Lady Rachel Dudley's Australian Voluntary Hospital (AVH)
Lady Rachel Dudley's Australian Voluntary Hospital (AVH), also known as RAMC No 32 Stationary Hospital, Australian Volunteer Hospital and Lady Dudley's Field Hospital was a military hospital staffed by volunteer Australian expatriate nurses in England, which served on the Western Front between 1914 and 1916. When War broke out in August 1914, Lady Rachel Dudley, the wife of the former Governor-General of Australia, decided to create a hospital utilizing Australian doctors and nurses, who were already in the United Kingdom. There were relatively large numbers of these individuals. While doctors and nurses could be trained in Australia, advanced qualifications required study in England. Australian-born Lady Dudley CBE, RRC discussed her proposal with King George V and the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener. The hospital was formally offered to the British government by the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sir George Reid on August 15, 1914. Volunteers responded to advertisements placed by Lady Dudley in English newspapers on August 17, 1914. Women doctors were not accepted, but women nurses were welcomed.
For much of this time it was the only Australian presence on the Western Front. First located at Saint-Nazaire, it was later moved to the Grand Hotel du Golf in Wimereux, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais Department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It functioned as an independent hospital.
Lady Rachel Dudley and the Australian Voluntary Hospital Nurses
The Australian Voluntary Hospital was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William L'Estrange Eames CBE, an officer in the Australian Army Medical Corps who had served in the Second Boer War. He was granted the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Medical Corps. Australian Ida Greaves RRC, MiD, from the Royal Newcastle Hospital (and later QAIMNS), was appointed matron. The hospital soon reached a strength of 120 staff, of whom 36 were nurses. In total, 63 Australian nurses served with this unit at some point. Among the Australian volunteer nurses were Sister Agnes Wylie RRC, Nursing Sisters Patience Outram Anderson and Helen Bowie, Sisters Effie Garden and Patience Massey and Staff Nurses Emily Dilnot and Elize Forrest.
Lady Rachel Dudley's Australian Voluntary Hospital (AVH), also known as RAMC No 32 Stationary Hospital, Australian Volunteer Hospital and Lady Dudley's Field Hospital was a military hospital staffed by volunteer Australian expatriate nurses in England, which served on the Western Front between 1914 and 1916. When War broke out in August 1914, Lady Rachel Dudley, the wife of the former Governor-General of Australia, decided to create a hospital utilizing Australian doctors and nurses, who were already in the United Kingdom. There were relatively large numbers of these individuals. While doctors and nurses could be trained in Australia, advanced qualifications required study in England. Australian-born Lady Dudley CBE, RRC discussed her proposal with King George V and the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener. The hospital was formally offered to the British government by the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sir George Reid on August 15, 1914. Volunteers responded to advertisements placed by Lady Dudley in English newspapers on August 17, 1914. Women doctors were not accepted, but women nurses were welcomed.
For much of this time it was the only Australian presence on the Western Front. First located at Saint-Nazaire, it was later moved to the Grand Hotel du Golf in Wimereux, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais Department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It functioned as an independent hospital.
Lady Rachel Dudley and the Australian Voluntary Hospital Nurses
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