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Women to the Front: Australian Women Doctors of the First World War
At the outbreak of World War I, 129 women were registered as medical practitioners in Australia, and many of them were eager to contribute their skills and expertise to the war effort. For the military establishment, however, the notion of women doctors serving on the battlefield was unthinkable. Undaunted, at least twenty-four Australian women doctors ignored official military policy and headed to the frontlines.
This book explores the stories of the Australian women who served as surgeons, pathologists, anaesthetists and medical officers between 1914 and 1919. Despite saving hundreds of lives, their experiences are almost totally absent from official military records, both in Australia and Great Britain, and many of their achievements have remained invisible for over a century. Until now.
Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee have compiled a fascinating and meticulously researched account of the Great War, seen through the eyes of these women and their essential work. From the Eastern to the Western Fronts, to Malta, and to London, we bear witness to the terrible conditions, the horrific injuries, the constant danger, and above all, the skill and courage displayed by this group of remarkable Australians. Women to the Front is a war story unlike any other.
This book explores the stories of the Australian women who served as surgeons, pathologists, anaesthetists and medical officers between 1914 and 1919. Despite saving hundreds of lives, their experiences are almost totally absent from official military records, both in Australia and Great Britain, and many of their achievements have remained invisible for over a century. Until now.
Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee have compiled a fascinating and meticulously researched account of the Great War, seen through the eyes of these women and their essential work. From the Eastern to the Western Fronts, to Malta, and to London, we bear witness to the terrible conditions, the horrific injuries, the constant danger, and above all, the skill and courage displayed by this group of remarkable Australians. Women to the Front is a war story unlike any other.
320 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 26, 2019
‘The War Office regrets that it cannot use the services of women doctors.’
In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, there were 129 women registered as medical practitioners in Australia. Many of those women wanted to contribute their skills and expertise to the war effort. For the military establishment, this was unthinkable. Despite this, at least twenty-six Australian women doctors were known to have served in World War I. The women were aged between 27 and 56, and all but five of them were single.
In this book, Ms Sheard and Ms Lee explore the stories of the Australian women who served as anaesthetists, medical officers, pathologists and surgeons between 1914 and 1919. These women saved hundreds of lives, but the official military records are largely silent about their experiences and achievements.
Because women doctors were officially prevented from enlisting and denied gazetted commissions, they were further disadvantaged post-war:
‘With no official enlistment they could not benefit from government legislation that gave employment preference to returned serviceman and neither could they seek a pension for any ill health resulting from their war work.’
Until I read this book, I was unaware of the Australian women doctors who served during World War I. I knew quite a bit about the nurses who had served, and about the battles fought. I knew, in other words, what the official records tell us about who served and where. Meticulous research by Ms Sheard and Ms Lee provides information about some of the women known to have served.
Details from personal diaries enable us to appreciate, over one hundred years later, the conditions experienced, and the injuries treated. And these women served at both the Eastern and Western Fronts, in Malta and in London. Their courage and skill should be recognised.
And after World War I?
‘Despite their war service, which demonstrated that women doctors could exercise the same professional skills as their male colleagues, the post-war period saw a return to the exclusion of women from what Dr Flora Murray called ‘the professional prizes’ in medicine.’
I finished this book wanting to know more about these Australian women doctors. I felt both inspired and humbled by their service.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In 1914, at the outbreak of World War I, there were 129 women registered as medical practitioners in Australia. Many of those women wanted to contribute their skills and expertise to the war effort. For the military establishment, this was unthinkable. Despite this, at least twenty-six Australian women doctors were known to have served in World War I. The women were aged between 27 and 56, and all but five of them were single.
In this book, Ms Sheard and Ms Lee explore the stories of the Australian women who served as anaesthetists, medical officers, pathologists and surgeons between 1914 and 1919. These women saved hundreds of lives, but the official military records are largely silent about their experiences and achievements.
Because women doctors were officially prevented from enlisting and denied gazetted commissions, they were further disadvantaged post-war:
‘With no official enlistment they could not benefit from government legislation that gave employment preference to returned serviceman and neither could they seek a pension for any ill health resulting from their war work.’
