IDENTITY RESTORED TO FORGOTTEN NURSE

Image courtesy the Ballarat Miner. Piper Amber Sinclair leads the big march to the unveiling of the plaque of the forgotten nurse, at the Ballarat Old Cemetery last Saturday (27th February 2016).

A FORGOTTEN Ballarat nurse from the First World War has had a plaque installed on her previously unmarked grave in a special commemorative service at the Ballarat Old Cemetery on Saturday.

Annie Maynard Westcott was 24 years of age when she commenced her training at the Ballarat Base Hospital on January 16th 1899. Conditions at the Ballarat & District Base Hospital at this time were extremely harsh. Wards and nurses quarters were damp, unhygienic and appallingly dilapidated with ceilings coming down, floors wearing out and with a threat of closure due to the absence of toilets and appropriate sanitation.