Historical information

Lieutenant Colonel Sidney Hawley of Tasmania wrote a letter of commendation to Matron Hill in 1918, as a reference for Ethel Charles, who was applying for enrolment in the Australian Army Nursing Service. He stated that "he could not have had a better nurse" during his two- year recovery for an operation on his spine after being shot at Gallipoli. He added that Ethel "was in every way most suitable for army nursing".