ANZAC Day is observed annually on the 25th April. It commemorates the death of thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who lost their lives in Gallipoli during World War 1 (WW1). Not only do these two sovereign nations share the same remembrance day, but both countries feature in its name (Wikipedia, 2002).
While many people pay tribute to the fallen soldiers, something that is often overlooked is the role of women. Nurses were officially recognised as part of dedicated army services during WW1. While they were not on the front line, they certainly faced danger and were just as courageous as the men who were out there fighting (Tasmanian Lighthouse, 2014; Stewart, 2017).
Around 5 000 Australian civilian nurses are thought to have volunteered for active service during WW1, of which 2 498 were part of the official Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) (Harvey, 2014; Tasmanian Lighthorse, 2014). Not only did this allow women to participate in the war, it provided them with opportunities for independence, travel, and to be closer to their male friends and family members (Australian War Memorial, n.d.).
Four of the five Malcolm family siblings served during the First World War. Source
As @ravenruis proposed the ANZAC Day writing challenge 'Unsung Heroes', this post is dedicated to Eileen King, who is very much an unsung hero of her time. War nurses were extremely hard workers under conditions that were far from ideal. They endured poor facilities and resources, staff shortages, disease, language barriers, harsh climates, and a constant stream of and wounded and traumatised patients (State Library of Victoria, 2018)
What makes Eileen unique though, is that she one of only eight Australian nurses awarded the WW1 Military Medal, the highest Imperial award that was available to them. The Military Medal is the nurses’ equivalent of the Victoria Cross, but little is known about the women who received them or their acts of bravery. Eileen King is the least known of them all (Stewart, 2010).
Eileen King and the Military Medal. Source
Eileen and Amy King were born seven years apart to Thomas Mulhall King, a retired Auditor-General and Commissioner of Railways of Queensland, and his first wife, Jane (nee MacDonnell) (Ford, 2014). They also had a brother, Reginald, who was the Deputy Premier of Queensland from 1929–32 (Gill, 1983).
Despite the small amount of historical information available on Eileen King, it is clear that she shared a strong bond with her older sister up until her death. Their fates were intertwined, reuniting them on several occasions throughout the war, across two continents.
Although they grew up in Brisbane, Eileen and Amy both trained as nurses in the Homoeopathic Hospital in Melbourne. This qualified them to participate in WW1 (1) (Ford, 2014). Amy was the first to leave in November 1914. Most of Australia's war nurses (Amy included) were part of the AANS and were sent wherever the Australian troops went. This included Burma, India, the Persian Gulf, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France, and England (Tasmanian Lighthorse, 2014). Amy's first post was in Egypt attending to the wounded from Gallipoli (Grave Secrets, 2013b).
(L-R) Nurses in Egypt; Wounded soldiers evacuated from Gallipoli arrive alongside the hospital ship Gascon; Casualties from Gallipoli in the former skating rink in Cairo. Source
In early 1915, the British Government made a special request that nurses be sent to England to join Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) (Ford, 2014). What is interesting about this organisation is that it started 12 years before WW1 during a time of peace. Its membership remained low in the early years due to the strict rules about who could join. Nurses had to be single, aged over 25 years, and of high social status. However, given the overwhelming number of WW1 casualties these rules were relaxed, which resulted in 10 000 qualified nurses joining Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNS[R]) (QARANC, n.d.). Eileen King was around 26 years old when she and three other women (2) were selected by the Australian Department of Defence to join the QAIMNSR. Eileen sailed to London from Melbourne on the 14th of April 1915 (Ford, 2014).
Eileen was deployed to France on the 9th June 1915. She initially worked in the 7th General Hospital in St Omer before being transferred to the to the 14th General Hospital at Wimereux (Ford, 2014). Australian nurses were well regarded by their peers, and Eileen was no exception. She was considered to be an excellent nurse who was liked by her patients (Ford, 2014).
Australian nurses during WW1. Source
It wasn't until the 29th November 1917, that Eileen came truly face to face with the dangers of war. She was working at the No. 63 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) at Haringhe, Belgium when the Germans began bombing the area. Throughout the bombings, Eileen remained on duty and managed to get her patients out of the burning tent (Ford, 2014; Grave Secrets, 2013b). Although disappointed that she was only able to save six of them, the soldiers who knew her described her as one of the bravest women they had ever met (Stewart, 2010; Grave Secrets, 2013b; Ford, 2014).
