Edna Nell Doig, (21 June 1915 – 24 November 1988) was an Australian army matron-in-chief.

Early life

Doig was born on 21 June 1915 at West End, Queensland. She won a scholarship for her high school education at

All Hallows' School , motto_translation = God and Duty , city = Brisbane , state = Queensland , postcode = 4000 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type ...

and completed the Junior Public examination with first class passes in four of her five subjects. She completed her nursing training at

Brisbane General Hospital The Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) is a tertiary public hospital located in Herston, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is operated by Metro North Health, part of the Queensland Health network. The hospital has 929 bed ...

in 1937.

Career

In December 1939 Doig joined 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 ...

as a staff nurse. She served in the 2/3rd Australian General Hospital (AGH) at

Godalming, Surrey Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

, before being transferred to the 2/2nd AGH in Egypt, where she was promoted to sister. In March 1942 she returned to Australia where she was appointed lieutenant, then captain, both in 1943. From September to November 1945 Doig was part of the 2/14th AGH that cared for the Australian prisoners of war released from camps in Malaya prior to their repatriation. Doig spent 1946 to 1949 as deputy-matron of the 130th AGH in Japan. Returning to Australia, she transferred to the Army Reserve in April 1949 and settled in Melbourne. There she undertook midwifery training at the Women's Hospital and worked at the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg. In 1953 Doig was promoted to major in the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps. She became matron-in-chief and director of the Army Nursing Service on 23 May 1961, succeeding Ethel Jessie Bowe who had just died. She was then promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1963. Doig toured South Vietnam in 1969. Doig retired as Colonel on 21 June 1970.

Awards and honours

In the 1953 Queen's Birthday Honours, Doig was made an Associate of the Royal Red Cross (ARRC). She was decorated with the award by Queen Elizabeth II at Government House, Sydney on 6 February 1954. Doig received the Royal Red Cross (1st Class) (Imperial) in the

1963 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1963 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries ...

for her service in the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps. She was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1969 as one of the 22nd Awards. She received the medal from Lady Hasluck, in her role of President of the National Red Cross, in Melbourne.

Death and legacy

Edna Nell Doig died on 24 November 1988 at Manly, Queensland and was cremated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doig, Edna Nell 1915 births 1988 deaths Members of the Royal Red Cross Florence Nightingale Medal recipients Australian Army personnel of World War II Female wartime nurses Women in the Australian military World War II nurses Created via preloaddraft 20th-century Australian women People educated at All Hallows' School Australian Army officers