HISTORY;WOMEN

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.).

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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).

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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).

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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).

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