WOMAN AS MILITARY NURSES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 148, 25 June 1898, Page 3 (Supplement)

WOMAN AS MILITARY NURSES.

, o: nce the Crimean Avar in 1555, . en 21,000 soldiers died of neglected minds and camp diseases, and since tfo off n Civil War, during Avhich the ' oUr«inff was inadequate and the.averse 0 f deaths directly due to this ffSj' was high, it has been recogzed that for lack of the proper atfntioii in the hospitals more men lost and more suffering incurred ? f times of war than by mortality in 'Recognizing' the pressing necessity . or women who by special training would be fit to cope Avith the exignCies of military campaigns, the i-n^lis-i Government some fifteen ■~.rtf ago established a school in \iieh to educate only those nurses Jequired by the army. Netley Host>ital,i founded by the Queen soon Jj er 'Florence Nightingale's work in 06 Crimea, Avas chosen as the school for these women. To Netley are cent the soldiers invalided home from aw? Part °^ ie wor^ where English troops arc fighting, and in caring ..for these patients the women learn the treatment, of wounds and such special ailments as soldiers by reason ol their mode of living and exposure are most subject to. At Netty because of the difficult labours f o r which they must engage, the students are required to work in the jjojspital, first as probationers, and then a'J registered nursea from five fo six years, and the Government crive no diplomas until the severest examinations have been passed. Once graduated from Netley School, a woi'jan becomes a part of the Brity. army, subject to the command ot her Government, and pledged to boAV to the peculiar discipline under Avhich the army nurses are held. At any day or hour on a moment's Avarning she must be ready to embark for any part of the. world Avhere her services are needed. Like, a soldier, she wears a uniform and travels Avith the least possible luggage. In the hospital, a print gOAvn, a Avhite apron, and a muslin cap, from Avhich in the rear falls a short AA'hite veil, form the costume, and over this for outdoor Avear a long dark cloak and small black bonnet transform her into a Aery sober business-like individual. Her voyages to distant lands are usually made in hospital ships, and, contrary to the notion of the average woman, she plays no part on the field of battle. Her business is to serve in the hospitals near the scene of combat to which the. wounded are sent, or to enter a camp Avhere disease is wasting- the soldiers, pitch a tent hospital, and take the patients under active treatment and care. She is in no sense a physician, but a nurse; never a surgeon, but a surgeon's assistant: and the women wlio in Egypt and India nursed Lord Koberts and Lord Wolseley's sick and wounded men Avore just, such caps and' aprons, cuffs and gowns as in the hospital at home. At Netley teaching- ancl practical experience ' train them for cholera and plague stricken men, jungle fever, anil anything else that in the shape of physical affliction may visit the soldier. When tlie Government issues a call for sick men to be sent heme, Netley nurses go out on the vessels and bring the sufferers to England. For this reason they are obliged to be excellent sailors, and in the camps often are. forced to prepare all the food for their patients. Though rarely ever obliged to minister to men on tte- battle field, still they are equipped, by rigid drill, for ambulance service under lire, for succoring the Avounded where they fall and administering relief in all emergencies. A Netley nurse knows a hospital ship from" stem to stem and its requisite fittings, and her salary is paid by the Government. As she is one of the regular medical staff she is, with her associates, placed in ranking order among the nurses, and decorated for any proofs of special courage and capability. Her life is not an easy one, but full of industry, interest, and honour. Some of these nurses A.'ear as many a.s five medals, given by the Government, through the hand's of the General under Avhom they have served, or presented by the Queen herself, and in old age a pension is alloAved Avith an honourable discharge. By this means the sick of the English army are protected in a great measure and tenderly cared for, and woman's mission in her country's battles is most nobly sustained.