As the only military nursing service in New Zealand and with a history stretching from the Second Boer War to present-day, the Nursing Corps is well worth recognition for its fundamental role in the history of the New Zealand Army. Without the skill and courage of its nurses and nursing officers, many more New Zealanders would have died due to the wounds sustained in battle or from illness.
New Zealand nurses first served with the British Nursing Service in South Africa (the Second Boer War), before being officially included in the NZ Army during WWI. More than 500 nurses served either abroad or at home in WWI, and more than 600 served in WWII. The New Zealand Army Nursing Service became the Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps (RNZNC) in 1953, with the first RNZNC nursing officer being sent to Vietnam to serve alongside the Australians. In 1991, a medical team was sent to the Gulf War, and since then RNZNC nursing officers have served overseas on various deployments around the world, including for disaster relief (such as after the ‘Boxing Day Tsunami’ in Indonesia).
Nurses serve with the same duty, patriotism and dedication, and endure the same dangers and discomforts as the soldiers they work alongside, at times experiencing trauma far worse than many as they endure the aftermath of war. As 22/175 Nurse Margaret Rogers wrote in a letter home in 1915, “There is no romance about war, it spells suffering, hunger, and filth, and how thankful I am every day that I came to do what I could to help and relieve our brave boys.” The Marquette Disaster’, Press, 4 November 1915, p. 6.
We salute the selfless spirit of the nurses of the RNZNC, past and present, who diligently perform to the best of their abilities in whatever situation they find themselves in.
Discover the ‘comfort’ and necessities of a WWII nurse.