Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Matron
Royal British Nursing Service
2nd Australian General Hospital
48th General Indian Hospital
Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service

Daughter of Charlotte and late Richard BARROW
Of 5 Silver St., Marrickville (late 'Bundaleer', Junee), NSW
Next of kin Miss L.J. BARROW
Of 'Ashwell', Templers, SA
Aged 36 years
Trained at Adelaide Hospital and Ru Rua Hospital
Appointed QAIMNSR 20 May 1915
Embarked 15 May 1915 per 'Mooltan'

Left South Australia with the Royal British Nurses Association 1915
Attached to Army of Black Sea
Arrived in Salonika 16 May 1918
Served in Egypt and Salonika
Awarded Royal Red Cross 1st Class 01 January 1917
Transferred from Egypt to Salonika 09 May 1918
48th Indian General Hospital, Constantinople 04 August 1920
Completion of contract and service terminated 18 September 1920
Returned to Australia 20 October 1920 per 'Konigen Luise'
Did not marry
Died 10 May 1946 at Adelaide, SA
Aged 67 years
Resided Malvern, SA
Buried West Terrace AIF Cemetery Kendrew Oval

Lucy Emma BARROW was born on the 30th of June 1878 at Crystal Brook, Sth Australia. She was the eldest daughter of Richard BARROW and Charlotte Eleanor HARRIS, who married on the 22/9/1875 at Ashwell, Templers, SA. Richard died 26/6/1918 at Marrickville, NSW, aged 69, and Charlotte died 21/11/1927 at Clarmore Private Hospital, Sydney, aged 79.

Siblings: John Varian b.19/8/1876 Crystal Brook; Percival Gilbert b.12/11/1880 Pinda, SA – WW1: Sgt 229, 6th LH – KIA 8/11/1917; Lionel Richard b.25/10/1882 CB; (Twins) Eveline Crystal b.15/1/1885
CB; Stella Broughton b.15/1/1885 – marr W.J. THOMAS 4/3/1912; Dulcey Helena b.31/7/1888 CB – marr T.J. BRABIN 16/2/1915;

Lucy trained in nursing at the Adelaide Hospital for 3 years, having been appointed Probationary Nurse in February 1906. She completed a course in Invalid Cookery at the School of Mines and Industries, Adelaide in 1908. She was a member of both the Australian Trained Nurses’ Association (ATNA) and the Royal British Nursing Association (RBNA). Her nursing service included 5 years and 4 months as a Charge Sister, and 2 months as an Assistant Matron – including 4 years and 5 months of Theatre work. At the time she applied to join the Army nursing service, she was nursing at the Rua Rua Hospital, Nth Adelaide.

WW1 Service:
On the 16th of April 1915 Lucy applied to join the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), but with more applications than available places, she was instead offered a position with the British Forces. The British War Office had requested that Australia send nurses to join the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR), and Lucy was one of 36 nurses who was accepted into the contingent being sent in May. Together with the 5 other Adelaide nurses, which included Elsie Trenaman, she joined the RMS Mooltan at Adelaide on the 20th of May 1915.  Originally intended for England, they were instead disembarked in Egypt on the 15th of June and Lucy was posted to the 17th General Hospital at Alexandria.

She also served for 4 ½ months on a hospital ship in the Aegean; and at No 15 General Hospital, Alexandria as a theatre sister (1917).
Sister: Awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross (ARRC / RRC, 2nd Class) 1 January 1917
Transferred from Egypt to Salonika on the 9/5/1918, arriving 16/5/1918 and serving at the 25th Casualty Clearing Station, B.S.F. for 15 months, where she gained the Greek Medal of Military Merit, (Class 4).
Awarded the Royal Red Cross (RRC, 1st Class) 3/6/1919 for services in the Balkans and the Black Sea
Her final posting in 1919 was to the 48th General Indian Hospital in Constantinople, Turkey, as Acting Matron.
Lucy embarked for return to Australia on the 18th of September 1920 on the Konigin Luise, arriving Sydney 20/10/1920. Her discharge from the QAIMNSR took effect from the 18/9/1920. She listed her return address in Australia as “Bundaleer,” Junee, NSW.

