HENNESSY, May
| Service Number: | Nursing Sister |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 May 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Nursing Sister |
| Last Unit: | Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1) |
| Born: | Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia, December 1893 |
| Home Town: | Bendigo, Greater Bendigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Longlea State School |
| Occupation: | Nurse |
| Died: | Malaria, Geelong, Victoria, Australia, 9 April 1919 |
| Cemetery: |
Bendigo Civil Cemetery Buried in a Military Funeral at Bendigo Civil Cemetery, Carpenter St, Bendigo, Vic – in the Church of England Section: Plot H, Row 1, Grave No. 24202 |
| Memorials: | Australian Military Nurses Memorial, Bendigo Base Hospital Roll of Honour, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor, Bendigo St. Paul's Cathedral Nurse May Hennessy Memorial Plaque, Kapunda Dutton Park Memorial Bullwinkel Memorial, Mansfield War Memorial Gates, Maryborough Nurses Honour Board, Melbourne St. Paul's Cathedral Australian Army Nursing Service Great War Roll of Honour, Sale Cenotaph |
World War 1 Service
| 29 May 1917: | Enlisted Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), Nursing Sister, Nursing Sister, Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 1917: | Involvement Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 12 Jun 1917: | Embarked Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), RMS Mooltan, Melbourne | |
| 25 Jul 1917: | Involvement Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), Nursing Sister, Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (post WW2), Served at Salonika | |
| 9 Apr 1919: | Involvement Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: Australian Army Nursing Service awm_rank: Staff Nurse awm_died_date: 1919-04-09 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Enlisted 29/5/1917 at Bendigo, Vic
Embarked Melbourne 12/6/1917 on board the RMS Mooltan – and disembarked Suez 19/7/1917 – re-embarking on the Chagres on the 25/7/1917 for Salonika – arriving 30/7/1917 & att 42nd Gen Hosp.
Admitted 43rd Gen Hosp 27/11/1918, seriously ill with Malaria
Returning from Salonika, she was disembarked from the Gorgan at Alexandria 8/2/1919.
Re-embarked at Suez 22/2/1919 on the Novgorod for return to Australia – where she was disembarked at Geelong 31/3/1919 and admitted to hospital with Malaria, complicated with dysentery & jaundice.
Died 9/4/1919 at “Riviera” (Nurse McKenzie’s) Private Hospital, Myers St, Geelong, Vic, age 25 (pre-discharge) of Malaria & Acute Nephritis contracted in Salonika.
Buried in a Military Funeral at Bendigo Civil Cemetery, Carpenter St, Bendigo, Vic – in the Church of England Section: Plot H, Row 1, Grave No. 24202
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
Sister May Hennessy, of Bendigo, who died at Geelong on Thursday from malarial fever, contracted while doing hospital duty at Salonika, was accorded a military funeral on Saturday. Sister Hennessy is the first Bendigo nurse to lose her life through war duty. The funeral was one of the largest seen in Bendigo. A firing party of returned soldiers and a band playing the "Dead March" preceded the salvage waggon (sic) of the Bendigo Fire Brigade, on which was the coffin. This was followed by over 200 returned soldiers. Returned soldiers acted as pall bearers and coffin bearers and at the conclusion of the service they fired a volley over the grave.
The Argus (Melbourne), 15 April 1919.
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