Ethel Hanrahan
Ethel Hanrahan | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Billie" |
| Born | 6 May 1909 Mentioned in Despatches (2) |
Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg
.
Early life
Ethel Frances Hanrahan was born on 6 May 1909 at
Brisbane General Hospital from 1930 to 1934. She worked as a nursing sister at Rosemount Hospital from 1935 to 1939.[3]
Second World War
On 15 December 1939, Hanrahan enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force and joined the Australian Army Nursing Service in Brisbane as a nursing sister. She was one of 19 Queensland nurses that embarked with the 2/3rd General Hospital on 8 May 1940 from Sydney, arriving in Gourock, Scotland on 23 July 1940.[4] Whilst in the United Kingdom, she served at the 2/3rd Field Ambulance and 2/3rd General Hospital.
Hanrahan served in the
mentioned in despatches.[6][7] On her return from the Middle East in 1942, she served as matron within 107th, 116th and 117th Australian General Hospitals over the next three years. She was promoted to major in March 1943 and then to lieutenant colonel in September 1945 with her final appointment as matron of the 112th Australian General Hospital, Greenslopes, Brisbane, from October 1945 to January 1947.[8][9] [10]
Later life
In February 1947, Hanrahan was appointed the first matron at the
Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg, where she was affectionately known as "Billie". The Australian Centre for the Moving Image has footage of Hanrahan escorting Prince Phillip during the Royal Visit of the Hospital in March 1954.[11]
She retired from the role of matron in May 1969.
On 25 February 1963, Hanrahan was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire during an investiture ceremony by Queen Elizabeth II during the 1963 Australian Royal Visit.[12] A hand coloured studio portrait of her taken in 1967 is located at The Australian War Memorial, Canberra.[13] She died on 17 August 1981 and is buried at the Southport
Lawn Cemetery.
References
- ^ Banana State School Centenary 1874โ1974. Banana State School. 1974.
- ^ Ganley, M.L. (2019). Sea Pictures of a Convent Boarding School: Oral Histories of Teachers and Students at St Ursula's Yeppoon 1917โ1997. PhD Thesis, Australian Catholic University.
- ^ Hearder, Rosalind (2007). "Hanrahan, Ethel Frances (1909โ1981)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- ^ "Queensland Nurses For Army". The Courier-Mail. No. 1973. Queensland, Australia. 29 December 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Hanrahan, Ethel Frances. Service Record, Series B883, Item QX6107. National Archives of Australia.
- ^ "Secondment Supplement to The London Gazette". London Gazette (35396): 7359. 31 December 1941.
- ^ "Supplement to The London Gazette". London Gazette (35611): 2857. 30 June 1942.
- ^ "New Matron at Greenslopes". Sunday Mail. No. 813. Queensland, Australia. 18 November 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 7 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Australian War Memorial".
- ^ Alexander, Joseph A. (1950). Who's Who in Australia 1950 (XIVth ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Colorgravure Publications. p. 300.
- ^ "[Royal Visit, Victoria, 1954: Pre-Release Footage: Reel 15] | State Film Centre of Victoria | 1954 | ACMI collection". www.acmi.net.au. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ^ "Investiture Ceremony". The Age. pp. 26 February 1963.
- ^ "Studio portrait of Ethel Frances Hanrahan OBE". Australian War Memorial.
