Frontline Hero
The inspiring True Story of an Australian Nurse Gallipoli
Wednesday 1 May 1918
‘Every hour of every day, one touched tragedy, and the only bright spot
that I could see, or maybe it was the saddest, was the braveness of the
boys in their sufferings.’
-extract from Anne Donnell’s diary
In November 1914, Anne Donnell watched as a train loaded with Australian troops approached. ‘Hullo nurse, wish us luck; we’re off to France.’
Anne turned to her companion and said, ‘Who will look after our young men if they get injured? I too must go, to do my bit.’
Stored away in a suitcase for decades, Anne’s diaries are published here, uncensored, for the first time. Deeply personal and eloquently crafted, Anne’s words offer a real-time perspective of the Great War, from Gallipoli to Western Europe, and the mateship, courage, and resilience of nurses on the frontlines from 1915-1919.
Waiting quietly in the shadows of WWI history stands nurse Anne Donnell, who joins the annals of war heroes alongside Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop, Captain Albert Jacka, and Private John Simpson Kirkpatrick.
