Virtual
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Australia

Marion Lillian Addison was born on the 21st of December 1885 in New Glenelg, South Australia.  Addison was the daughter of Daughter of John Gollan Addison and Marion nee Johnston.[1]

 As of a young age, Addison played competitive tennis and played in many youth competitions. At the age of 21, Between 1906 and 1911, Addison won numerous tennis titles at the Championships of Victoria, South Australia and New South.  She held the title for the women’s champion of South Australia from 1906 and 1908 to 1911.  Addison played singles, doubles as well as mixed doubles. In the years 1909 and 1911, Marion had won the title at the Victorian Championships which was known as the Victorian Open Grass Court Championships or Victorian Open. The tournament was played at the Melbourne cricket ground. Addison won all three events – singles, doubles and mixed doubles. In 1910 it was recorded that Addison had moved to the city of Melbourne.

In the year 1913, Addison began her training as a nurse at the Melbourne hospital where she then enlisted in The Australian Army Nursing Service in August 1917.  

The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was formed in July 1903 as part of the Australian Army Medical Corps. During the war, the nurses worked in hospitals abroad on hospital shops and trains or in a casualty clearing station, a military medical facility which was used to treat wounded soldiers. Nurses play a crucial part in the war as they provided care beyond their duties. They put themselves on the front line, risking their lives to save others. During the war, the nurses showed great amounts of unity and strength which were needed to support each other during the times of battle.  While in service, the nurses carried out several functions which sometimes were outside the usual ream of medical care. Not only were they physically strong and talented they were able to help the soldier and those who were injured, mentally.

During the war, hospitals and dispensaries were incredibly undeveloped and lacked many factors that a normal hospital would have. Hygiene and care were nowhere near the standard it would be in a general hospital. The medical dispensary where Addison worked in Greece was a tent with boxes outside. The boxes had the red cross symbol as it was recognizable to the soldiers. The tent was stated to have various medicine bottles behind a counter as well as several makeshift beds.[2] Salonika was a sideshow to the western front but was nevertheless an important place to regain control of the Balkans. Although there were no Australian soldiers fighting her at that time the nurses were assigned to relieve the British, French and Canadian nurses and to provide nursing care to British soldiers and Bulgarian Prisoners of War. The Australian nurses were stationed at several hospitals during the Balkan campaign. As a military nurse, there were several duties that came along with the job. The essential duties a military nurse would carry out are treating severe life-threatening injuries which consist of gunshot wounds or lost limbs. The severity of injuries may differ between patients, so the military nurses also need to be able to prepare for the worst. However, the nurses also treat patients for commons colds or even twisted ankles. Nurses also care for the well-being and emotional needs of the patients.

In the year of 1918, Addison began to suffer from lung problems. In 1919 she transferred to the 3rd Auxiliary hospital in Dartford, England. In late 1919 Addison competed in Wimbledon. She played and won the first round leading her to the second round where she unfortunately lost. She returned to Australia after Wimbledon. However, Addison still continued her tennis career. In 1921 she returned to nursing at the Melbourne hospital.

As a nurse, there are many traits and characteristics that reflect you and your job. As a nurse, Addison portrayed many of the characteristics that make up the ANZAC spirit. Addison showed courage, compassion and empathy towards others during her service.  The ANZAC Spirit is shown in lots of forms but the way in which Addison presented the ANZAC was to be a woman for others and show sympathy and compassion. By putting herself on the front line she risked her life in order to save others. Addison showed great amounts of courage by putting herself in dangerous situations purely to help others.

Lily Addison competed in the All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon in 1919. She served with the Australian Army Nursing Service 1917-19 in Greece and England.

State Library of South Australia B 58483

Known as Lily, Marion Lillian Addison had moved from Adelaide to Melbourne by 1910. In 1906 she first won the Victorian Ladies' Tennis Championship.

As a tennis player she had significant success in Australia and often played doubles with her brother J. J. Addison. She was the South Australian Ladies Tennis Champion in 1906, 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1911. She was holder of the Victorian Ladies' singles championship and mixed doubles title in 1909. In 1910 she won all three events in the New South Wales Tennis Championships - the ladies' singles, ladies' doubles and challenge pairs. In 1911 she was both Victorian and New South Wales State Ladies Tennis Champion. In late 1913, at the age of twenty seven, she commenced nursing training at the Melbourne Hospital, graduating in early 1917. She enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service in August 1917 and was posted to a number of British military hospitals in Salonika, Greece. In 1918 she suffered lung trouble. After the Armistice, in February 1919 she transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Dartford, England.

In June 1919 she played in the All England Tennis Championships at Wimbledon. She defeated Mrs Tucker, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. She was beaten by Mrs McNair in the second round 12-10, 6-2. She also competed in the mixed doubles with Max Decagis and beat Mrs L. Mauser-Doust, 6-3, 11-9.

She returned to Australia in July 1919 and by November that year had returned to local tennis, being selected in the Victorian team to play against New South Wales. In 1921 she was again nursing at the Melbourne Hospital but still managed to win the Victorian title for the fifth time. In 1925, Lily Addison held a position as Sister with the Australian Army Nursing Service Reserve.

It appears she did not marry. In 1937 she was a Sister at the Adelaide Hospital but in 1940 is recorded as living in Mont Albert, Melbourne. In 1972 she lived in Kew.

http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE4545b.htm