Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Mary McILROY  

Mentioned In Despatches  

The Bendigo Advertiser would report in August 1917:- BENDIGO NURSES ABOARD.                                                                       ‘There are many Bendigo nurses doing noble work in the great war in attending the sick and wounded. News has reached Bendigo that Sisters Mary McIlroy and Jean Bisset, who graduated at the Bendigo Hospital, have been awarded the second star, which carries the rank of sister of the Military Hospital. Sisters M'llroy and Bisset left on the 18th May, 1915, in the Mooltan. They started duty at Lemnos, and were for a time in the hospital at Abbaffich, Egypt. From Egypt they proceeded to Brighton, England, and after a brief stay there were transferred to the Lord Kitchener War Hospital. At the latter hospital they spent six months, and then went to France, where they have been doing duty in the Military hospitals.'[1]

The Ballarat Courier would give a more detail on the status of the second star award: -                                                                      ‘News has been received that Sisters Mary M'llroy and Jean Bisset, who graduated at the Bendigo Hospital have been awarded the second star, the honorary rank of first lieutenant in military hospitals.' [2]

News on Mary would again reach the Bendigo readers in May 1918: - MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES.                                                          ‘In the last issue of the "Commonwealth Gazette" the name of Sister Mary McIlroy appears as having been mentioned by Field-Marshall Sir Douglas Haig for conspicuous services rendered in the Nursing Corps in France. Sister M'llroy is a daughter of Mr. J. S. M'llroy, superintendent of the Bendigo Benevolent Asylum, and received her early training at the Bendigo Hospital. It was three years on Saturday last when Sister M'llroy embarked for Egypt, and on arrival there was despatched to Lemmos and to afterwards at Brighton (England). From Brighton Sister M'llroy went to France, where she rendered conspicuous services in the field hospitals. Latest advices show that Sister M'llroy is in Italy.[3]

On the return of Doctor Captain Jackson, Mediacl Officer of the AIF on Gallipoli paid tribute to the Australian nurses there:-                     ‘I would like to speak of the work, from the medical point of view, what the nurses have done. I have scarcely ever seen mentioned the really hard and good work our Australian nurses have done. (Applause). There were 500 nurses in Egypt and 100 in England. I always think they have worked harder than any soldier or any officer. They have been continually on duty, whereas the officers and men have their hard times and other times are easy. I know nurses who have worked right from the day they left Australia. They worked on the boat, in Egypt organising hospitals, they went into tents on the sand amidst great heat, and gone all through the campaign. I have seen them out at Ismailia when the Turks raided the Canal, organising hospitals, and they worked on the hospital boats coming back to Australia. (Applause). They have also worked in England. I think they have done more really hard continuous work than any others in the war.'[4]

SERVICE DETAILS: 

Born:  Sandhurst (Bendigo) in 1885.

Parents: Jonathan Simpson McILROY and Jane nee TULLY

Address: Barnard St, Bendigo

Occupation: Nurse (Trained 3 years Bendigo Hospital)

Enlisted: 13 May 1915

Age at enlistment: 30 years

Embarked: 18 May 1915 from Melbourne per ‘Mooltan’

Served: Gallipoli, Egypt, England, France & Italy

Fate: Returned to Australia 17 April 1919

Died: 05 July 1977

Greek Island of Lemnos – 1915

‘The No. 3 General Hospital was established on Lemnos, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, near Gallipoli in August 1915 with forty nurses arriving on 8 August. They were piped ashore by bagpipes and marched to their basic accommodation, which consisted of rows of tents. The hospital began receiving patients the next day, with around 200 wounded arriving from Gallipoli. Over the next few days the numbers of patients increased dramatically, with around 800 patients being treated. The steady increase in casualties was due to the August offensives that were taking place on the Gallipoli Peninsula and most of the casualties were suffering from gunshot wounds. After the evacuation of Allied troops from the Gallipoli Peninsula in December 1915, the hospital staff left Lemnos for Egypt in January 1916’.

[1] The Bendigo Advertiser, Wed 15 Aug 1917  Page 7  BENDIGO NURSES ABOARD.

[2] The Ballarat Courier, Mon 20 Aug 1917  Page 6  BENDIGO.
[3] Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918)  Mon 20 May 1918  Page 8  BENDIGO NURSE ABROAD.
[4] Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918)  Thu 15 Jun 1916  Page 24  CAPTAIN JACKSON, A.A.M.C.

Photo – Australian Nurses in WW1 website.     http://ww1nurses.gravesecrets.net/mca-mcn.html

Photograph: TROVE Table Talk Thursday 27 May 1915 page 19