The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was formed in 1903 by amalgamating the nursing services of the colonial-era militaries. It was initially set up as a Reserve to provide a pool of trained nurses. It operated in peacetime as an auxiliary unit, with little consideration of how well it integrated with the remainder of the…
Ken Beames – Optical Engineer and Astronomer In 2014 Canada Bay Council sponsored the “More Than Just a Name” project to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. The project memorialised the names of more than 1600 men and women who answered their country’s call to arms. Working with students from…
As Lieutenant Ernest Shannon and his men waited anxiously for the order to go “over the top”, he penned a last goodbye to his mother, knowing he would almost certainly be killed in the coming assault on the enemy’s trenches. His note records the time and date of its writing. Below is a copy of…
At the time of the First World War there was little understanding of what today is termed post-trauma stress disorder (PTSD). Returned soldiers often suffered lingering psychological damage which, although largely unrecognised, was at least as debilitating as physical injuries. Doctors were generally reluctant to diagnose a patient with shell shock, attributing their condition to…