In 1921 she was Matron of the Red Cross Home ‘Aberfoyle’, Healesville, Vic.
Her address in 1922 was listed at the Victorian Trained Nurses Club, 452 Lonsdale St, Melbourne.
From the 15/8/1923 she was the Matron of the Hutchinson Hospital, Gawler, Sth Australia; before serving at the Repatriation General Hospital, Keswick, SA for fourteen years from c1924 to 1938.
In 1934 she had taken a holiday to Central Australia with a group which also included her friend Elsie Trenaman.

She attended the 1939 Anzac eve reunion at the Returned Army Nurses’ Club in Melbourne.
1943 Electoral Roll lists her at 53 Park St, Sth Yarra, Vic.
Lucy experienced the other side of hospital care in 1945 when she spent 48 days in the Adelaide Hospital from 27th of October to the 13th of December.  She was a resident of Eton St, Malvern, SA in 1946.

Lucy died on the 10th of May 1946 at a private hospital in Adelaide, SA, and was buried in the AIF War Cemetery, West Terrace, Adelaide.

*****************

The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA), Thur 8 Feb 1906 (p.1): HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS
At the meeting of the Executive Council on Thursday the following appointments to the Adelaide Hospital were made on the recommendation of the Hospital Board: –
………; Lucy Emma Barrow, probationary nurse; …………

Chronicle (Adelaide, SA), Sat 29 May 1915 (p.46):
NURSES FOR THE FRONT – MANY SOUTH AUSTRALIANS
Melbourne, May 20
A further large complement of nurses is leaving Australia for service in the Australian Hospitals
at the front. ……………
The following South Australian nurses are leaving to join the R.A.M. Corps: – Nurses E.M. Trenaman,  J. Buchan, M.H. Barry, L.E. Barrow, V. Scott, and B.E. Veit.

Kapunda Herald (SA), Fri 5 Nov 1915 (p.2): Letter from Nurse Trenaman
Sister Basham, matron at the Kapunda Hospital, has received a long and interesting letter from Nurse Trenaman, who was for many years on the staff of the hospital. She is now in Egypt, and her letter is dated September 20 at Alexandria. Among other things she says: –
………….I have had a change since I wrote last. I still belong to the staff of the No. 17 General. My letters are still to be addressed there, but my services have been lent for a time to the Bombay Presidency Hospital. It is not far from No. 17, and is staffed by English sisters, who have been working, most of them, in the same hospital in Poona, India. ……
Sister Barrow, my special chum, and I went to see Miss Graham yesterday. She was down from Cairo for a week’s rest, staying at a seaside place just a few steps from here. ………

The British Journal of Nursing, Jan 6, 1917 (p.7):   THE ROYAL RED CROSS
Amongst the New Year’s Honours the following ladies are awarded the decoration of the Royal Red Cross, in recognition of their valuable services with the Armies in the Field:
QUEEN ALEXANDRA’S IMPERIAL MILITARY NURSING SERVICE RESERVE
2nd CLASS: Sisters: ………………., Miss L.E. Barrow, …………….

The British Journal of Nursing, Dec 27 1919 (p.394-5): HONOURS FOR NURSES
The King has given orders for the following appointments to Orders, for valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations, dated June 3rd, 1919:

BALKANS AND ARMY OF THE BLACK SEA. The Royal Red Cross (First Class)
Miss L.E. Barrow, A.R.R.C., A/Matron, Q.A.I.M.N.S.R.; ………………..

