The identities and wartime experiences of Australian Army Nursing Service members during the Great War, with talks by Carrol Miller and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Simadas.
This is a public meeting open to the members and friends of The Western Front Association (WFA) and to members of our kindred groups and their guests: the Families and Friends of the First AIF, the Royal United Services Institute of NSW, the Military History Society of NSW, the Fromelles Association of Australia, and the Australian Society of World War One Aero Historians.
Event details
Location: The Auditorium of the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney CBD.
Date and timings: Saturday, 26th of October 2024. Arrival and registration from 10.00 am, seminar from 10:15 am to 12:30 pm inclusive of a morning tea break.
No cost, a gold coin raffle will operate to cover costs. A range of First World War books and journals will also be available for cash purchase at a substantially reduced cost.
Dress: casual.
Morning tea will be provided.
The nearest railway station to the Anzac Memorial is Museum, there is a Wilsons’ carpark on Nithsdale Street 200-metres walk from the memorial which has a discounted flat-rate weekend rate. The venue is close to buses and the George St. light-rail.
The Australian members of the Western Front Association are grateful for the support of the Anzac Memorial in providing the venue for this event. The support of our kindred groups and their members is also valued and appreciated.
Please RSVP to wfaaustraliabranch@gmail.com before the 20th of October 2024.
Programme
10:00 am: Arrival and registration.
10:15: Welcome and introductions by the Chairman, Australian branch of the Western Front Association, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Simadas, RFD.
10:30am: Carrol Miller, ‘The identity of the Nurse painted by Australian artist Fred Leist in his London studio in 1919 is revealed and her story told’. Carrol will explain the research that led to the discovery of who the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) Sister in the painting is and will reveal aspects of that nurse’s life and her service in the AANS during the Great War.
Speaker: Carrol Miller holds a Master of Arts Degree and a Diploma of Education from the University of Sydney. Carrol has taught in several independent Sydney schools, worked as a registrar and archivist and is currently a volunteer librarian in the Library of the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales Library in the Anzac Memorial, Sydney.
11:15 am: Morning tea and Refreshments break.
11:30 am: Paul Simadas, Branch chairman: ‘Sister Anne Donnell of the Australian Army Nursing Service in the Great War’. Paul will speak on the wartime service and letters of Sister Donnell and read extracts from the post-war published book of her letters. The talk will be accompanied by contemporary photographs to illustrate her story.
Speaker: Paul Simadas is an Arts and Economics graduate of the University of Sydney and an historian of the Great War. He is an executive committee member of several World War One military history groups and the long-time chairman of the WFA in Australia. He has arranged two previous seminars with a focus on Australian nurses in the Great War, and assisted with David Perkins in launching the latter’s “World War One Australian Nurses’ database” in 2022.
12:30 pm: Thanks and close.