Until I read this book, I was unaware of the Australian women doctors who served during World War I. I knew quite a bit about the nurses who had served, and about the battles fought. I knew, in other words, what the official records tell us about who served and where. Meticulous research by Ms Sheard and Ms Lee provides information about some of the women known to have served.
Details from personal diaries enable us to appreciate, over one hundred years later, the conditions experienced, and the injuries treated. And these women served at both the Eastern and Western Fronts, in Malta and in London. Their courage and skill should be recognised.
And after World War I?
‘Despite their war service, which demonstrated that women doctors could exercise the same professional skills as their male colleagues, the post-war period saw a return to the exclusion of women from what Dr Flora Murray called ‘the professional prizes’ in medicine.’
I finished this book wanting to know more about these Australian women doctors. I felt both inspired and humbled by their service.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
November 12, 2021
After the Great War broke out in 1914, Melbourne doctor Helen Sexton was just one of what was to be at least 28 Australian female medical practitioners, aged between 27 and 56 years olds trained primarily in general medicine but also in specialties from pathology to anaesthesiology to surgery, who attempted to enlist as a doctor with the Medical Armed Forces in Australia or Britain. Their offers rebuffed, the Australian women, eager to aid in the war effort, instead reached out to international medical organisations and soon found roles that allowed them to serve in several settings, including within mobile medical units stationed along both the Eastern and Western fronts.
In Women to the Front, authors Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee, draw on available official documents, personal letters, diaries and other material to ensure that these intrepid Australian women doctors are acknowledged, and lauded for their contributions to the war effort. The book is organised in five parts, with a narrative divided by year and then location, detailing the women’s movements across the Allied fronts. There are a lot of names, acronyms and dates which can be difficult to keep track of, but helpfully the authors also include a glossary, individual biographies of each doctor, and a comprehensive index.
Though Sheard and Lee state they had limited information to work from, they have put together compelling accounts of the women’s experiences as wartime doctors. The Australian doctors served in at least twelve countries, working under a wide range of conditions in a variety of roles from 1914 to 1918. Doctors Laura Forster (NSW), and Ethel Baker (QLD), joined the BHF (British Field Hospital for Belgium) which established a 150-bed field hospital in Antwerp in September of 1914. The facility was quickly flooded with wounded soldiers, the women often required to operate through the night. Barely a month later they were forced to evacuate as the German Army advanced. Pathologist Dr Elsie Dalyell (NSW), the first Australian woman to win a Beit Fellowship, offered her skills to the War Office, but when refused joined Lady Cornelia Wimborne’s Serbian Relief Fund field hospital, and headed to Serbian Macedonia on the Eastern Front where she was responsible for the collection and analyse of specimens to detect and diagnose everything from wound infections, to diseases such as Typhus. Dr Agnes Bennett (NSW) volunteered with the French Red Cross and treated the wounded soldiers from the battlefields of Gallipoli who were shipped to Cairo. Sydney (NSW) doctor Marjory Little took charge of the 46th Stationary Hospital’s laboratory. The 46th, in Étaples, France, was an isolation hospital in the largest army base camp ever established overseas by the British, and contained one of the army’s most important laboratories.
It’s humbling to think of the strength, courage and will these Australian women doctors, and the others noted in this book, possessed. At a time when women had so little agency, and were barely tolerated in the medical profession, they fearlessly entered the theatre of war and proved themselves more than capable. Infuriatingly they were afforded very little official respect from the Australian or British military, either during or after the war. Though sometimes awarded a nominal rank they were denied full military pay rates and benefits. A handful of the women were awarded minor British medals, none received recognition from Australia. Other countries were more generous, Dr Lilian Cooper (QLD), for example, was awarded the Serbian Order of St Sava, the Russian Cross of St George, and the French Red Cross Medal for her services. Astonishingly, when World War II began, the Australian military again refused the enlistment of Australian women doctors despite their outstanding record of service.
Inspiring and informative, Women to the Front is an important book acknowledging the invaluable contributions made by the extraordinary Australian women who selflessly served the Allied Forces as doctors during World War I.
In Women to the Front, authors Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee, draw on available official documents, personal letters, diaries and other material to ensure that these intrepid Australian women doctors are acknowledged, and lauded for their contributions to the war effort. The book is organised in five parts, with a narrative divided by year and then location, detailing the women’s movements across the Allied fronts. There are a lot of names, acronyms and dates which can be difficult to keep track of, but helpfully the authors also include a glossary, individual biographies of each doctor, and a comprehensive index.
