Commemorations to honour those who have served in the armed forces are remembered in different countries in different ways. For most Commonwealth countries, November 11th is commemorated as Remembrance Day. In India, however, a former British colony, Shaheed Diwas is marked on January 30th and March 23rd to commemorate those who fought for the freedom and progress of India.
Over a million Indian soldiers served under the command of Britain in World War One - over 74,000 died with tens of thousands wounded.
What is less known, perhaps, is that there were also hundreds of nurses sent from Australia to India to attend to the casualties, and some suggest their experience, too, should also be commemorated.
Bombay, India. 1918. Group photograph of Nursing Sisters, Doctors, Chemists, and Native Orderlies at the Freeman Thomas Hospital. Source: Australian War Memorial/Public Domain
Australian researcher and writer Dr Ruth Rae’s grandfather was an Australian Light Horseman who served during the First World War.
She says her interest in finding out more was sparked by his diary entries that revealed that his sister, who was a nurse, also joined him during the war.
"When Florence Nightingale set up the first secular nursing service she was responsible for a nursing service that was not based on religion, Australian nurses were trained in civilian hospitals in Australia," Dr Rae says.
"But, Florence Nightingale was aware that there were patients in India in the 1850s particularly with respect to the British army personnel who were stationed in India at the time. So she set up the Indian military nursing service which was established in any military hospital in India that had more than 100 beds."
Troops of the Poona Division embarking at Bombay Docks for service in Mesopotamia, October 1914. Source: AAP/Robert Hunt Library/Imperial War Museum
Being a trained nurse herself, Dr Rae says she was astounded to learn about the number of nurses travelling to different countries during the war. Thousands of Australian nurses were sent to various Commonwealth nations during the First World War - including over 500 sent to India.
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, reviewing Indian troops - World War one era. Source: AAP
Casualties sent to India
Dr Rae describes one campaign that Indian troops were involved in, as Britain needed to protect its oil supply located near the Turkish controlled area of Basra. In November 1914, troops were sent in and Basra was captured. The troops then tried to move forward and capture Baghdad, but they were forced back in April 1916.
"There were 98,000 Anglo-Indian casualties from this push forward towards Baghdad," says Dr Rae.
"Many of those casualties were sent back to India and they were nursed in the military hospitals that were established by Florence Nightingale to treat these injured soldiers.
"So the British government, because Australia was closer to India than Britain, asked for Australian nurses to be sent to India to nurse the casualties of what was known as the Mesopotamia Front."
Group Portrait of AANS nurses at King George Hospital, Poona, India . Image by Australian War Memorial Source: Public Domain
"Initially, they sent 50 Australian nurses from Egypt. And 50 nurses were sent directly from Australia. They first arrived in Bombay, now Mumbai around May 1916. Within a very short period of time, these nurses were posted in hospitals all over the country."
Among the hospitals in Bombay was the iconic Taj Mahal hotel, which was turned into a 600-bed hospital.
However, Dr Rae says the new arrivals were not given time to adjust to their new environment and were expected to get to work as soon as they landed in the country. Some of the hurdles they faced included humid climate conditions of India, the different languages spoken all over the country and the many different customs followed by Indians.
Dr Ruth Rae, FACN Source: Supplied
Recognition for Australian nurses
Unfortunately, Dr Rae says that not all of the Australian nurses that served in India are commemorated in the Nominal Roll which lists members of Australia's defence forces who served during a particular conflict.
"If they only served in India, they're not recorded on the Australian Nominal Roll," she says.
Only nurses that served in multiple countries are mentioned. So, over the course of two decades, Dr Rae has been working to find the names of those Australian nurses.
They've now been named in the Australian College of Nursing's Nominal Roll of those who served in the First World War.
"I believe they really deserve to be remembered for their contribution," she said.
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