Week 2: Women at war

"Tev on Greek Donk"

Creative Commons License ThruTheseLines via Compfight

Back when I was teaching, there was a great resource in schools about women at war. I used it often as it had links to many primary resources as well as interesting questions for researching.

This week our course looks at just this topic. Again we have the silent videos to watch and comment upon.

The first four videos look at women mobilized at the battlefront.

  • Racheal Pratt who lived through the war but because of injury, it followed her until her death.
  • Evelyn (Tev) Davies who had such a positive outlook both during and after the war
  • Elsie Tranter tells us about the final moments of war
  • Narrelle Hobbes nearly made it home after 4 years surviving the war

My Reflection

The four stories show dedication to the profession of nursing. All four nurses would have had terrible memories of what they were seeing or what happened to them. The most compelling to me was that of Racheal Pratt while researching more of Tev Davies I could see her positive side coming through in her images as well as her letters.

The second group of videos looks at women’s unpaid labour during the Great War

There were over 10000 societies created in Australia and New Zealand during early war time to help send comfort to the men at the battlefront. All this work was done voluntarily and without it, the war could not have been won says one historian. Women were empowered during this time period, especially when the conscription debate started. They also travelled to the home country to help out “our boys” from there.

  • Ettie Rout – sexual health reformer behind the battlelines
  • Lizzie Armstrong – masseuse and tour guide organizer
  • Hilda Williams – civilian nurse who died after the armistice
  • Mary Chomley – looking after POWs through the Red Cross

 My Reflection

To me the most compelling was that of Nurse Hilda Williams – a civilian who volunteered when she probably knew there was a chance she would die. But I was also extremely inspired with Ettie for thinking ahead to what life was going to be like for these men and their families when they returned home with VD and other sexual diseases. Mary and Lizzie were very impressive with their efficiency and organization skills.

Readers: Have you heard of other experiences perhaps closer to home of women at war? There must be many unsung women heroes who stayed at home to do their part.