Bunyip (Gawler, SA), Fri 20 Feb 1920 (p.2):  SOCIAL AND PERSONAL
Sister L.E. Barrow, daughter of Mr R. Barrow, N.S.W., and grand-daughter of the late John Barrow, of Ashwell, Templers has been honoured with the much coveted decoration of the Greek Order, and is now Matron of the 48th Indian General Hospital at Constantinople. This Hospital contains 1,000 beds, and is maintained for the services of the Army of Occupation of the Black Sea. Nurse Lucy Barrow left South Australia on May 20, 1915, first going to Alexandria, thence to Lemnos Isle, where she assisted in the work entailed by our men in the attempt to open the Dardanelles. She then returned to Alexandria, to the 17th General Hospital, remaining there the greater part of the Egyptian and Palestine campaign. During this period she received the decoration of the Royal Red Cross Order.
Sister Barrow then took up transport duties on hospital ships, and afterwards spent 15 months at
the 25th Casualty Clearing Station, B.S.F., at Salonica, where she gained her Greek Order. In the Spring of 1919 she was ordered to Constantinople to take charge of the Hospital there. Sgt P. Barrow, a brother, was killed in Palestine in November 1917.

Bunyip (Gawler, SA), Fri 17 Aug 1923 (p.2): HUTCHINSON HOSPITAL
The Board of Management of the Hutchinson Hospital, Gawler, met on August 13, ………
The Secretary reported that the newly appointed Matron, Sister Barrow, would commence her duties on
15th August; …………

Bunyip (Gawler, SA), Fri 21 Dec 1923 (p.2): HUTCHINSON HOSPITAL
Annual Meeting
The Board has pleasure in testifying to the capabilities and management of the Matron, Sister Barrow, …………

News (Adelaide, SA), Sat 24 Sept 1927 (p.4): REUNION OF NURSES
Visiting Matron Honored
To meet Miss Conyers, C.B.E., R.R.C., of Melbourne, matron-in-chief of the Australasian Army Nursing Service) Matron Davidson, C.B.E., R.R.C., of the Repatriation Hospital, assisted by Mrs A.A. Brice (formerly Sister Jeffries, R.R.C.) and Matron Pritchard, of Myrtle Bank Soldiers’ Home, entertained a number of the returned army nurses at Keswick. ………….
Invited also were………………, Sister Barrow, R.R.C., ………

News (Adelaide, SA), Tue 17 Apr 1928 (p.11):
MR BERT HINKLER PHOTOGRAPHED AT VISIT TO KESWICK MILITARY HOSPITAL
[Group photo – Sister Barrow, 2nd from left]
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/129146790

News (Adelaide, SA), Mon 18 Jun 1934 (p.3):
AEROPLANE ACCOMPANIES CENTRAL AUSTRALIAN TOURISTS
[Photo]

BOND’S Party of Central Australian tourists who left by car for the Flinders Ranges this morning.
The party includes …….; Miss L. Barrow, Keswick; Miss E. Trenaman, Keswick; ……… They will later proceed to Alice Springs, and while there will visit numerous scenic wonders in the MacDonnell Ranges. A special feature of the tour will be the tourist aeroplane, which accompanies the party over the route. This is the first time an aeroplane has ever accompanied a tourist party in Australia. A modern wireless will keep passengers in touch with city news and cricket results.
…….

The Advertiser (Adelaide), Tue 28 Jun 1938: Has Nursed Soldiers For 20 Years
[Photo]
Almost 20 years of nursing service to soldiers, both during the war and since, is the outstanding record of Sister Lucy Barrow, who will retire on Thursday from the staff of the Repatriation General Hospital, Keswick. Sister Barrow has been at Keswick continuously for 14 years, and many ex- service men have reason to be grateful for her help and sympathy.
Leaving Australia in the Mooltan on May 25, 1915, Sister Barrow saw more than five years’ service abroad. On arrival in Egypt she was first attached to No 17 General Hospital, Alexandria, later joining a hospital ship for four and a half months’ service in the Aegean Sea. On her return she joined the No 15 General Hospital, where her outstanding ability as a theatre sister was recognised, and subsequently most of her time there was spent in the operating theatre. Later, Sister Barrow served in Macedonia for 12 months, and was from there appointed matron to a British Hospital in Turkey.
In addition to the usual service medals, Sister Barrow was awarded the Australian [sic] Royal Red Cross in 1916, and the Royal Red Cross in 1918. She was mentioned in dispatches in 1918, and in 1919 was awarded the Greek Medal in recognition of her service. Returning to Australia in October 1920, Sister Barrow became matron of Hutchinson Hospital, Gawler, and after a few years there joined the nursing staff at Keswick.
On leaving the hospital for a short holiday prior to her retirement, Sister Barrow received, among many other gifts, a beautiful leather dressing case from the men in the hospital and outpatients, and an autograph book which she greatly prizes, containing names of past and present patients.

