Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Dora HANDRAN-SMITH was the daughter of John HANDRAN-SMITH & Lavinia Ann Mary OSBORNE and was born on the 9th of October 1890 in Perth, WA.

Her father was born on the 2nd of June 1854 in Perth, WA and was the son of Michael SMITH & Catherine Henrietta HANDRAN.

Her mother was born in 1864 in Perth, WA and was the daughter William Robert S OSBORNE & Matilda TWYNHAM.

John & Lavinia were married on the 23rd of January 1884 in St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, WA.

Dora was the fourth child born into this family of 10 children, 4 boys & 6 girls.

Her father was a Furniture maker and later became the secretary and handicapper of the Western Australia Turf Club.

He was the promoter and co owner of Perth’s first Brewery, Harwood & Smith’s, which was later known as the Swan Brewery.

In 1896 they family lived at “Mervyn House”, Howick Street, Perth and then 2 years later had moved to “Belmont House”, Guildford Road, Belmont and her father was the first chairman of the Belmont Road Board.

He then converted Belmont House into the Sandringham Hotel in 1901.

Sadly her little brother John died on the 25th of January 1901, from Tuberculosis.

In 1902 her father became the licensee of the Collie Hotel at 8 Collie Street, Fremantle and the family moved into the hotel.

The following year her father renamed the hotel to the “Oceanic Hotel”.

Dora attended and boarded at the Loreto Osborne Convent, which was the old Osborne Hotel in Claremont.

In August 1905 her father became unwell and then suffered from Paralyses which resulted in his entire left side of his body paralysed and he lost the power of speech. His mental faculties remained totally unimpaired and he was able to transact his business in writing and carry on correspondence. Her mother took care of him.

Dora was 16 years old when her father suffered an Apoplectic seizure and died on the 17th of February 1907 at the Oceanic Hotel, Packenham Street, Fremantle.

They held a private ceremony, placed him in a polished Jarrah coffin, and buried him in the Fremantle Cemetery.

The family remained in the Hotel until May 1907.

Her mother then married Widdowson TATE on the 6th of August 1907 in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Fremantle.

Widdowson was the Chief Officer on board the mail steamer, Meeinderry.

Her mother soon left Widdowson owing to his cruelty.

During this time her mother Lavinia had met Henry Frederick August HERBERT, a stevedore, and they had become friends.

Dora’s mother and younger siblings then boarded a steamer for South Australia and at the time her mother was not aware that Henry was also on board, but he went with them to Adelaide as a friend.

Dora stayed in Western Australia and went to live with her sister Mrs DESMOND in Geraldton.

In South Australia, Henry boarded with Dora’s mother and siblings in Adelaide before her mother took over the Kentish Arms Hotel in Kent Town, in February 1908.

Henry and Dora’s brother; Godfrey were barmen in the hotel.

On the 15th of June 1908 her mother married Henry Frederick August HERBERT in Adelaide.

Henry was born in St Kilda, VIC in 1868 and had previously been married to Jane Ethel HARRISON on the 30th of December 1896 in Melbourne, but they had divorced in 1906.

Henry had gained work as a carpenter and had moved to Carlisle St, Glanville.

Lavinia relinquished the licence of the Kentish Arms the week after they married.

Dora gained her last sibling; Henry Douglas HERBERT on the 31st Of May 1910 in Edward Street, Norwood and then her mother and step-father moved to 23 Sefton Street, Largs.

In March 1911 Dora left Geraldton for nursing duties in the Perth Public Hospital.

On the 30th of April 1915 Dora completed her questionnaire prior to her enlistment into the Australian Army Nursing Service.

At the age of 25, Dora enlisted into the Australian Army Nursing Service on the 19th of May 1915 at No.8 Australian General Hospital in Fremantle, WA.

Dora embarked from Fremantle on Monday the 24th of May 1915 on board RMS Mooltan as staff nurse. Dora was the youngest nurse so far to leave WA for the front.

On board were the surgeons and nurses of the 3rd Australian General Hospital who had been deployed for Mudros, on the Greek Island, and had embarked from Sydney 19 days earlier.

She disembarked at Turk's Head, West Mudros on the 7th or 8th of August. 

Supplies and equipment did not arrive in a timely manner, and things were therefore in rather a state of chaos when the wounded began to arrive. Their dressings, which had been applied on the hospital ships, were saturated and covered with flies. Mattresses had to be placed on the floors of the marquees, and blankets used as pillows. Fortunately, little bed-covering was needed, as the weather was intensely hot, and the patients were clad in coarse calico shirts, and the clothing which they wore in the trenches. Despite the hospital operating in a hostile environment, their mortality rate was only 2 percent.

Whilst she was here, her brother; Leonard, enlisted into the 9th Light Horse Regiment, 13th Reinforcement on the 17th of September 1915 (1886) and embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A19 Afric on the 5th of January 1916.

Initial patients in the hospital were those injured in the August attempt by the allies to break out from their restricted position. Later patients were almost exclusively ill with dysentery or paratyphoid, and many of the staff also fell ill. In late November and December 1915 the patients were exhibiting the effect of the weather on men who had inadequate uniforms - severe frostbite included.

The hospital was expanded to 1,000 beds as part of the preparation for the expected heavy casualties when the troops were to withdraw from Gallipoli.

