The Army Nurse Who Ran a Dressing Ward and Theatre Under Fire: Rachael Pratt

Oct 27

5 min read

Rachael Pratt was an Australian Army nurse who had charge of a dressing ward and small theatre at a casualty clearing station on the Western Front. In July 1917 she was wounded by shrapnel while tending a patient during an air raid, and kept nursing until she collapsed.

She was one of only seven Australian nurses awarded the Military Medal in the First World War, for what her citation called “conspicuous gallantry displayed in the performance of her duties.” King George V presented it to her at Buckingham Palace in October 1917.

Her own words, written home from the front, are the clearest link to perioperative nursing today, recorded by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Anzac Portal: “I have charge of a dressing ward and small theatre.”

Record at a Glance

Full name: Rachael Pratt, MM
Born: 18 July 1874 at Mumbannar, near Heywood, Victoria (Virtual War Memorial Australia)
Died: 23 March 1954 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Victoria, aged 79 (Virtual War Memorial Australia)
Role: Staff Nurse, later Sister, Australian Army Nursing Service
Service: May 1915 to August 1918, in Egypt, England and France (Australian War Memorial)
Setting: a dressing ward and small theatre at the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Bailleul, France
Known for: the Military Medal, awarded for bravery during an air raid in July 1917
Recognition: one of only seven Australian nurses awarded the Military Medal in the First World War

A nurse from Mumbannar joins the Australian Army Nursing Service

Rachael Pratt was born on 18 July 1874 at Mumbannar, near Heywood in western Victoria, and attended Mumbannar State School. Before the war she nursed at the Women’s Hospital, Melbourne; an obituary records that she trained at Ballarat.

She enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service on 10 May 1915 as a staff nurse, and embarked from Melbourne on RMS Mooltan on 18 May 1915.

Lemnos, Egypt and the Western Front

She served with the 3rd Australian General Hospital, first on Lemnos from August 1915, nursing men wounded at Gallipoli, then at Abbassia in Egypt until September 1916. She then moved to the 1st Australian General Hospital in England, and from 1917 to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul, France.

In charge of a dressing ward and small theatre

At Bailleul, Pratt had responsibility for a dressing ward and a small operating theatre attached to the casualty clearing station, where wounded men were stabilised and operated on close to the front line before being moved further back. In a letter home published in a Victorian newspaper, she wrote: “I have charge of a dressing ward and small theatre,” and described the team completing more than 200 dressings a day.

That is the genuine link between her story and perioperative nursing today. A casualty clearing station theatre was improvised, under-resourced and close to danger, but the work itself (preparing a patient, managing a sterile field, assisting a surgeon, keeping count and keeping calm) would be recognisable to any theatre nurse now.

Wounded while tending a patient, July 1917

On the night of 3–4 July 1917, enemy aircraft attacked the casualty clearing station while Pratt was on duty. A bomb exploded close to her tent and shrapnel struck her through the right shoulder and lung. She finished caring for the patient she was with before her own wound was found, and kept nursing until she collapsed.

She was promoted to Sister the following day and sent to England for treatment. An operation did not remove all of the shrapnel; she later wrote of it, “the shrapnel is in a very secure part.”

She was awarded the Military Medal, gazetted 19 October 1917, for “conspicuous gallantry displayed in the performance of her duties.” She was one of only seven Australian nurses to receive the Military Medal in the First World War, and King George V presented it to her at Buckingham Palace that October.

After the war

After recuperating in England, Pratt served at the 2nd Australian Convalescent Depot at Weymouth and at the 1st and 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospitals before returning to Australia on 24 August 1918. She was discharged on 13 April 1919.

She and her sister later ran St Margaret’s Hospital, a private hospital in Wattletree Road, Malvern, Victoria. She travelled to London for the coronation of King George VI in 1937, then retired. She died on 23 March 1954 at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Victoria, aged 79, and was cremated at Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne.

Timeline

18 July 1874: Born at Mumbannar, near Heywood, Victoria
10 May 1915: Enlists in the Australian Army Nursing Service
August 1915: Serves with the 3rd Australian General Hospital on Lemnos
1916–1917: Serves in Egypt, then England, then at the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Bailleul, France, in charge of a dressing ward and small theatre
3–4 July 1917: Wounded by shrapnel in an air raid while tending a patient; promoted to Sister
19 October 1917: Awarded the Military Medal, presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace
24 August 1918: Returns to Australia
13 April 1919: Discharged
Post-war: Runs St Margaret’s Hospital, Malvern, with her sister, until 1937
23 March 1954: Dies at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Victoria, aged 79

Why we tell this one

The genuine link is this: Rachael Pratt ran a dressing ward and a small operating theatre at a casualty clearing station, in her own words, close to the front line. That is perioperative nursing in its most stripped-down form, done under conditions none of us will ever have to face.

We also tell it because her account is well documented. Her service and her award are recorded by the Australian War Memorial, the Virtual War Memorial Australia and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Anzac Portal.

If you work in theatre now, in Australia or New Zealand, her story is a reminder of how old this work is, and how much of it (the preparation, the sterile field, the steadiness under pressure) has not changed.

If you are thinking about where a perioperative career could take you next, you can read about current roles at carejobz.com.au or get in touch with us directly.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Rachael Pratt?

She was an Australian Army Nursing Service nurse from Mumbannar, Victoria, who ran a dressing ward and small theatre at a casualty clearing station in France, and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery after being wounded in an air raid in July 1917.

What was a casualty clearing station?

A casualty clearing station was a First World War medical unit positioned a few kilometres behind the front line, where wounded soldiers were stabilised, operated on if needed, and sorted before being sent further back for treatment. Pratt’s casualty clearing station included the small theatre she ran.

Why was Rachael Pratt awarded the Military Medal?

For “conspicuous gallantry displayed in the performance of her duties” during the night of 3–4 July 1917, when she kept tending a patient after being wounded by shrapnel in an air raid. She was one of only seven Australian nurses to receive the Military Medal in the First World War.

What happened to Rachael Pratt after the war?

She returned to Australia in August 1918, was discharged in April 1919, and later ran St Margaret’s Hospital, a private hospital in Malvern, Victoria, with her sister. She died in 1954 in Heidelberg, Victoria, aged 79.