Person

Wilson, Grace Margaret (1879 - 1957)

CBE RRC

Born
25 June 1879
South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died
12 January 1957
Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Nurse

Summary

Grace Wilson served as a nurse in both world wars. In the First World War she was principal matron of the 3rd Australian General Hospital in England, Lemnos, Abbassia and France. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1916 for her work in the Australian Army Nursing Service and was appointed as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1919 for her work in France. In the Second World War Wilson was matron-in-chief of the nursing service with the Australian Imperial Forces. She served in the Middle East until ill health forced her to return to Australia in August 1941.

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Details

Chronology

1905 - 1908
Education - Nurse training at the Brisbane Hospital
July 1914 - October 1914
Career position - Matron, Brisbane Hospital
October 1914 - April 1915
Career position - Principal Matron, 1st Military District, Australian Army Nursing Service
April 1915
Military service - Transferred to the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital
May 1915 - August 1915
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in England
August 1915 - August 1916
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in Lemnos, Greece
1916
Award - Royal Red Cross (RRC)
October 1916
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in Abbassia, Egypt
October 1916 - April 1917
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in Brighton, UK
April 1917 - September 1917
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in Abbeville, France
September 1917 - April 1918
Military service - Temporary Matron-in-Chief, Australian Imperial Force Headquarters in London
April 1918 - May 1919
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian General Hospital in Abbeville, France
1919
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
May 1919 - January 1920
Military service - Principal Matron, 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford, UK
January 1920
Life event - Returned to Australia
November 1920 - January 1933
Career position - Matron,e Children's Hospital, Melbourne
August 1925 - c. 1940
Career position - Matron-in-Chief, Army Nursing Reserve
1929
Award - Florence Nightingale Medal, International Committee of the Red Cross
January 1933 - c. 1940
Career position - Matron, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne
September 1940 - August 1941
Military service - Matron-in-Chief of the Nursing Service, Australian Imperial Force, serving in the Middle East
September 1943
Career position - Executive Office of the Nursing Control Section of the Department of Manpower Directorate in Victoria

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Australian War Memorial Research Centre

  • Grace Wilson, Portrait, May 1915, A05332; Australian War Memorial Research Centre. Details
  • Grace Wilson, Portrait, c. 1942, 044158; Australian War Memorial Research Centre. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

  • McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Book Sections

  • McCarthy, Janice, 'Wilson, Grace Margaret (1879-1957), nursing sister and army matron-in-chief' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 12: 1891 - 1939 Smy-Z, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), pp. 522-523. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120587b.htm. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

  • Alexander, John A. ed., Who's who in Australia 1944 (Melbourne, Victoria: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1944), 906 pp. Details

Ailie Smith

Created: 13 March 2003, Last modified: 15 June 2022

EOAS ID: biogs/P004432b.htm

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