French medalet : Sister A M Locke, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve

French silver medalet showing the French cockerel trampling the German eagle. In the background are four small overlapping shields bearing a crowned German eagle; 'RF' (Republique Francaise); the arms of the United Kingdom; and a lion rampant; together with the date '1914' in a diagonal line on the upper right. The manufacturer's name, 'HUGUENIN' , is in small letters below the eagle's right wing.

French propaganda medalet associated with Annie Maria Locke, born in the Goulburn district of New South Wales in 1872. Sister Locke had completed her training and was already working as a nurse in the United Kingdom when the war broke out. She joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNSR) in 1914 and worked in both Britain and France. Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) was established in 1902, replacing the Army Nursing Service in Great Britain. At the outbreak of the First World War there were 297 nurses in QAIMNS. This small number in the core service was maintained throughout the war, being supplemented by the approximately 11,000 nurses who enrolled in QAIMNSR. The women of QAIMNSR were employed on annual contracts, or until their services were no longer required. Women who joined QAIMNS or QAIMNSR were generally over 25 years old and single (although as the war progressed some younger or married women were able to join). They had to be well educated, of good social standing and to have completed a three year course of nurse training in a War Office approved hospital. Sister Locke took up a position as an instructor at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh School of Nursing after the war, and later returned to Australia.The medalet optimistically sees the French rooster defeating the German Imperial eagle. Dated 1914 it implies the war will be over by the end of year with a French (helped by their British allies) victory.