Though Sheard and Lee state they had limited information to work from, they have put together compelling accounts of the women’s experiences as wartime doctors. The Australian doctors served in at least twelve countries, working under a wide range of conditions in a variety of roles from 1914 to 1918. Doctors Laura Forster (NSW), and Ethel Baker (QLD), joined the BHF (British Field Hospital for Belgium) which established a 150-bed field hospital in Antwerp in September of 1914. The facility was quickly flooded with wounded soldiers, the women often required to operate through the night. Barely a month later they were forced to evacuate as the German Army advanced. Pathologist Dr Elsie Dalyell (NSW), the first Australian woman to win a Beit Fellowship, offered her skills to the War Office, but when refused joined Lady Cornelia Wimborne’s Serbian Relief Fund field hospital, and headed to Serbian Macedonia on the Eastern Front where she was responsible for the collection and analyse of specimens to detect and diagnose everything from wound infections, to diseases such as Typhus. Dr Agnes Bennett (NSW) volunteered with the French Red Cross and treated the wounded soldiers from the battlefields of Gallipoli who were shipped to Cairo. Sydney (NSW) doctor Marjory Little took charge of the 46th Stationary Hospital’s laboratory. The 46th, in Étaples, France, was an isolation hospital in the largest army base camp ever established overseas by the British, and contained one of the army’s most important laboratories.
It’s humbling to think of the strength, courage and will these Australian women doctors, and the others noted in this book, possessed. At a time when women had so little agency, and were barely tolerated in the medical profession, they fearlessly entered the theatre of war and proved themselves more than capable. Infuriatingly they were afforded very little official respect from the Australian or British military, either during or after the war. Though sometimes awarded a nominal rank they were denied full military pay rates and benefits. A handful of the women were awarded minor British medals, none received recognition from Australia. Other countries were more generous, Dr Lilian Cooper (QLD), for example, was awarded the Serbian Order of St Sava, the Russian Cross of St George, and the French Red Cross Medal for her services. Astonishingly, when World War II began, the Australian military again refused the enlistment of Australian women doctors despite their outstanding record of service.
Inspiring and informative, Women to the Front is an important book acknowledging the invaluable contributions made by the extraordinary Australian women who selflessly served the Allied Forces as doctors during World War I.
July 17, 2019
This book provides its reader with the stories of some remarkable women. Among other things, it gives an insight into the courage and tenacity that they showed during World War 1.
April 16, 2019
A big thanks to Penguin for sending me this inspiring read for review!
Initial Thoughts upon Finishing
This was truly an inspiring read that I so enjoyed exploring. It’s really well put together, telling us the stories, trials and triumphs of women who not only pushed the bounds of society but established themselves in a way that no other woman had before. It was really interesting to learn about all their postings as doctors - not nurses - during WWI, especially in different places I don’t know much about and in times (such as the Balkan Wars) I’ve not explored before. Does this now provide me with the perfect opportunity to use alllll the Mulan gifs? Why, yes it does. Dreams do come true.
Women to the Front
What is this actually about? This is a non-fiction book dedicated to 25 Australian women who became doctors and served during World War One. It tells the story of each woman chronologically, breaking it up from the beginning of the war to the last years of the war. And it is a fascinating read. The fact that it also happens to be about (essentially) badass Australians is even better.
The book is superbly well-written and compelling, despite being non-fiction (although I'm at least 136.3% nerd so maybe I'm biased on that point). It's simply awesome to have such detailed accounts of these women who got back up every time they were knocked down until they got where they wanted to get. Seriously, having read this I don't think I would have had it in me.
This is actually the first book to comprehensively document so many women's movements and involvements during WWI. Whilst reading the book I frequently paused just to be like, wow, it's so easy to forget this isn't made up and that someone has put in all this effort to research and bring the important stories of these women back to life.
Why This Resonated with Me so Much
As I made my way through this book and was introduced to each of these amazing Australians, it was absolutely a bit of a self-reflection process, where I continually compared what I am doing with my life, compared to these women.
