New Zealanders in the First World War – Nurses and other medical personnel

Over 500 nurses, about a quarter of the nursing workforce of the period, served overseas during the First World War as members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service. Information on these women is available in the following sources.

Cover of The Other Anzacs Cover of While you're away Cover of A nurse at war

Studholme, J. New Zealand Expeditionary Force record of personal services during the war of officers, nurses and first-class warrant officers
Includes brief details of service, date of termination of service or death, honours and awards. Indexed.

Kelly, M.J.(ed.) New Zealand servicewomen, World War 1
Excerpts from the New Zealand nursing journal about nursing service during the war. Indexed.Kendall, S. New Zealand military nursing: a history of the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps. Chs. 4-9 cover World War 1.

Rawstron, R.E. A unique nursing group: New Zealand Army nurse anaesthetists of WW1
Seven New Zealand nurses trained and worked at casualty clearing stations as anaesthetists while serving overseas during the war: Blanche Huddlestone, Maud Atkinson, Margaret Davies, Susan Nicholas, Jean Porteous, Ellen Schaw and Jessie McLeod. Hilda Steele may also have trained.

Rees, P. The Other ANZACs: Nurses at War 1914-1918
The experiences of New Zealand and Australian nurses on the Western front and Gallipoli.

Rogers, A. While you’re away: New Zealand nurses at war, 1899-1948
Chs. 3-10 cover the first World War. Ch. 10 looks at the repatriation of nurses after the war, and the problems many of them faced after the challenges of frontline service disappeared. The author has used many personal reminiscences, letters and diaries as sources.

Shannon, L. Lorna Aylmer Rattray and the Nurses of the Marquette Commemorated in the Christchurch Nurses' Memorial Chapel

Smith, J.M. Cloud over Marquette
The troopship ship, Marquette, with a large number of nurses on board, was torpedoed and sank in the Mediterranean in 1915. Ten nurses were drowned and several others injured.

Woodward, J. A nurse at war: Emily Peter, 1858-1927, 2008
Cantabrian Emily Peter served in Serbia and in England during World War I until her health started to fail. Includes extracts from her diary and letters from some of those she nursed.

Other Medical Personnel

Carbery, A.D. New Zealand Medical Service in the Great War, 1914-1918 Section 1: Mobilisation; Section 2: Gallipoli; Section 3: Western Front; Section 4: Sinai and Palestine; Section 5: Demobilisation. Appendix A: casualties, honours and awards, roll of wounded; NZ Army Nursing Service strengths and casualties; specifications for hospital ships. Appendix B: casualties in NZEF, deaths by disease. Appendix C: medical arrangements, rations and dysentery in Gallipoli. Appendix D: medical officers’ training school syllabus and examinations.

Liverpool, A.W. The New Zealand hospital ship "Maheno’: the first voyage, July 1915 to January 1916 & The voyages of His Majesty’s New Zealand hospital ships “Marama” and “Maheno” 2v.
Illustrated descriptions of the voyages. Includes lists of naval, medical corps and nursing personnel, and lists of the wounded who were treated on board.

Martin, A.A. A surgeon in khaki
Author served on the Western Front.

Murr, J. The Maheno and the Marama and the White Fleet: New Zealand hospital ships, World War One
Postal history. Postcards, postmarks and other postal markings for correspondence to and from hospital ships. Includes details about the work of the ships, pp. 30-47.

O’Carroll, B. Khaki angels: Kiwi stretcher-bearers in the first and second world wars, 2009
World War 1: pp. 15-81. Includes extracts from war diaries of James McKenzie and citation for his Military Medal.

Tolerton, J. Ettie: a life of Ettie Rout
Ettie Rout worked in Egypt, England and France, helping New Zealand soldiers avoid venereal disease. Chs. 7-11 cover war years.

Treanor, K.R. The staff, serpent and the sword: 100 years of the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps, 2008
Chapters 5-9: World War 1. Includes chapters on Egypt and Gallipoli; France and England; hospitals; at home and hospital ships.

Websites

New Zealand nurses and medical officers
Information from New Zealand History Online.

Helping the wounded - Passchendaele
The medical experience of Passchendaele.

New Zealand Army Nursing Service
Links to all mentions of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service in the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection.

Christchurch Nurses Memorial Chapel
Information on the chapel which was inspired in part by the sinking of the Marquette.

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