Quoted text from newspaper:
“The day sisters had all gone to bed when the warning was received, and the patients were prepared for quick transference. Sister King was amid the din, but took no notice until she was thrown down, and, being unable to move, it was found that she was struck in the thigh and calf of the leg.”
Eileen's injuries consisted of bomb wounds to the right thigh and the left calf, which resulted in a compound fracture of the left fibula and destruction of her Achilles tendon. She also had burns to her left foot (Ford, 2014).
Eileen was subsequently evacuated to the 14th General Hospital, where she'd previously worked. Here she was reunited with her sister Amy, who had been transferred in to care for her (Ford, 2014). The sisters travelled to London on the 2nd January 1918 where Eileen became a patient at Southwell Gardens. This hospital opened in London in July of 1917 specifically for ill Australian nurses (Ford, 2014).
Nurses and patients playing cricket at Isleworth, Military Hospital, UK. Source
In February 1918, Eileen's bravery was officially recognised by the King as reported by The Times (Ford, 2014):
“It was announced on Jan 30th that the King has been pleased to approve of the award of Military Medal to the following lady for bravery and devotion to duty on the occasion of a hostile air raid on a casualty clearing station. …..”
Amy returned to France in April and Eileen began undertaking light duties at London's Sister’s Hospital for the QAIMNS in July. However, her left leg never healed and she continued to take sick leave (Ford, 2014).
In February 1919, Eileen was invited to Buckingham Palace where the King presented her with the Military Medal for her bravery at the CCS (Ford, 2014). Only eight Australian nurses were awarded the Military Medal in WW1. On top of that, Eileen was the only one that was not part of the AANS (Stewart, 2010).
Following her presentation, the Medical Board deemed her unfit for work for long periods, and she was repatriated to Australia. Both she and Amy left Europe only days apart and returned to Melbourne via a short stop in Brisbane (Ford, 2014). Still being cared for by Amy, Eileen had surgery on her left leg, but with little benefit. Unable to work as a nurse, she took on the role of assistant matron at Melbourne Grammar School, before her health deteriorated once more (Ford, 2014).
Eileen returned to England in 1937 as a nurse leading into WW2 (Stewart, 2010). In April 1939 she was invited to toast Fallen Comrades at the Diggers Abroad reunion dinner in London (Ford, 2014). This high profile event was attended by the Duke of Kent and Field-Marshal Lord Birdwood. Amy was also in England, and afterwards, the sisters took a trip to Paris (Ford, 2014).
On the 22nd March 1943 March Eileen boarded the MV Melbourne Star in Liverpool to return to Australia. The ship was carrying munitions cargo and 121 passengers and crew (Ford, 2014; Melbourne Star, n.d.). As it was crossing the Atlantic towards the Panama Canal, it was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-129 on the 2nd of April. Only four crew members survived and were rescued. Everyone else including Eileen, was declared missing and presumed dead. She was 54 years old (Ford, 2014; MV Melbourne Star (n.d.).
Eileen is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
MV Melbourne Star. Source
Thank you Eileen for your service and bravery. Lest we forget.
Read other ANZAC Day tribute posts here.
Endnotes
- To qualify for the AANS at least three year's service was required in Medical and Surgical Nursing in a recognised hospital. Nurses had to be between 21 and 45 years old and either single or widowed (Grave Secrets, 2013a).
- The three other nurses Eileen travelled to England with were Katie Heriot, Constance O’Shea and Estelle Doyle (Ford, 2014).
References
Australian War Memorial (n.d.), Great War Nurses. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/nurses/ww1. Accessed 24 April 2018.
Ford, H. (2014), 'Eileen King', Discovering ANZACS. Available at: https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/person/901330. Accessed 24 April 2018.
Gill, J. (1983), 'King, Reginald Macdonnell (1869–1955)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University. Available at: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/king-reginald-macdonnell-6963/text12093. Accessed 23 April 2018.
Grave Secrets (2013a), Australian Nurses in World War 1. Available at: http://ww1nurses.gravesecrets.net/. Accessed 23 April 2018.