When I think that I'm 22-years-old, working a desk job and blogging like there's no tomorrow, and these women were defying the odds, working in extremely harsh conditions and saving lives, well . . . I certainly feel put to shame. Yet, I am so inspired. Maybe I'll rashly change life courses after this book, and I'll go out there and save an endangered species whilst riding on the back of a magical, flying panda. Yes, that sounds good to me.
The Richness of History
It definitely surprised me as to how much both Heather and Ruth (the authors) were able to present to us in this narrative on each of the 25 Australian doctors. WWI has such an interesting history and whilst I've come across the stories of nurses, not once had I ever encountered in my studies the story of female doctors. To be perfectly honest, I never even thought to imagine that there were female doctors out there on the battlefield serving for their country.
Not only that but the fact that these women got on with it despite not fully being recognised for their position nor achievements. And heaven forbid I even being to imagine how difficult it must've been to manage to work on the frontlines with your period. I can only hope the stress made them skip it continually because damn, these women truly are my heroes.
It was wonderful, however, to have little snippets from the women's own words, from pieces taken from their diaries and accounts of their time. I would love to read more on each one of their lives, particularly those who served in the Balkan wars. In fact, I've now discovered this is an event/era that I really want to read up on!
Summary
I think this is simply an incredible read that you should get onto if you enjoy learning new history with every book you reach for. Nothing thrills me more than a book that gifts you with some unexpected knowledge about an era of history you thought you were reasonably well-versed in. I loved this and I want to read more!
Happy reading!
Initial Thoughts upon Finishing
This was truly an inspiring read that I so enjoyed exploring. It’s really well put together, telling us the stories, trials and triumphs of women who not only pushed the bounds of society but established themselves in a way that no other woman had before. It was really interesting to learn about all their postings as doctors - not nurses - during WWI, especially in different places I don’t know much about and in times (such as the Balkan Wars) I’ve not explored before. Does this now provide me with the perfect opportunity to use alllll the Mulan gifs? Why, yes it does. Dreams do come true.
Women to the Front
What is this actually about? This is a non-fiction book dedicated to 25 Australian women who became doctors and served during World War One. It tells the story of each woman chronologically, breaking it up from the beginning of the war to the last years of the war. And it is a fascinating read. The fact that it also happens to be about (essentially) badass Australians is even better.
The book is superbly well-written and compelling, despite being non-fiction (although I'm at least 136.3% nerd so maybe I'm biased on that point). It's simply awesome to have such detailed accounts of these women who got back up every time they were knocked down until they got where they wanted to get. Seriously, having read this I don't think I would have had it in me.
This is actually the first book to comprehensively document so many women's movements and involvements during WWI. Whilst reading the book I frequently paused just to be like, wow, it's so easy to forget this isn't made up and that someone has put in all this effort to research and bring the important stories of these women back to life.
Why This Resonated with Me so Much
As I made my way through this book and was introduced to each of these amazing Australians, it was absolutely a bit of a self-reflection process, where I continually compared what I am doing with my life, compared to these women.
When I think that I'm 22-years-old, working a desk job and blogging like there's no tomorrow, and these women were defying the odds, working in extremely harsh conditions and saving lives, well . . . I certainly feel put to shame. Yet, I am so inspired. Maybe I'll rashly change life courses after this book, and I'll go out there and save an endangered species whilst riding on the back of a magical, flying panda. Yes, that sounds good to me.
The Richness of History
It definitely surprised me as to how much both Heather and Ruth (the authors) were able to present to us in this narrative on each of the 25 Australian doctors. WWI has such an interesting history and whilst I've come across the stories of nurses, not once had I ever encountered in my studies the story of female doctors. To be perfectly honest, I never even thought to imagine that there were female doctors out there on the battlefield serving for their country.
Not only that but the fact that these women got on with it despite not fully being recognised for their position nor achievements. And heaven forbid I even being to imagine how difficult it must've been to manage to work on the frontlines with your period. I can only hope the stress made them skip it continually because damn, these women truly are my heroes.
It was wonderful, however, to have little snippets from the women's own words, from pieces taken from their diaries and accounts of their time. I would love to read more on each one of their lives, particularly those who served in the Balkan wars. In fact, I've now discovered this is an event/era that I really want to read up on!
