Nurses Narratives: Sister Ellen McClelland

6/7 
AWM 4 1  
[6/19] AA 
(JTS) 19/12/[[75?]] 
  
AUSTRALIAN ARCHIVES 
ACCESS STATUS 
................. 
OPEN 
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SISTER E. McCLELLAND. 
  
 

France           Sr E. McClelland         1/43 
 C. C. S. 
  
June 1917 To 25^th Gen Hosp thence to 3^rd C.C.S. - badly wounded & gassed cases. Great difficulty in making the gassed patients comfortable. Much heavy shelling quite close to CCS. "The sick men were at times very much afraid, but were relieved when we could stay near them " 
  
Pasted label with typed red text: 
  
The Official War Historian of the Commonwealth  
Government (Dr. C. E. W. Bean), after his study of the  
collection of private war records preserved in the Australian  
War Memorial Library, wrote:-  
  
"The private diaries in this collection furnish some of its most  
valuable historical records, but, like all private memoirs which were  
not compiled with any historical purpose, they should not be  
regarded as first-hand evidence except where it is certain that they  
are so.  The diarist is almost always sincere in his desire to record  
accurately, but he is subject to no obligation or inducement to  
indicate whether he is recording his own observations or incidents  
told him by friends or heard at third or fourth hand at the mess-table.  
Thus, in some of the diaries in this collection, scenes described with  
vivid detail, and without any warning that they are told at second  
or third hand, have been found to be completely inaccurate in  
important details. A certain number also have been written up 
or revised long after the events, though doubtless usually from notes  
made at the time. In most cases the student must rely on his  
experience and on internal evidence to guide him in judging what is  
and what is not likely to be historically accurate". 

France 
To the Assistant Collator     Medical History 
MY EXPERIENCES WITH THE A.A.N.S. A.I.F. 
1/43 
In company with 40 other sisters I left Australia   
in April 1915.  We travelled by Troopship and landed  
at Suez about the end of May, after a pleasant voyage. 
Twenty of us were sent to No 1 Auxillary Hospital,  
which had been opened for the first great rush of  
wounded from Gallipolli, and at first it was very un- 
plesant, so many patients had to be admitted that the  
beds were placed too closely together, and it was difficult  
to nurse the very sick men.  The beds were made of a kind  
of wicker and were by no means comfortable.  Added  
to this all patients had to have their meals in the wards,  
there being no spare room to use as a dining Hall. In  
consequence of this the flies, (ever a serious proposition in  
Egypt) were particularly troublesome.  But soon after a  
Dining hall was built and walking patients attended there.  
After a few months the wicker beds were replaced by  
iron ones, to everybodies comfort. 
There was a piano in my ward and as concert  
parties frequently visited us the patients were well entertained  
and amused. 
What appealed to me most, right from the start  
was the magnificant behaviour of our boys, they were always  
bright and cheerful, even on admission when they were  
tired and battered about, they were always laughing and joking  
and would take off their dressings to see what was the matter,  
then they would laugh and say "oh it's only a bit of a scratch",  
but we would often find a severe wound. 
By December however the other Hospitals were  
prepared to receive a great number of wounded men, much 
 to our delight, as this gave us more room, and although  
we were still very busy we were not inconvenienced  
through lack of space and were able to give the men much 
more attention. 
About this time we heard the glad news that they

.2. 
had evacuated Gallipolli and subsequently very  
few casualties came in, and No 1 Australian General  
Hospital fully staffed with Medical Officers Sisters and  
Orderlies left Egypt for France, the sisters numbering  
117 were marched on board much to the amusement  
of the people already on the boat. 
We left Egypt with many regrets, for despite the  
hard work and other inconveniences (not to mention the  
dirt) the east had a wonderful fastination for us, the  
bright colouring seemed to rest our tired bodies. 
On arriving at Marsailles we were kept on the ship  
for two days and were told that no one expected us, and  
they did not know where we had to go.  After landing we  
stayed another few days in Marsailles and spent that time  
in sightseeing and speculating as to when we would  
begin work again.  Then we were transfered to Rouen  
a tedious train journey lasting 3 days in very cold weather,  
and when we arrived at our destination it was pouring  
rain. So Sisters were called out and had to leave the train,  
we were all very tired and miserable and when we were  
told off in batches of four and six, seperated from our  
friends, this was the last straw.   We were all sent to  
different Hospitals about Rouen were we were made  
warm and comfortable as possible.  The remaining sisters  
were sent to various French towns further up the line. 
After one week in the British Hospitals we were  
recalled to No 1 A.G.H on the Rouen Racecourse, which  
site had previously been occupied by an English Stationary  
Hospital.  After alloting the staff and preparing the  
wards, business started, we went along very quietly a 
t first with only a moderate number of admissions  
untill the big July push in 1916, when the patient's began  
to arrive in droves some slightly and others very badly  
wounded.  Most of them were very cheerful and glad  
to get to Hospital although they were only in tents. 
The patients were admitted and evacuated so  
quickly that before they were out of their beds, stretcher

