PIDGEON, Elsie Clare
| Service Number: | Sister |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 April 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Sister |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Australian General Hospital - WW1 |
| Born: | St Leonards, North Sydney, NSW, 28 September 1879 |
| Home Town: | North Sydney, North Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Nurse |
| Died: | Chatswood, NSW, 4 July 1956, aged 76 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sydney Hospital Staff of Active Service Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Apr 1915: | Enlisted Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1), Sister, Sister, Australian Army Nursing Service (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 May 1915: | Involvement 3rd Australian General Hospital - WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 15 May 1915: | Embarked 3rd Australian General Hospital - WW1, RMS Mooltan, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Daughter of Thomas PIDGEON and Emily Louisa nee COBCROFT
Of 89 High Street, North Sydney, NSW
Did not marry
Awarded Royal Red Cross 2nd Class
Date of Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 7 November 1918
Location in Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: Page 2111, position 128
Date of London Gazette: 3 June 1918
Location in London Gazette: Page 6475, position 7
SISTER ELSIE CLARE PIDGEON.
Awarded Royal Red Cross.
For several years Sister Pidgeon was a member of the nursing staff of Sydney Hospital, but when war came its call was insistent, and the light to which she turned was the lamp of Florence Nightingale; to the succour of sick and wounded soldiers of Australia it led her to within sound of the guns on Gallipoli, to the parched sands of Egypt, and to the stricken fields of France, where German brutality spares not even the Red Cross, and where only a few months ago nine heroic women working beside her were killed in the night by bombs, and nine others were wounded. The consistent bravery of this Sydney girl has now been recognised by the award of the Royal Red Cross, an honour rare and highly prized amongst the thousands of noble women of the British race who, under the Red Cross,have added new and wonderful glories to the traditions of womanhood during the present war.
Leaving Sydney about three years ago with the 3rd Australian General Hospital, under Dr. Fiaschi, Sister Pidgeon, who is the eldest daughter of Mr. T. Pidgeon, of 98 High-street, North Sydney, went to Lemnos Island, where she remained for eight months. After this she spent six months in Egypt, followed by asimilar period at the new Kitchener Hospital at Brighton (England), and then she went to France, where she has been ever since. The ribbon of her decoration was presented by General Birdwood, and the cross itself is to be pinned on by the King.
Sydney Morning Herald Friday 16 August 1918 page 8
SYDNEY NURSE
Receives Nightingale Medal
The N.S.W. Division of the Australian Red Cross Society has been notified by its Federal body, (The Australian
Red Cross Society Melbourne) , that the International Red Cross Committee in Geneva has awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal this year to Sister Elsie Clare Pidgeon, A.R.R.C., Assistant Matron of the Sydney Hospital.
The object of the issue of this medal, which is awarded every second year to coincide with Florence Nightingale
Day in England (May 12) is to perpetuate the memory of Florence Nightingale whose influence and inspiration
has passed from generation to generation since the days of the Crimean War.
The medal and diploma are issued in recognition of services rendered in times of war and peace. For distinguished services during the war, Sister Pidgeon was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross, and the position she now occupies is evidence in itself of the services she has rendered in times of peace.
Her Excellency, Lady Isaacs, President of the Australian Red Cross Society, will present this medal and diploma on the occasion of the Annual Birthday Dinner of the Red Cross Headquarters Younger Set which is to be held on Tuesday evening, July 16, when the Chairman and members of the Red Cross Executive and many other prominent citizens will be present.
The Land (Sydney) Friday 05 July 1935 page 18
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