A Life of Service
Nurse Irene Stoddart’s War Medals
Three service medals awarded to Bathurst-born Irene Stoddart (1880–1957) recognise the contribution she made as a nurse during WWI. Nurse Stoddart may have been especially proud of the 1914-15 Star, which recognises her service prior to 31 December 1915. A small lapel pin with the motto ‘digna sequi’ gives a clue to her role during the war, and after. It testifies to her membership of the Queensland branch Australasian Massage Association, and to her training – in today’s terminology – as a physiotherapist.
After training as a masseuse in NSW regional hospitals, Nurse Stoddart enlisted in 1915 and served at the 1st Australian General Hospital in Egypt. The hospital was based in the luxurious building of the Heliopolis Palace Hotel in Cairo. To accommodate the influx of wounded soldiers after the devastating defeat at Gallipoli in April 1915 it expanded to an adjoining amusement park. The skating rink and skeleton house became wards, and the former ticketing office became an operating theatre. The physical and massage therapy performed there was strenuous and skilled work, and was an important element in the rehabilitation of injured soldiers.
In 1917, Stoddart was back in Australia, nursing at Rosemount Repatriation Hospital, Windsor, Brisbane where she was one of a number of masseuses treating war-related injuries and illnesses, including shellshock. She re-enlisted in 1918 and worked at the 2nd Auxiliary Hospital at Southall in England, returning to Australia in 1919. Stoddart joined her sister in Brisbane, where she continued to care for patients and advocate for her profession until her death in 1957.