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admissions were waiting to occupy them.  
In June 1917 together with several others I was sent  
to No 25 General Hospital (this was a Skin Hospital) we found  
the work there vastly different to nursing wounded cases. 
Later on we went to the 3^rd C.C.S. for a very busy  
time we had a great influx of badly wounded and gassed  
patients; the latter (the majority mustard gas) were  
blind for several days, their eyes requiring constant  
attention, otherwise the lids would have become stuck 
down together. They were very difficult to make comfortable. 
It was pathetic to see the phosgene gas patients  
gasping for air, they were all given Continuous Oxygen  
treatment, but would push their masks off to see if they  
could get more air. After having so many gassed  
cases there would generally be a big rush of badly wounded. 
Those who were able to travel were evacuated to  
the Base Hospitals very quickly.  In March 1917 the  
German were shelling Popperinge and the surrounding  
districts, also near our C.C.S, several shells landing  
quite close to us. The sick patients were at times very much  
afraid, but were releived when we could stay near them. 
At night the seemed to be most afraid and could not get  
any rest, at that particular time the Germans were shelling  
day and night, I was on night duty part of the time and had a  
very hard time of it.  One day the shells became so  
close that were ordered to go some distance for safety. 
Then they found it unsafe to have the C.C.S. so close to the  
line, so we were given an order to get away in one hour. 
Our destination was St. O'mer, and it was a most  
exciting trip with shells falling dangerously near,  
fortunately we escaped without casualties, and on arrival  
at St. O'mer we found that several other Clearing Stations  
had taken refuge there. 
Our stay was most eventful, on the first night we  
were awakened by Air raid alarms; the raid that  
night was terriable a large number of German machines  
flew over our heads, and we keep quiet feeling very

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cold and nervous, just waiting for something  
dreadful to happen, we could hear the explosions 
of the bombs dropping all around us, and the houses  
falling and the cries of the people in the town. 
The next day we were put on duty with the  
No 10 British Stationary Hospital which was some distance  
from where we slept. On our way to this Hospital we  
passed several houses that had been hit by bombs  
the previous night.  About six oclock each evening it  
was a common sight to see the French people driving  
their cattle and taking their valuables out of the town to  
some dugout. Each day going on duty or coming off  
we would pass some refugees coming from all parts  
where the Germans were advancing some would be  
driving a horse and cart with all their worldly  
possessions on it, they were heart rending sights. 
Six of us were called from St O'mer after a week and  
sent to our C.C.S. During our time away the Officers  
and Orderlies had moved the Station to Esquebeck a greater  
distance from the front line. They had all worked very  
hard and in a very short space of time we were able to  
admit patients.  It was thought that our admissions  
would be few and only slight wounds, but we found  
it just the reverse, we had a great rush of very badly  
wounded men. They had to be brought in Ambulances  
a long way Consequently their condition was very  
bad when we got them. A lot died but others recovered  
sufficiantly to be operated upon. The patients were  
being admitted in crowds, many bad cases were walking  
and just collapsed on arrival. Patients who could be  
moved were evacuated to Base Hospitals very quickly,  
some days we had as many as 7 or 8 evacuations and  
still the patients were coming in. We were not bothered  
by shells around this part, but the German areoplanes  
were allways hovering about and there we had air raids  
every night.     Burges and Dunkirk were only a short  
distance from us and these towns were bombed every night

5. 
causing a lot of damage. 
 After spending 6 months at the C.C.S. I was sent 
back to No 1 AGH at Rouen and it took me four days to  
get there. On my arrival there at mid night I heard the  
air raid alarm go, which meant going to the dug out  
with crowds of very nervous French people, the all  
clear was sounded in about an hour and the ambulances  
were there to take the sisters to various hospitals. No  
sooner had I arrived at my destination when the alarm  
was given again, and I had to spend most of the night  
in the trench outside our quarters. The Hospital was  
very busy and many acutely wounded men coming  
in hourly. Every moonlight night we would have a  
visit from the German areoplanes and have to spend  
most of the cold night in the trenches with our steel helmets on. 
The sisters on night duty had their time  
taken up cheering the patients so that they would not 
be afraid. In November when there was talk  
of the Armistice we were all greatly excited, and the 
patients were overjoyed although some of the poor fellows  
were too ill to realize what it meant. After the 11^th of  
Nov we heard rumours that the Hospital was moving a 
nd in less than a month we were on our way to  
England, the sisters coming across 20 at a time. 
We had very rough accomidation across from  
Le Havre not being given berths, and had to sit up 
all night as the sea was very rough, and we were all  
sick and unable to do anything. On arrival at 
South Hampton we were all tired out and were very  
glad to arrive at Sutton Veny, to be welcomed and  
made comfortable by the Sisters who had come on before us. 
E. McClelland (Sister) 
A. A. N . S