Nurses and the Balkan War.

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume VI, Issue 2, 1 April 1913, Page 42

Nurses and the Balkan War.

In the various nurses' ' Journals ' we read accounts of the great need for nurses m this long continued struggle. There are apparently few, if any, of what we understand as trained nurses m these countries of Servia, Montenegro, and Turkey, though the women have set to work and done all that they can. The need of nursing has been very great, and there has not only been the wounds of battle to contend with, but the trial of pestilence.

Nurses have been eager to go and several contingents have been despatched from England. Some under the Red Cross Society, some sent direct to the Red Crescent and some specially sent at the request of the Duchess of Sparta. The British " Journal of Nursing" has denounced the tardiness of this help sent, and the apparent lack of knowledge of the committee of the British Red Cross of the necessity of the women sent being properly qualified nurses. As usual, at such times, many women have been eager to play at nursing and to be sent to the scene of war, who would never go through the drudgery of properly preparing themselves for this duty. However, the nurses who have been sent appear to have worthily upheld the traditions of the Lady m Chief, and to have rendered themselves indispensible.

As we have reported before, a Swiss mission nurse, Miss Alt, was the first to lead

the way, and to quietly start to work among the patients of the Cholua camp at San Stephano. At this time the British Red Cross Society, though spending lavishly the money subscribed by the public, was sending no women nurses, and only later did it respond to the demands for trained nurses, and then only sent six, Six others were sent out at special request from the London hospital. Two other nurses went from the Fever Hospital, Blackburn.

Miss Keogh, whose name we know as President of the Irish Nurses' Association, was at Athens when the Avar broke out and has been taking an active part m nursing the Greek soldiers m the hospitals established by the Crown Princess. Three more nurses from the London hospital were sent out m response to a request for more assistance, and a good many British nurses have offered their services and paid their own expenses to the front. Very interesting accounts of the work m these foreign hospitals have been sent Home by the nurses, and by others engaged m helping the nurses. Space forbids our transcribing and our readers should m all the nurses homes and clubs, have the opportunity of reading them as first published.

One nurse has fallen a victim to typhoid, Miss Gladys Barnes, from the London Hospital, who died at Salonica.

Miss Barnes was only 2\) years of age and had been at the London Hospital for five years.

In the British " Journal of Nursing " of February Bth, we read an account of her funeral, sent by Sister Tucker who was m charge of the party of nurses. The Crown Prince of Greece (now King) gave orders that she was to be buried with full military honours — a thing which had never been done m Greece before for a woman except of

Royal blood. " First of all came the guard of honour and officers and doctors from all the military hospitals, then the English sailors with the gun-carriage and all the English officers m full uniform." The King with the Queen and Prince Andrew and Princess Alice attended the funeral standing round the coffin and the King himself helped to guide the gun carriage. (King George who so short a time after was cruelly murdered.)