Grave Secrets (2013b), Australian Nurses in World War 1. Available at: http://ww1nurses.gravesecrets.net/ki.html. Accessed 23 April 2018.
Harvey, E. (2014), 'World War I: Thousands of Australian nurses missed out on recognition', ABC News. Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-04/world-war-i-australian-nurses-missed-out-on-recognition/5642274. Accessed 23 April 2018.
Melbourne Star (n.d.), MV Melbourne Star, Available at: http://www.melbournestar.co.uk/Attack.html. Accessed 23 April 2018.
QARANC (n.d.), QAIMNS World War I Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service QAIMNS Nurses. Available at: http://www.qaranc.co.uk/qaimns.php. Accessed 23 April 2018.
State Library of Victoria (2018), Researching Australian nurses, Australians in World War 1. Available at: https://guides.slv.vic.gov.au/wwone_soldiers/nurses. Accessed 23 April 2018.
Stewart, E. (2010), 'Nurses under fire', Wartime, Issue 50. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/50/stewart_nurse. Accessed 24 April 2018.
Stewart, E. (2017), 'Devotion under fire', The Australian, 19 July. Available at: https://specialreports.theaustralian.com.au/818401/devotion-under-fire/. Accessed 24 April 2018.
Tasmanian Lighthorse (2014), Australian Nurses in WW1. Available at http://www.tasmanianlighthorse.com/australian-nurses-in-ww1/. Accessed 24 April 2018.
Wikipedia (2002), ANZAC Day. Current revision: 24 April 2018. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day. Accessed 24 April 2018.
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Awe man! This had me on the edge of my seat the whole time i was reading it. These ANAC stories are just too incredible. Sounds like Amy and Eileen had the strongest bond. The ending is just tragic. Lest we forget!
Oh thank you! That's such a compliment. And I know! It was not the ending I was expecting either.
We must celebrate Eileen King much more!
Thanks for the great research! This is exactly what I enjoy to read on #steemit! You're magnificent!
xx
@elenahornfilm
Why thank you! :)
Mad respect to Eileen. Such a brave woman!
Extremely well written. Thanks for the timely post and Happy ANZAC day! We'll keep those who served bravely in our minds today, giving them their due respect.
Thank you @chunger. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Very good article.
I'm pretty sure the TV Series ANZAC is loosely based around the story of Eileen King. A lot of the events in the series match up with events in her life.
Oh that's interesting. I'm way out of the loop on Australian tv but her story is pretty interesting so it wouldn't surprise me.
Excellent write up, it almost hurt to read all about her life and to die like that really upset me. It's good we take a day out of the year to remember the heroes that made this world what it is today.
Lovely work again choogirl :')
Thank you! It's really sad reading all the posts.
Such a brave Woman, Kudos to her and all the medical supports in History who enter a war zone to save lives. Respect!
Indeed. There's so many elements to the war story we either don't know or aren't told about. I've learnt a couple of new things through the posts I've read today.
Choogirl great article! It was a sad ending but she has done so much most of her life
Thank you!
Excellent writing choo. I love your articles about great women, since otherwise I wouldn’t know of them. Your research is also thorough and detailed, amazing :D.
-upvoted-
Thank you! I have some ideas for a few more. I just have to find time to research and write them up. But I am enjoying doing some research proper research again and learning about these awesome historical women as well.
Excellent article @choogirl
Thanks you for sharing
Thanks for reading!
Wow, what an amazing woman * ___ * Great article, choo <3 Eileen King is such a brave and inspiring person and I hadn't known of her until your article today ! So, I am super grateful for that <3
Such well researched and also well written post, as well * ___ * Amazing post !
upvotes and resteems
Thank you so much! I'm really enjoying researching and writing up these women of history, so I'm pleased that other's are enjoying my posts as well.
Very professionally done, @choogirl, and very respectful of her service.
This inspires me to write something about my grandmother, who served as one of the very few women pilots in WW2 in the group called 'WASP' (Women Airforce Service Pilots). I have heard a lot of stories over the years from both my mom and grandmother on this, and it's a small sliver of WW2 that never quite got the visibility it deserved.
