| Places | |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | RCDIG0001397 |
| Collection number | PR05050 |
| Collection type | Digitised Collection |
| Record type | File |
| Item count | 1 |
| Object type | Diary |
| Physical description | 73 Image/s captured |
| Maker |
Pocock, Mary Anne 'Bessie' |
| Place made | France, United Kingdom: England, Western Front |
| Date made | 1917-1919 |
| Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Diary of Mary Anne 'Bessie' Pocock, March 1917 - February 1919
Pocock, Mary Anne "Bessie" (Matron, b.1863 - d.1946)
- Series 2: Original diaries and notebooks
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Description
Diary relating to the First World War service of Mary Ann ‘Bessie’ Pocock, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). This handwritten diary contains entries for the period 14 March 1917 to 27 February 1919, primarily detailing her service as head matron of an Australian convalescent hospital at Cobham Hall in Kent, and subsequently with the 3rd Australian Axuiliary Hospital (3AAH) at Dartford. In these entries Pocock describes the conditions of the hospitals, as well as the wounded and their treatment. She also mentions significant events, such as a German air raid that resulted in many wounded, and the German Spring Offensive in March 1918 in which the Germans had gained ground near Steenwerck (she had previously served with the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at nearby Trois Arbres). Pocock writes of her personal experiences in England, such as when she, several nursing sisters from the United States and New Zealand, and over 100 soldiers visited Windsor Castle for morning tea with the Royal Family, including King George V and Queen Mary. Another such occasion detailed in the diary is a memorial service for nurses she attended at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with Queen Alexandra present.