Header image: Portrait of Letitia Gladwys Moreton. Courtesy of Virtual War Memorial Australia
Lettitia Gladwys Moreton (1882-1916)
Sister Lettitia Gladwys (Gladwys) Moreton was amongst the nurses of the Australian Imperial Force, initially stationed in Egypt at the No. 2 Australian General Hospital in 1915. It was here that she helped and tended to soldiers coming from Gallipoli.
Set up in the Mena House, which prior to the war had served as a hunting lodge, the nurses were soon overwhelmed with the influx of soldiers coming from the field; within a few months, a second hospital had to be established at Ghezirah (Gazira) Palace. Even with 1500 beds to use, Gladwys and her sisters struggled to keep up with the demand expected for their skills. Despite this, they persevered throughout the campaign until the ANZACs were evacuated.
Gladwys went on in May, 1916, to serve at the Station Hospital in Quetta which, at this period in history, was part of India. She was the only Australian nurse serving here at this stage, working diligently alongside British nurses to bring aid to wounded soldiers. Gladwys had been one of 50 nurses sent from Egypt to multiple locations across India per the request of the British government. Another 50 nurses were subsequently sent directly from Australia.
Unfortunately, with a new climate and harsh conditions for medical work, disease was quite prevalent amongst nurses and soldiers alike. Nurse Moreton contracted typhoid fever herself, and passed away on the 11th of November, 1916.
“Miss Gladys Moreton, daughter of Mr and Mrs Moreton, Leigh Creek and niece of Dr Moreton, Geelong, and Mr I. K. Moreton, land proprietor, Ballengeich, has died in India. Sister Moreton, who was well advanced in her profession, was in all respects quite adapted for the calling. She was of a gentle and kindly disposition. After volunteering for service in Egypt and elsewhere she was transferred to India, where she contracted enteric fever, to which she succumbed.” [Ballarat Star, 1 December, 1916]