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Her name is recorded on the Nurses Roll of Honour in St. Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, Victoria and RSL Memorial Hall, Maffra, Victoria.

Louise Riggall was the daghter of Edward and Martha Riggall. With a natural artistic talent, Louise studied at the Bendigo School of Art, travelling to Paris to hone her skills. Becoming an accomplished painter, she spent time in Italy and France before returning to Melbourne where she was living when war broke out in 1914. 

Louisa was determined to ‘do her bit’ and joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment of the Australian Red Cross, where, as a fluent French speaker, she was keenly received. 

“I could not stop in Australia while the need for women at the front is so urgent. I am not a trained nurse, but I am willing and ready to serve in any capacity – in a kitchen or peeling potatoes, so long as I am helping the boys.”

VADs were civilian nursing orderlies who worked without pay in a variety of supporting roles. At the beginning of the war, Australian VADs were unable to travel overseas so Louisa began working at Broadmeadows camp with new recruits for the AIF in Victoria.

In 1915 along with two other VADs Louisa finally travelled to Heliopolis in Egypt on board ‘RMS Moldavia’ to work at the 1st Australian General Hospital, a vital hub for the sick and wounded evacuated from the Dardanelles. Louisa gained a reputation as a woman simply devoted to her work and was much loved by the soldiers who she helped to care for. In March 1916, the 1st Australian General Hospital was ordered to close and relocate to Rouen. Following some rather rushed packing, the personnel and equipment of the 1st Australian General Hospital boarded H.M. Hospital Ship ‘Salta’ for Marseilles. 

Arriving at Marseilles on April 5th the unit disembarked, and after a few days waiting for orders, arrived at Rouen on April 13th 1916. The hospital opened remarkably quickly and began receiving patients on 29th April. The hospital expanded rapidly, with over 1,000 beds to treat British and Commonwealth soldiers, and in latter years, members of the AEF.  With her language skills and dedication to her work, Louisa was put in charge of organising stores for the entire hospital. This was vitally important work which she excelled at. With her ‘indomitable spirit’ and work ethic, the Red Cross asked her to take on a larger role, supervising 12 hospitals in the area. Travelling across France, Louisa helped to provide Australian soldiers with care and compassion in their darkest hours, along with supporting hospital staff. She would arrange entertainment for convalescents and even undertook the task of furnishing the Red Cross hall at Rouen. It was through her ceaseless work that Louisa became well known for her dedication, with one colleague remarking that Louisa could somehow manage to do the work of 3 people, no matter the conditions. No task was too big or small for her and with her knowledge of Paris she would often even visit to purchase gifts for the soldiers in her care to send home to relatives.

Her sudden death led to an out-pouring of grief, with telegrams and letters sent from, not just her colleagues who felt her loss keenly, but the soldiers whom she had laboured tirelessly for. She was buried at St Sever cemetery in Rouen, her coffin carried by 6 officers and draped in the Union Flag, followed by staff and ex-patients a like, who contributed to a huge floral tribute in her honour. Reports of the funeral spoke of the turnout of a ‘mass of mourners who did not know her but knew her work’ such was Louisa’s reputation. Mentioned in despatches, Louisa had given her life just as truly and as any soldier.

In 1935 a memorial plaque in her honour was unveiled at the Johnson Memorial Hall in Maffra, Victoria, Australia. The inscription reads:

LOUIE B RIGGALL V.A.D.
Who Gave Her Life
For The Sick And Wounded
At Rouen, August 31st 1918.

In a newspaper article about the dedication, it was revealed that not only did Louisa give her time and compassion to the sick and wounded, she also left a cheque for £500 for the relief of incapacitated soldiers in Gippsland, Victoria.

‘She was loved by the soldiers and her demise will be regretted by many an Australian soldier’

Daughter of Edward Sheens RILEY and Martha nee GREGORY
Resided Pental Road, Caulfield, Vic.
Served in Heliopolis and 1st Australian General Hospital France
Mentioned in despatches for her services with the British Red Cross

DURING THE GREAT WAR SHE GAVE HER LIFE FOR SICK AND WOUNDED AT ROUEN

Louisa Blanche Riggall, of Pental road, Caulfield, formerly of Rouen, France, artist, who died on August 31 last, left by will dated September 28,1915, real estate valued at £3,500 and personal property valued at £1,923 to relatives and friends, subject to a be-quest of £500 to be applied in the discretion of her trustees for the benefit of Australian soldiers who may be wounded or incapacitated on active service, or to any fund, association, or body having for its object the benefit of wounded or incapacitated soldiers.