Thanks Neg. If you'd you like to hold off, @ravenruis wants to get another one of these writing challenges going for Remembrance Day in November. It won't be just ANZAC Day obviously so your gran would be a good fit. She sounds amazing and I'm already looking forward to hearing about her. Up to you though, if you're bursting to go, no one's gonna stop you from posting.
Thanks for the heads-up on that! I will hold off (and collect my notes and research in the meanwhile)
I was so gripped readign this I did not know her story but how inspirational
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.
Thank you Djay! She certainly was. I enjoyed researching her and inking her to the block!
👍👍👍👍
Wow, fantastic story. I was gutted to learn she had met such an end after all that she had already been through.
I think you picked someone who most certainly deserved to be remembered, and now she will be. :)
Yeah it did seem like an unfitting way to go. But her life did seem pretty extraordinary right up to the end.
Also, thank you! Sorry, I quickly wrote the first comment on my phone as crossfit was starting.
lol, no problem :D
I think you did a wonderful job creating an interesting and informative post about her. :)
Women is the power in our Life ,,,And also a brave nurse from World War 1 ,,,your article is really amazing,, thanks for sharing with us...
Resteem done
Thank you for the wonderful article. What a courageous woman she was. I am saddened by how she died, but heartened by her recognition for this service.
Yeah it's sad, but at the same time, it does make her story more interesting.
yes, I love your women in history stories!
@choogirl - great post, amazing detail and source material references. Are you an historian or sorts? I love reading factual accounts of history. My great-grandfather (Canadian) was wounded in WWI, but I never got to hear his stories.
Thank you, and no, not at all. But most of my jobs have been researched based. There's another writing challenge coming for Remembrance Day in November if you'd like to take part in that. Follow @ravenruis. She will be organising it.
Thank you, will do.
What a good publication! thanks for the information every day I learn more
This was such a well thought out and beautifully presented post commemorating a special lady. And Nurses are unsung heroes! I was really sad she came to an end in such traumatic circumstances. Lest we forget.
This is now 2 of 2 winning posts presenting the brave feminine heroes who can and do so easily fade into history if we don’t celebrate them. I’m expecting another from you now. I hope you keep finding new reasons to add to your series!
Edited: I was supposed to resteem. I’m a fan of this woman in history series! <3
Thanks Linny. I do have a few more in mind, yes.
One thing I felt that was touching was when Eileen was injured and sent to 14th General Hospital, so too was her sister Amy to care for her. It would have been easier for them to have someone else look after her and keep Amy where she was, but they didn't.
It is a shame how she died, but better than what I thought I was going to read. When I was reading the part how she got injured, I thought, oh no, this is where she dies? At a young age too :'(
I am just glad that she was able to be with her sister afterwards and spend time together.
Btw, I love the way you write your posts. It is engaging and exciting to read.
Thank you! Yeah, that's what drove me to feature her. I could see she and Amy had a bond which I tried to bring out, and also, that she was the only one of the eight medal recipients who wasn't an AANS nurse. Not that the other nurses had terrible stories, I just liked hers.
Wow, this is a great write-up. She sounds like she was a real Aussie Hero who didn't shirk or give up when the going got tough. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Thanks Bugged. And it was my pleasure.
@choogirl very interesting, informative and detailed post. Thanks for sharing the life story of Eileen King.
Thank you!
Wow! What a woman! I saw this post a couple of hours ago but wanted to make sure I came back and read it properly. I’m so glad I did. Thanks for all the effort you put into this choogirl. I could listen to stories of women like Eileen for hours.
Thank you! I have a few more I'd like to research, so hopefully I will get time in the not too distant future to continue this series.
The ending, WHY MUST THEY DIE IN THE END! I love reading history through your writing. It reminds me a bit of percy style. Hopefully thisbisbyiur thing now.
Haha, I blame @negativer!
Thanks Kubby. I do have a few more I'd like to research and write up. Just need the time!
Eileen is a great example of an amazing human being. So sorry to hear about her tragic death. Rest In Peace.
Great post @choogirl
Thanks!
hello @choogirl why u downvote me whats the reason?
You posted the comment 30 seconds after I uploaded. There's no way you could have read it. You're clearly fishing for a comment upvote.
salute and respect this legendary women