Historical information

Belts on nurse uniforms were made to be detachable for ease of laundering.
Ethel May Ogilvy (nee Stoddart) became a Red Cross Nurse during World War I after completing a course in Nursing and Hygiene conducted by the St John Ambulance Association in November 1914. The Red Cross was ostensibly non-military in line with its principles of neutrality and independence. While a group of 20 nurses were sent to Europe by the NSW Division of the Red Cross, most Red Cross nurses, like Ethel, contributed to the war effort at home. They filled a need created by the exit of a large number of Australian nurses to the front and by the influx of seriously injured personnel who were brought back home.
In 1919, Ethel Stoddart married Arthur James Ogilvy, a veteran of the Boer War and World War I. The couple moved to Emerald in 1936 where they lived the remainder of their lives.

Significance

These belts are part of a complete World War I Red Cross nurse uniform held by the Museum which was worn by a young woman who later moved to Emerald. The uniform is emblematic of the variety of ways in which women contributed to the war effort.

Physical description

Three pairs of white starched belts for a nurse uniform. One belt (1/3) has a long narrow rectangular shape with two buttonholes at each end. The other belt (2/3) has a triangular shape at one end with two press studs (rings) at this end. There may have been two posts at the other end at one time. The third (3/3) has three buttonholes at each end.

Inscriptions & markings

At one end of belt 1/3 hand printed: 'E. M. Stoddart'
At one end of belt 3/3 hand-written: 'Stoddart' and underneath printed '?8412'