Alys Ross King (5 August 1887 – 17 August 1968), known as Alice Ross-King (later Alice Appleford), was an Australian civilian and military nurse who took part in both

World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

. She has been described as Australia's most decorated woman. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she served in hospitals in Egypt and France and was one of only seven Australian nurses decorated with the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for gallantry. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

she held a senior post within the

Australian Army Medical Women's Service The Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) was an armed services organisation which existed from 1942 until 1951. Growing out of the St John Ambulance Voluntary Aid Detachments, it was formed in December 1942 and its members served as ...

. In 1949 she was awarded the

Florence Nightingale Medal The Florence Nightingale Medal is an international award presented to those distinguished in nursing and named after British nurse Florence Nightingale. The medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), f ...

, the highest award made by the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...

Early life

Ross-King was born in Ballarat, Victoria. Her parents, Archibald Ross King and Henrietta King (née Ward), named her Alys Ross King. Finnie (1988) The family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

but her father and two brothers drowned in an accident and Henrietta King moved, with Alys, to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Nursing training was undertaken at

The Alfred Hospital The Alfred Hospital, also known as The Alfred or Alfred Hospital, is a leading tertiary teaching hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. It is the second oldest hospital in Victoria, and the oldest Melbourne hospital still operating on its original si ...

in Melbourne and by 1914 Ross-King was a qualified theatre sister.

First World War

Shortly after the outbreak of the war Ross-King enlisted in the

Australian Army Nursing Service The Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was an Australian Army Reserve unit which provided a pool of trained civilian nurses who had volunteered for military service during wartime. The AANS was formed in 1902 by amalgamating the nursing servic ...

(AANS) and it was at this time that she changed her surname from Ross King to the hyphenated Ross-King to distinguish her from another AANS nurse called Alice King as well as simplify the spelling of her forename to the more common spelling of Alice. In November 1914 Sister Ross-King was posted overseas to serve with

1st Australian General Hospital The following is a list of Australian Army medical units in World War I. Field Ambulance 1st Division (Australia) * 1st Australian Field Ambulance (New South Wales) * 2nd Australian Field Ambulance (Victoria) * 3rd Australian Field Am ...

(1st AGH) in Egypt. 1st AGH was based at Heliopolis near

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

and after service there, Ross-King was posted to an outstation at Suez established as a clearing station for casualties from the Gallipoli Campaign. Towards the end of 1915 Ross-King returned to Australia as a nurse to wounded troops returning home. Returning to 1st AGH Sister Ross-King and was part of the unit when 1st AGH moved to France in April 1916. 1st AGH was settled at Rouen and Ross-King nursed there throughout 1916 including the Somme Campaign and into 1917. In June 1917 she was posted to 10th Stationary Hospital at St Omer but after only a few weeks she was posted again, this time to 2nd Casualty Clearing Station (2nd CCS) near Trois Arbres. Arriving at 2nd CCS on 17 July, Ross-King had only been at the hospital for five days when it was bombed on the night of 22 July 1917. Four men were killed in the bombing and 15 others injured. Ross-King who was just finishing a shift returned to the wards and continued to care for the patients in the ward despite the fact that the canvas tents had collapsed on top of her and the casualties. Her actions during the raid and the immediate aftermath resulted in Ross-King being awarded the

(MM), one of only seven AANS nurses to receive the MM during the war. Of the other six Military Medal awards, three were awarded to her colleagues at 2nd CCS for conduct during the same raid; these were Sisters Dorothy Cawood and Clare Deacon, and Staff Nurse Mary Derrer. All four awards were published in the London Gazette on 25 September 1917 and presentation of the medals was made by General

William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...

, General Officer Commanding

I ANZAC Corps The I ANZAC Corps (First Anzac Corps) was a combined Australian and New Zealand army corps that served during World War I. It was formed in Egypt in February 1916 as part of the reorganisation and expansion of the Australian Imperial Force and ...

. Ross-King returned to 1st AGH in November 1917 and remained with the hospital until the end of the war. In May 1918 Ross-King was made an Associate of the Royal Red Cross and had also been mentioned in despatches. 1st AGH moved to England in January 1919 and embarked to return to Australia the same month. Ross-King was discharged from the AANS in September 1919.

Personal life

During the war Ross-King met and became engaged to Harry Moffitt, an officer in the 53rd battalion AIF, but he was killed during the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916. During the voyage to Australia in 1919 Ross-King met Dr Sydney Appleford and they married in August 1919, settling in

Lang Lang, Victoria Lang Lang is a town in Victoria, Australia, 73 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Shires of Bass Coast, Cardinia and South Gippsland local government areas. Lang Lang recorded a population of 2, ...

where they raised their four children.

Second World War

Between the wars Alice Ross King has become involved in the training of

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD) personnel in Victoria. With the outbreak of the

Ross-King enlisted into the VAD and when, in 1942, the

(AAMWS) was formed Ross King was commissioned with the rank of major and appointed senior assistant controller for Victoria responsible for all AAMWS in the state of Victoria. Ross King continued to serve in the AAMWS until 1951. During her service Ross-King was nominated for the

and was one of two Australian nurses to receive the medal in 1949. The citation for the medal concluded:

Later life

Dr Appleford died in 1958 and Alice Appleford spent her final years in

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydne ...

before her death on 17 August 1968.

Recognition

Since 1970 the ex-AAWMS Association has presented an annual proficiency award, the Alice Appleford Memorial Award, to a non-commissioned member of the

Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps The Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC) is a Corps of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1951 from the Royal Australian Army Nursing Service. A Corps Badge was introduced in 1951 with the motto ''Pro Humanitate'' (for Humanity) ...

. In 2008 author Peter Rees told the story of Ross-King's First World War experiences in his book ''

The Other ANZACs ''The Other ANZACs: Nurses at War 1914-1918'' is a 2008 history book by Peter Rees. It is about the involvement of Australian and New Zealand nurses overseas during World War I, especially at Gallipoli and the Western Front. It is the basis for ...

'' (republished as ''Anzac Girls''), which was turned into the TV series ''

ANZAC Girls The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comman ...

'' in 2014. The role of Alice Ross-King was played by

Georgia Flood Georgia Flood (born 29 November 1992) is an Australian film, television and theatre actress. After studying at the L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris and the 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne, Flood made her stage ...

. In 2008, Alice Appleford was added to the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation. Public no ...

References

Notes Sources * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ross-King, Alice 1887 births 1968 deaths Australian military nurses Australian recipients of the Military Medal Associate Members of the Royal Red Cross Australian women of World War I Australian women in World War II Australian Army officers Female nurses in World War I World War II nurses Florence Nightingale Medal recipients 19th-century Australian women