The Australian Women’s Weekly, Sat 30 Jul 1938:
Adelaide Nurse Has Distinguished Career
SISTER LUCY BARROW, who recently retired from the staff of the Repatriation Hospital, Keswick, South Australia, has had a long and distinguished nursing career.
After training at the Adelaide and Rua Rua Hospitals, Sister Barrow joined the British Nursing Service in 1915 and worked in hospitals in Egypt, Macedonia and Turkey.
Besides receiving the usual certificates, she was mentioned in dispatches in 1918 and was awarded
both second-class and first-class Royal Red Cross decorations. The first-class Royal Red Cross decoration is the highest honor that may be conferred upon a nursing sister. [Photo]

The Age (Melb, Vic), Tue 25 Apr 1939 (p.4): [Photo]
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/205980305

The Advertiser (Adelaide), Sat 11 May 1946: DEATHS
BARROW – On May 5 at private hospital, Lucy Emma Barrow, of Eton street, Malvern, loved eldest daughter of the late Richard and Charlotte Barrow, of Junee, NSW. “Lest we forget”

The Mail (Adelaide), Sat 11 May 1946:
DEATHS
BARROW – On May 10 at private hospital, Lucy Emma Barrow, of 62 Eton street, Malvern, eldest
daughter of the late Richard and Charlotte Barrow, of Junee, NSW.
FUNERAL NOTICES
BARROW – The Friends of the late Miss LUCY EMMA BARROW, ex nursing sister (1st AIF), late of 62 Eton street, Malvern, are respectfully informed that her Remains will be Interred in the AIF Cemetery. The Funeral is Appointed to Leave the Funeral Home, 213 Port road, Hindmarsh, on SUNDAY at 3.30pm.

The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA), Fri 17 May 1946 (p.10): ANZAC SISTERS
MATRON L.A. Provis, Henley Beach, writes; – “I cannot let this opportunity pass without referring to the passing on of our 1st AIF sisters. Attending the service at the AIF Cemetery last Sunday for the burial of Sister L.E. Barrow, I was impressed by the gathering of these noble women to pay their last tribute and respect to their late comrade. A retiring personality, Sister Barrow did not refer under any circumstances to her experiences. Only recently I learned after all these years of her wonderful work abroad.
“She enlisted with several South Australian sisters with the Queen Alexander [sic] Imperial Nursing Service on May 15, 1915, served abroad until September 18, 1920, was decorated twice – Royal Red
Cross (1st class), Greek decoration, service in Salonika, Silver Cross – and was mentioned in dispatches [sic] twice. She was on the staff at the Repatriation Keswick Hospital for 14 years until retirement. What a record! And yet, who knows and who cares? Just another old Army nurse.
“The Rev. A.L. Bulbeck (returned from both wars) officiated.

Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga, NSW), Sat 22 Jun 1946 (p.3): Riverina District News
The death occurred in Adelaide recently of Sister Barrow, sister of Mrs T.J. Brabin and Mrs D.G. Brabin, of Eurongilly. Deceased was 67 years of age, and a member of the nursing staff of the forces during World War 1, when she was twice decorated, first with the Royal Red Cross (first class), and later a Greek decoration for service in Salonika. She was also mentioned in despatches twice and was on the staff of  the Keswick Repatriation Hospital for 14 years.