DIED ON SERVICE.
The Late Miss L. B. Riggall.
A Tribute to her Work.

In connection with the lamented death of Miss Louie B. Riggall, formerly of Byron Lodge, Tinanba, who three years ago gave her services free to the Empire as a nurse, the following cables have been received :

Boulogne-sur-mer,
4th Sept. 1918.

Exceedingly regret inform you Miss L. B. Riggall died suddenly 31st August from cerebral hemorrhage, Sick Sisters Hospital, Rouen. Have advised Colonel Riggall.  Mailing particulars.

Australian Red Cross.

Federal Govt. House, Melb.,
3rd Sept. 1918.Dear Sir,

I regret very much having to confirm advice given to you. The following cable has been received today from Lieut-Col. Murdoch  Australian Red Cross Commissioner, London, dated 2nd September:

"Deeply regret our Rouen worker, Miss Riggall, died suddenly Saturday, 8th General Hospital, Rouen, cerebral hemorrhage." In a recent report on Red Cross workers in France, our Commissioner, Lieut-Col. Hayward wrote :-"I would  like to mention the splendid services rendered by Miss L. B. Riggall in Egypt and in France. Her work at No. 1 A.G.H. at Rouen is beyond praise, and her visiting of Australians in Imperial hospitals in that section has been wholehearted and thorough."

-Yours Faithfully,
Philadelphia N. Robertson,
Sec. Aus. Red Cross Society.

Federal Govt. House, Melb.,
9th Sept. 1918.

Dear Sir,-On my own behalf and that of the Australian Red Cross Council, I would express to you our deepest sympathy in the loss you have sustained by the death of Miss L. B. Riggall. For three years Miss Riggall has been a most active and devoted worker for our Society, and only by last mail I received a letter from Colonel Hayward, expressing  his appreciation of the services she was rendering in connection with the Hospital at Rouen. She will bevery much missed by her fellow workers as well as by the sick and wounded, for whom she labored till the last hour of her life.

Yours sincerely,
Helen Munro Ferguson.

Speaking of the death of Miss Riggall, "Every Week," Bairnsdale, says :-Nurse Riggall was well known to Mr Frank Holloway, of Bairnsdale, and many other Gippslanders who were under her care whilst in hospital at Rouen. Mr Holloway states that the young lady who was also engaged in Red Cross work at Heliopolis, was loved by the soldiers, and her demise will be regretted by many an Australian soldier.

The energy Australian art students put into their work is so common in the great Paris studios that little or no comment is made. Now and again, however, somebody rises head and shoulders above the throng of competitors and carries off the honours in a wholesale fashion that occasions some consternation.  A case in point is Miss Louisa Riggall, who went to Europe eighteen months ago to study art.  Her previous experience was not extensive, but she had received an excellent training from Mr. A. C. Woodward, art director of the Bendigo School of Mines- Miss Riggall, like every other youthful enthusiast, painted pictures, one of which won a prize at the A.N.A. competitions. But on going to Paris she found she would have to go back to the alphabet, so to speak. And she had the rare good sense to forget all about the early efforts and buckle to in earnest. Entering the Delacluse studio she commenced in the junior division with what gratifying result is new seen. After twelve months Miss Riggall won first mention for painting in oils, first  mention for a torso for life, and first mention also in three other different sections, the competitors being picked students of all nationalities. Such industry was a record even for a Delacluse student, and so Bendigo has good cause to be proud of its daughter. The young lady was handicapped at first by her ignorance of the French language, and this had to be mastered before any progress could be made. Miss Riggall, who is a niece of Mr. and Mrs. William Riggall, of " Somercotes," St. Kilda, has nearly two years yet to spend at the Delacluse studio, so that with such a beginning, she is likely to win brilliant honors.

Table Talk Friday 18 November 1898 page 13