoners of war.^[22]

Following the war several AANS nurses were posted to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

Post World War II

The service was renamed the Royal Australian Army Nursing Service (RAANS) in November 1948 and became part of the regular Army the next year. In 1951 the RAANS achieved corps status, and became the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Heywoord, Anne (2002). "Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) (1902–1948)". The Australian Women's Register. National Foundation for Australian Women. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Australian Army Nursing Service in World War I". DVA Anzac Portal. DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs). 31 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
^ Harris, Kirsty, 'Rubbery Figures: the puzzle of the number of AANS on active service in WWI', Sabretache, vol XLIX, no. 1, March 2008, pp 5–10.
^ Crotty, Fiona McLeod, Martin. "'I want to scream and scream': Australian nurses on the Western Front were also victims of war". stories.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 26 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Harris, Kirsty, 'Two heads are better than one': Melbourne as the hub of Australian Army nursing administration in World War 1', Victorian Historical Journal, Vol. 83, No.2, November 2012, pp 235–254
^ ^a ^b ^c Australian Women and War. Department of Veterans' Affairs. July 2008. ISBN 978-1-877007-28-6. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via DVA, Anzac Portal.
^ "The Nurses - ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee". anzacday.org.au. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b Gardiner, Lyndsay, "Jane Bell (1873–1959)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 30 June 2024
^ Elmslie, Ronald; Nance, Susan, "William Ramsay Smith (1859–1937)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 30 June 2024
^ "Australian Army Nursing Service in World War I". DVA Anzac Portal. DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs). 31 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
^ Heywood, Anne (4 May 2009). "Conyers, Evelyn Augusta". The Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
^ "Attestation Paper of Evelyn Augusta Conyers". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^ Kirsty Harris, More than Bombs and Bandages: Australian Army nurses at work in World War I, BigSky Publishing, 2011
^ Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology (15 June 2022). "Williams, Fannie Eleanor - Person - Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation". Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
^ Abbott, Jacqueline, "Dorothy Gwendolen Cawood (1884–1962)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 8 June 2024
^ "Tasmanian nurse decorated". North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times. Tasmania. 29 November 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Personal notes". Brisbane Courier. Queensland. 2 October 1917. p. 7. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b "Women in action – nurses and serving women". Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
^ Finnie, Lorna M., "Alice Ross-King (1887–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 8 June 2024, retrieved 8 June 2024
^ "Faith, Hope, Charity". Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
^ "Alicia Mary Kelly (1874–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
^ "Leaving home". DVA Anzac Portal. DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs). 6 November 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2024.