STARLING, Winifred
| Service Number: | Staff Nurse |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Staff Nurse |
| Last Unit: | Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR) |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 16 November 1878 |
| Home Town: | Burwood, Burwood, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Ardnarie Church of England Grammar School Burwood NSW |
| Occupation: | Nurse |
| Died: | Ship 'Leinster' torpedoed, At Sea, 10 October 1918, aged 39 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Lost at sea |
| Memorials: | Darlinghurst Winifred Starling Memorial Plaque, Wentworth Falls War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 3 Nov 1915: | Enlisted British Forces (All Conflicts), Staff Nurse, Staff Nurse, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR) |
|---|
Help us honour Winifred Starling's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Daughter of John Penny STARLING and Isabella Jane nee DUDLEY
Of 'Abbeythorpe' Burwood, Sydney, NSW
Educated Ardnarce Burwood Sydney Church of England Grammar School
Trained at Victoria Hospital, Chelsea December 1901 to December 1903 and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital December 1904 to Nov 1909
Head nurse in a Private Hospital March to December 1910
Passenger of RMS 'Morea' 21 August 1915
Enlisted QAIMNSR 03 November 1915
Attached to Cambridge Hospital 04 November 1915 - 25 July 1916
Transferred to Sutton Veny Military Hospital 25 July 1916
Resigned appointment 03 November 1917
Died on the ship 'Leinster' when it was torpedoed 10 October 1918.
Information states she was a VAD attached to New Zealand Army. Australian War Memorial Red Cross Wounded and Missing records has her with No 2 New Zealand General Hospital.
Her probate notice appears 17 January 1919 and has her last address listed as late of Burwood, near Sydney
The Leinster, after being torpedoed forward, heeled over, just as the crew began to lower the life boats. The second torpedo struck three minutes later, near tile engine room, with a deafening explosion, blowing the funnels into the air, and killing the captain. One of the crew said that the steamer seemed to crumble as she sank, going down in 15 minutes. There were 650 passengers and 70 of a crew aboard, with a number of women and children, the most of whom were thrown headlong into the water, it was only possible to lower a few boats, and these were overcrowded. One filled with water and was overturned. A number of survivors were picked up, clinging to the overturned boats, while others were on the rafts which had been east from the deck of the Ill-fated mailboat.
As soon as the Leinster sent out the wireless s.o.s. call for help, 50 vessels, of all descriptions, quitted Kingstown and crowds lined the pier waiting tidings, while two hundred ambulances were in waiting for the survivors. The first rescuing vessel brought in 305, and'others about 100, also a number of dead.
An officer says that all would have been saved only for the second torpedo. Only four boats then were afloat, and the occupants saw a most terrible spectacle. The ship heavily listed, and her propellors were clean out of the water when the second torpedo struck. The torpedo's track could be plainly seen, but there was no trace of the submarine. There were tremendous explosions, some of the boats and rafts being smashed to matchwood. One lifeboat, with 70 people aboard, hung In the davits, when the boat's occupants were blown to fragments. Out of twenty postal officials, who were busy sorting the mails, only two were saved. The naval boats were first on the scene, and rescued many. Among the missing is Phyllis, daughter of the dowager Duchess of Abercorn.
Leader Monday 14 October 1918 page