Grace Wilson

Grace Margaret Wilson (25 June 1879 – 12 January 1957) was a high-ranked nurse in the Australian Army during World War I and the first years of World War II. Wilson was born in Brisbane, and completed her initial training as a nurse in 1908. After the outbreak of World War I she joined the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) and subsequently transferred to the First Australian Imperial Force. From 1915 until 1919 she was the principal matron of the 3rd Australian General Hospital. She served as the temporary matron-in-chief in the AIF Headquarters, London from late 1917 until early 1918. Wilson returned to Australia in 1920 and left the AIF to work in civilian hospitals. She was appointed the matron-in-chief of the AANS in 1925, and in September 1940 joined the Second Australian Imperial Force. She served in the Middle East until August 1941, when she returned to Australia due to ill health. She left the Army the next month, but from September 1943 worked in the Department of Manpower Directorate (Victoria)'s nursing control section. Early life and World War I Grace Wilson was born in South Brisbane on 25 June 1879. She attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School, and began her training to become a nurse at Brisbane Hospital in 1905. She completed this qualification in 1908. During her period at Brisbane Hospital, Wilson became the first winner of the prestigious gold medal for nursing excellence. She subsequently travelled to London for training in midwifery at the Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital. Wilson subsequently worked at the National Hospital for the Paralysed and Epileptic in London. She arrived back in Australia during July 1914, and became the matron of Brisbane Hospital. Following the outbreak of World War I, Wilson joined the Army Nursing Service Reserve in October 1914 and became the principal matron of the 1st Military District. She enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 15 April 1915 and was appointed the 3rd Australian General Hospital's (3rd AGH) principal matron. She and the rest of the 3rd AGH departed Sydney bound for Europe on 15 May 1915. The 3rd AGH arrived in England at the end of June and was originally intended to be deployed to France. Instead, it was decided to send the hospital to Lemnos island in the Mediterranean to treat casualties of the Gallipoli Campaign. The 3rd AGH departed England in early July and arrived at Lemnos on 8 August.