With the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the hospitals on Lemnos were disbanded, and the nurses boarded SS Oxfordshire on the 14th of January 1916 and sailed on the 17th for Alexandria, Egypt.

They disembarked at Alexandria 10 days later and re-established at Abbassia in Egypt in early 1916 in an old harem, where they remained in operation for eight months.

On the 12th of June Dora was promoted to Sister.

Dora and the entire 3rd AGH embarked from Alexandria for England on the 25th of September 1916, disembarking on the 5th of October.

They then operated the Kitchener War Hospital at Brighton, England and Dora gained 2 weeks furlough on the 9th of November.

Whilst on furlough, Dora and two other nurses, with two Aussie diggers, were passing Windsor Castle and noticing the flag flying entered the grounds to inspect it's beauties. While there the King happened to notice the party and instructed a footman to invite them to visit the castle. After having been shown over the castle by the footman they were invited to stay to afternoon tea, at which King George, Queen Mary, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of York were present. His Majesty expressed his pleasure at meeting the visitors, evincing a keen interest in Australia.

This experience Dora greatly treasured in her memory.

Whilst she was in England her step-father; Henry, at the age of 44, enlisted into the 32nd Battalion, 12th Reinforcement on the 2nd of October 1916 and was allotted the service number 4540.

Henry embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A35 Berrima on the 16th of December 1916.

Dora and the 3rd AGH remained in Brighton until they moved to France on the 11th of April 1917 with 91 nursing staff.

In France it then operated from tents and huts at Abbeville, in the Somme area of France. For most of their time on the Western Front they admitted gassed patients and treated them briefly before sending them to other places.

Her step-father proceeded to France on the 22nd of May 1917 and was taken on strength with the 50th Battalion. On the 31st of August 1917 he was transferred to the 4th Australian Division Headquarters, ANZAC Provost, for traffic control duty.

On the 6th of October 1917 Dora was admitted into the 38th Stationary Hospital in Calais, suffering from Neurasthenia, and then transferred to the 14th General Hospital in Wimereux.

She embarked for England 6 days later and after she had recovered she was detained for duty on the 5th of November at the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Southall.

She was only here for 3 days before she was attached to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield.

During this time her step-father Henry was Killed in Action on the 15th of October in Belgium.

On the 21st of December 1917 Dora embarked for Australia as nursing staff for the wounded and invalid soldiers, disembarking in Fremantle on the 4th of February 1918.

She was granted furlough and then returned to duty at No.8 Australian General Hospital on the 9th of April.

Dora re embarked on the 25th of October 1918 from Fremantle on board  SS Malta, but this time she was heading for India, disembarking in Bombay on the 14th of November.

Also on board was Sister Inez Clare Cronin who Dora had trained with in Perth and who had already served in Egypt and England.

Dora and Inez would now be together for the rest of their war service.

In India Dora was posted to the 34th Welsh General Hospital in Maharashta, Deolali, almost 260 kilometres from Bombay.

The hospital complex consisted of old barracks, stone bungalows and galvanised iron huts spread over a large area nearly two and a half kilometres long by one kilometre wide. Housing over 2000 beds, the nurses cared for patients with diseases such as malaria, smallpox, Spanish influenza and cholera, in trying climatic conditions.

On the 28th of May 1919 she was transferred to the 19th British General Hospital in Rawalpindi.

The nursing sisters here were working on the outskirts of civilization where the temperature in the hospital at Tank ranged from 46 to 51 degrees centigrade. Situated on the Baluchistan border, the hospital was vividly described by Matron Davis, "Here, where no woman has ever been sent before – the last place God ever made – we work in the most appalling heat one could imagine".

Two months later Dora & Inez were transferred to the 53rd British General Hospital in Kuldana, where they remained until they embarked from Bombay on the 9th of November 1919 for Australia, via Singapore on board SS Kashgar.

In Singapore they boarded the SS Charon on the 10th of December with 5 other AANS nurses and disembarked in Fremantle on the 24th of December, just in time for Christmas.

Dora was discharged from the AANS on the 24th of February 1920 and moved to South Australia to live with her mother and sister Ida & little brother, at 23 Sefton Street, Largs Bay (now Jetty Road).

She joined the District Trained Nursing Society (DTNA), now the Royal District Nursing Service (RDNS).

She nursed in Kimba and Pt Adelaide and in July 1930 Dora became the nursing Sister for the Gawler District, which she held for 3 years.

During this time her sister Ida, married Harry George OKE and now Harry had also moved in with Doro’s mother.

In 1937 she became the accountant of the DTNS in the main office Pirie Street, Adelaide.

Her youngest brother; Henry Douglas HERBERT enlisted into the RAAF on the 23rd of July 1940 (27164).

Her mother died on the 25th of November 1945 at their home and they buried her in the Cheltenham Cemetery.

Harry then died on the 5th of June 1950 and now there was only Dora and Ida in the little home.

Ida died on the 29th of June 1964 and Dora buried her with her mother.

Dora died on the 29th of April 1963 in her home at Largs Bay and was buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Sec FX, Drive A, Path 32, Plot 298C with her mother & sister Ida.

Her grave is unmarked with no headstone