5th July 1918Dear Diary,The sound is horrific and the sights even more so. As the shells drop from the sky and blow the ground and troops to bits...which leave us with more soldiers to tend to and care for. The wounds some of these men have to endure are unimaginable and shouldnÃÂt be dealt upon any human.
I, as part of the two thousand women sent overseas to assist in the Australian war effort to serve as nurses to help heal the ANZACÃÂS wounded by the battles and diseases of war, have been giving anaesthetics, bandaging and treating soldiers wounds and overall tending to the sick or injured.
Unfortunate soldiers lie on the stretchers waiting for us to tend to them, some blown apart by the shells with missing limbs and parts and most hanging on for their lives. There is little room to move in these quarters and weÃÂll soon be needing more beds and stretchers if this rate of wounded keeps up.
Johnny
English: New Zealand soldiers' encampment at Anzac...![[Portrait of Ralph Burns, Edwin A. Finckel, George Handy, Neal Hefti, Johnny Richards, and Eddie Sauter, Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y., ca. Mar. 1947] (LOC)](/uploads/3/39226/portrait-ralph-burns-edwin-finckel-george-handy-neal-hefti.jpg)
[Portrait of Ralph Burns, Edwin A. Finckel, George...One of my workmates and good friends died of a shell attack while she was assisting the wounded close to the frontline, it was a sad day for us all and we realised what the danger of our job is and that it could of happened to anyone.
The work is very tiring but we must keep going for the sake of saving lives. My brother Johnny is fighting on the front line and if he can be as brave and aid in the war and sacrifice so much for his country then so can I.
He serves as my inspiration to work through the day, helping as many of the troops as I can as Johnny would need much assistance on the front line as he can get.
We are not paid much, half as much as a man would be earning for doing the exact same job in fact. But I donÃÂt mind, I just need to know that I actually mean something in this war and have an effect on its outcome and help as many of our troops out of their poor conditions as possible.
BIBLIOGRAPHYwww.anzacday.org.au/history/ww1/overview/nurses.htmlwww.firstworldwar.com/features/womenww1_introhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_roles_in_the_World_Wars
English: A New Zealand soldier stands on the left,...
English: Monument commemorating the evacuation by ...
English: Plaque commemorating the evacuation by na...