Summary
I think this is simply an incredible read that you should get onto if you enjoy learning new history with every book you reach for. Nothing thrills me more than a book that gifts you with some unexpected knowledge about an era of history you thought you were reasonably well-versed in. I loved this and I want to read more!
Happy reading!
December 14, 2023
I don't think I would have sought out this book, but having stumbled across it at a Lifeline Bookfest I'm glad I bought it and now read it. World War 1 is an era I am particularly interested in, not so much the conflict itself but perhaps more the social implications.
The book implies just how unprepared the British War Office was for this conflict. Not so much the men and armaments but the back up - the hospitals, and the staff and supplies needed for the same. I remember previously reading how it was considered your patriotic duty to sign up and 'do your bit' but only if you were a man. Here we have more than qualified women doctors willing and able to do their bit but the War Office (WO) said thanks but no thanks.
Before reading this book I was familiar with the work of Lillian Cooper and Josephine Bedford in Brisbane, and had always wondered why they served in Serbia. This book explained how often times the combatants on the Eastern Front, were more than willing and supported female medical personnel to staff their hospitals and aide stations. It was also clear that even when the WO were more accepting of female surgeons due to need, they clearly did not get the recognition they deserved. Imagine being put forward for a high honor because of the work you done under extreme conditions but being given a lesser award in its place.
I was glad to see that the author had also attempted to highlight the medical challenges faced in the field - gas gangrene for one. A condition I suspect almost unknown now and perhaps easily treated with antibiotics; but severely problematic when no medication was available to treat it and wounds were often infected as soon as they occurred. If anything, without being explicit, this book highlights just how 'bloody' war is.
I found this book to be well researched and am more than appreciative of the work both authors - Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee had put in to it. It is so much more than this little review highlights and definitely provided food for thought not only from a WW1 perspective but also women's recognition.
The book implies just how unprepared the British War Office was for this conflict. Not so much the men and armaments but the back up - the hospitals, and the staff and supplies needed for the same. I remember previously reading how it was considered your patriotic duty to sign up and 'do your bit' but only if you were a man. Here we have more than qualified women doctors willing and able to do their bit but the War Office (WO) said thanks but no thanks.
Before reading this book I was familiar with the work of Lillian Cooper and Josephine Bedford in Brisbane, and had always wondered why they served in Serbia. This book explained how often times the combatants on the Eastern Front, were more than willing and supported female medical personnel to staff their hospitals and aide stations. It was also clear that even when the WO were more accepting of female surgeons due to need, they clearly did not get the recognition they deserved. Imagine being put forward for a high honor because of the work you done under extreme conditions but being given a lesser award in its place.
I was glad to see that the author had also attempted to highlight the medical challenges faced in the field - gas gangrene for one. A condition I suspect almost unknown now and perhaps easily treated with antibiotics; but severely problematic when no medication was available to treat it and wounds were often infected as soon as they occurred. If anything, without being explicit, this book highlights just how 'bloody' war is.
I found this book to be well researched and am more than appreciative of the work both authors - Heather Sheard and Ruth Lee had put in to it. It is so much more than this little review highlights and definitely provided food for thought not only from a WW1 perspective but also women's recognition.
February 2, 2021
Absolutely Brilliant. !!!!!
Got this as a Christmas present, and it was the best one I ever got...... As a kid we never were taught about this part of Australian history..... I feel cheated by that.
IMHO.... Certainly should be required reading by history students, at high school level at least, Most certainly mandatory reading for history students at University level.
If someone does not make a documentary about this books stories, or a mini series on TV, it would be a shame.
Huge thanks to Heather Sheared and Ruth Lee, for writing on a topic that could have been lost and never discovered..
Got this as a Christmas present, and it was the best one I ever got...... As a kid we never were taught about this part of Australian history..... I feel cheated by that.
IMHO.... Certainly should be required reading by history students, at high school level at least, Most certainly mandatory reading for history students at University level.
If someone does not make a documentary about this books stories, or a mini series on TV, it would be a shame.
Huge thanks to Heather Sheared and Ruth Lee, for writing on a topic that could have been lost and never discovered..
