Nellie Hill, a Ryde nurse who was awarded Royal Red Cross 1st Class

Week 23 : 18 March 2015 - The Northern District Times, page 23 - told the story of  Sister Nellie Hill.

Nellie Frances Hill was born in Hay, NSW in 1883. The sixth of the nine children of Henry & Catherine Hill. The family moved to Denistone House, Eastwood (now part of Ryde Hospital) in the early 1900s, where her father Henry died in 1912. By the time Nellie enlisted in 1914 her mother had moved to Epping.

Nellie embarked as a Staff Nurse with the Australian Army Nursing Service on board Transport A55 Kyarra on 8 November 1914. Two other local nurses Gwladys Llewellyn and Emily Broughton
Gwynne  were on the same voyage.

Nellie was promoted to Sister in December 1915. She undertook extensive service in the field as a theater sister in casualty clearing stations and hospitals on the Western Front.

She was awarded Royal Red Cross 1st Class for valuable service in France and Flanders

Her younger brother Richard William Hill (SERN 27347) enlisted in 1916 and served on the Western Front.

Sister evacuated for safety and a wedding
[if you click on the title -- it should take you to the on-line edition of the newspaper]

Link to : Australian Nurses in World War I database: