Shirley Joan Southwell as a member of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) interviewed by Jan Bassett Accession Number: S01805

Description

Early life; civilian nursing training at Broken Hill NSW 1953-57; joined army in 1958; posted to 2 Camp Hospital Ingleburn NSW; describes hospital and living conditions; sent to Malaya in January 1959 serving in Taiping, Cameron Highlands and Penang; describes patients; professional relationships between British and Australian nurses; duties; climate; living conditions; recreation; returned to Australia in January 1961 and spent six months in Kapooka; resigned from army and travelled to Britain; rejoined army in 1968; nursed casualties from Vietnam at 2 Military Hospital in Sydney; describes injuries of patients; sent to Captains course; posted as adjutant to 1 RAANC Training Unit in Brisbane in January 1969; posted to 1 Australian General Hospital in Vung Tau, Vietnam in October 1969; attitude to Vietnam War; describes duties and hospital facilities; food; hours of duty; recreation; professional relationship between nurses, orderlies and doctors; problems faced by nurses; returned to Australia in 1970 and posted to camp hospital at RMC Duntroon, Canberra; posted to Turama Barracks at Port Moresby, New Guinea; describes conditions and duties; recreation; food and supplies; returned to Australia in 1975 and attended Majors course at Healesville; posted to Kapooka then posted to 1 Military Hospital in Brisbane; undertook civilian nursing course for one year; in November 1983 promoted to rank of Colonel as Matron in Chief; describes role of Matron in Chief; describes the structure and administration of the RAANC; males in the RAANC; army policy and personal attitude to nurses carrying weapons; description of and attitude to nurses uniform; officer exchange program with British Army (Q.A.) nurses; future of RAANC; discusses equal pay introduced in mid 1970's by Labor government, pay rates and other conditions of service. END OF INTERVIEW

A transcript of this recording may be available. For further information please contact the Sound section.

Details

Accession Number
S01805
Classification
Sound
Object Type
Oral history
Physical Description
Brand: BASF LP 35
Carrier: 1/4 inch sound tape reel
Size: 5 inch
Speed: 3 3/4 ips/9.5 cm.s
Track: stereo
Measurement
1 hr 28 min
Date Made
23 July 1987
Place Made
Canberra
Whole/Part
Intellectual record
Item Count
2
Credit Line
AWM Special Project Fellowship Award
Access
Open
Copying Provisions
Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.
Copyright
AWM copyright

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Part 1 of Shirley Joan Southwell as a member of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) interviewed by Jan Bassett

Part 2 of Shirley Joan Southwell as a member of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) interviewed by Jan Bassett

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