July 15, 2019
An interesting and well paced recount
I found the first half of the book very interesting, with a snappy pace. All the characters were fairly easy to follow across the time line. While the writing was occasionally wordy, and could have used a few extra commas to remind people of the subject in some of the longer clauses, it was overall well written and accessible. I found myself less interested in reading the individual women's biographical information in the second half of the book. I think it would have been better to have incorporated this into the main body of the book.
I found the first half of the book very interesting, with a snappy pace. All the characters were fairly easy to follow across the time line. While the writing was occasionally wordy, and could have used a few extra commas to remind people of the subject in some of the longer clauses, it was overall well written and accessible. I found myself less interested in reading the individual women's biographical information in the second half of the book. I think it would have been better to have incorporated this into the main body of the book.
December 22, 2022
This was a gift from a dear family friend in Oz who shares my fascination with WWI history, and loves to send me stuff related to WWI and medicine. This account of the experiences of “women doctors” in WWI was interesting and made me so so so glad that social norms have changed … even when we still struggle and chafe at the harnesses that society puts on us.
Ultimately though it was a slog to read, the accounts of the women’s experiences were interesting but the book reads like a scroll of human resource entries and it took me for.ev.er. to finish.
Ultimately though it was a slog to read, the accounts of the women’s experiences were interesting but the book reads like a scroll of human resource entries and it took me for.ev.er. to finish.
July 4, 2019
Excellent well written history following Australian female doctors in WW1. There is a larger group of women to follow than I had expected, but they all had the same issues of not being taken as seriously as their male peers by the military or medical establishment on their return. A book of inspiring and brave women, with an insight into the horrors of the causalities of war. Definitely worth a read.
October 18, 2020
Inspirational book about female doctors who defied the expectations of their time to firstly, study to become doctors, and then find their way to the front and provide medical aid to soldiers when most governments were against them enlisting.
Read
July 25, 2019Didn't finish it.
June 10, 2024
A bit of a slog of a read.
January 30, 2021
At the outbreak of WWI, 129 women were registered as medical practitioners in Australia, and many of them were eager to contribute their skills and expertise to the war effort. For the military establishment, however, the notion of women doctors serving on the battlefield was unthinkable. Undaunted, at least 24 Australian women doctors ignored official military policy and headed to the frontlines.Despite saving hundreds of lives, their experiences are almost totally absent from official military records, both in Australia and Great Britain, and many of their achievements have remained invisible for over a century.Until now.From the Eastern to the Western Fronts, to Malta, and to London, we bear witness to the terrible conditions, the horrific injuries, the constant danger, and above all, the skill and courage displayed by this group of remarkable Australians.The Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH), founded by suffragist and activist Dr Elsie Inglis. Formed to provide female-staffed mobile medical units, when they offered their services to the British Army early in the war they were famously told to “go home and sit still”.The agitation in that phrase tells us much about the attitudes to women doctors, and revealed the deep mistrust of suffragist movement. But there was also something deeply psychological in that agitation, central to the war effort: war was men’s business, and men’s motivation in sacrificing their lives pivoted around women’s vulnerability, their need for protection.Giving women authority disrupted this relation.The British Army would eventually relent on women doctors later in the war, but the Australian Army would not appoint a female doctor until 1943.It was run as a military hospital, with discipline, curfews and mail censoring. Women did every aspect of the work: as surgeons, nurses, ambulance drivers,mechanics, sanitation workers,cooks and orderlies.Women doctors were sort of tolerated postwar,but largely on the proviso they confined themselves to women’s and children’s health. It was a kind of “stay in your lane” mentality.These women are an important part of our history,paving the way for the future.
July 20, 2019
I found this book really interesting, not only because of the stories of the women doctors who went to WW1, but there was also a lot of information about logistics and requirements for the war itself, things I certainly hadn't thought of before, so I learnt a lot.
It is amazing to read about how these women were respected and received accolades from overseas organisation and countries for their outstanding service, but not from their country Australia. I don't know, but I hope they've received recognition posthumously at the very least.
Really very interesting.
It is amazing to read about how these women were respected and received accolades from overseas organisation and countries for their outstanding service, but not from their country Australia. I don't know, but I hope they've received recognition posthumously at the very least.
Really very interesting.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews