PODCAST · society
Dispatches from the Frontline
by Geraldine Cook-Dafner
Dispatches from the Frontline is a podcast series from the diary entries of Sister Nan Reay (Royal Red Cross), an Australian nurse who served behind the front line during World War 1. Nan Reay's diary takes us to the most tragic aspects of war, but also includes lighthearted moments of camaraderie and humour. Whilst these dispatches celebrate this nurse's personal resilience, courage and persistence, they also reference contemporary experiences of care, servitude, resilience and courage, embodied daily by front line health workers during the COVID pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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Prologue: Who was Sister Nan Reay and why is her story so significant in 2022?
"Einstein was right – time really is relative. Weeks feel like years and also like minutes at the same time" Dispatches from the Frontline brings you podcasts from the diary of World War 1 nurse. At the same time, they also are a recording of how three artists re-directed their creative energies…
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Episode 1: 19th August to 3rd September, 1914
Nan Reay arrived in England, from Australia, in December 1912 with her mother Lucinda (Louie) and sisters Millie, Beatrice, Amy and Alice. She then nursed privately in London until the outbreak of war in 1914. When war was declared she immediately put her name forward to join the war effort and…
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Episode 2: 4th September to 13th September, 1914
Due to the advance of the German army, the Australian Voluntary Hospital is established at St. Nazaire instead of Le Havre. Nan Reay arrives on the 6 September and noticing St. Nazaire to be a little cleaner than Le Havre, sets to work with her colleagues to get everything ship shape at...
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Episode 3: 14th to 18th September, 1914
In this episode Nan provides us with more information about the people she is working with and specific details of the soldiers’ injuries and treatments. She writes about a conversation she had in French with a local driver, his attitude to “les allemands blesses”, the “German wounded” and how…
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Episode 4: 19th to 22nd September, 1914
In this episode, we gain insight into many aspects of Sister Nan Reay. She provides more details about the wounded and the living conditions in the nurses’ quarters. We hear how she manages when other nursing sisters are ill, her moments of assertiveness and her moments of empathy and sorrow.…
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Episode 5: 23rd September to 29th September, 1914
No two days or nights the same. Nan Reay is only about six weeks into her work at the AVH hospital. The medical staff anxiously spend their time receiving and evacuating the wounded and her life is full of constant adjustments to the incessant “rush” that brings wounded soldiers to the clearing...
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Episode 6: 30th September to 3rd October, 1914
Nan Reay has been at the base hospital in St. Nazaire for three weeks. She has been told that they have had over 650 patients during that time. We are introduced to Major Studdy and Colonel L’Estrange Eames, her Australian O.C – Officer in Command. Too old to be recruited into the Australian...
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Episode 7: 4th October to 12th October, 1914
Nursing in World War 1 was often exhausting, relentless and sometimes disgusting. Nan Reay’s entries in this episode describe the difficult living conditions the nurses had to endure. Despite her weariness due to lack of sleep, she is still able to enjoy the little excursions beyond base camp....
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Episode 8: 13th to 18th October, 1914
The image of a World War 1 nurse in a starched white apron and cap is one which dominated the records of female nurses after the war. Civilians would have seen the impossibility of maintaining such an image in the conditions under which they worked, if the writing of these women had been…
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Episode 9: 19th to 20th October, 1914
In this episode Nan Reay explains the “drill” for setting up a dressing station and the ferrying of men from the front line to the dressing stations and from there to the clearing hospitals. These drills were conducted like military operations. Amidst all this, Nan manages to do some shopping!...
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Episode 10: 21st to 25th October, 1914
Shampoos, luncheons, baths and some unexpected visitors. The desire to write about normal things seizes Nan Reay in these diary entries. She chats to French children and their mothers on her excursions from the camp and never misses an opportunity to practise her schoolgirl French for which she...
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Episode 11: 26th to 29th October, 1914
A frenzied packing up and moving on to the next AVH base. This episode reveals the frustration and anxiety which was to become part of Nan Reay’s life. Of course, at this stage she has no idea how long this was to last. After many false starts the journey begins north from Rouen, through…
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Episode 12: 30th October, 1914
The final diary entry for 29 October reads: “We were all working at high pressure because we knew there was fierce fighting, and wounded might come at any moment”. It is 1914 and we are half way through the podcasts. There is a gap from this entry on 30 October until 1916. The absent pages are a...
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Episode 13: July, 1917
The diary begins again in 1917. Movement orders arrive for Nan Reay but at first, there is little certainty as to which hospital she is to be sent to. Finally, she embarks upon an eventful journey and has her first encounter with “Fritz” and his bombing raids. The Casualty Clearing Station (CCS)...
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Episode 14: 11th September to 30th October, 1917
Picking up her kit again, Nan Reay moves on to Casualty Clearing Station 36, also situated not far from the port of Dunkirk and she becomes part of a theatre team where her skills and expertise are put to good use.These Casualty Clearing Stations are nestled amongst the dunes, autumn is giving…
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Episode 15: 31st October to 25th December, 1917
This episode covers one of Nan Reay’s longer diary entries. The bombs are very near now and the barrage of anti-aircraft guns constantly sweeps overhead the huts with unexpected casualties. Orders arrive again to pack up and move. Nan Reay is granted leave. On her return from leave she joins a…
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Episode 16: 7th January to 4th March, 1918
Very cold weather has set in. Movement orders again and this time Nan Reay was sent to an Advanced Operating Centre where they dealt only with emergencies. Nan was near Chauny which is 120 kms north west of Paris and very close to the front line. “na poo!” Slang from French il n’ y a plus, which...
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Episode 17: 5th March - 23rd March, 1918
Nan Reay’s prolific entries are astonishing in this episode. Despite awful weather, the constant barrage of enemy bombs and the chaotic arrival and evacuation of wounded soldiers, she manages to write in her diary nearly every day. The number of wounded brought to the Advanced Operating Centre…
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Episode 18: 25th March to 21st May, 1918
Sudden order to move again – at once! This time the move is through Amiens, onto Abbeville to work at Camiers and then back to Etaples. Extremely busy times in theatre and life is very chaotic but Nan Reay is always ready for duty. What is striking about her entries is the pure physical effort it...
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Episode 19: 10th June to 20th August, 1918
Nan Reay visits Blighty (England) for a very special occasion. Her spirits are lifted and she is surrounded by family and friends even managing to see a show and eat a sumptuous dinner. She is granted seven days extension and returns to Boulogne on 1 July and then on to Etaples. However she is...
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Episode 20: 21st August - 5th December, 1918
Nan Reay moves to No. 19 Casualty Clearing Station, at Boisleux-St.-Marc and then Caudry. an eerie place where the days are long and the work in theatre very arduous. Another offensive or “push” means more casualties and Nan Reay is glad she is with a solid medical team because convoys are…
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Epilogue: What happened to Sister Nan Reay after the Great War? 1919 to 1968
This episode pieces together parts of Sister Nan Reay’s life after the war. Information has been gathered from public records, newspaper articles and some family recollections. We know that upon her return to Melbourne, Nan worked at the Bryant and May factory as a nurse and was probably one of...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Dispatches from the Frontline is a podcast series from the diary entries of Sister Nan Reay (Royal Red Cross), an Australian nurse who served behind the front line during World War 1. Nan Reay's diary takes us to the most tragic aspects of war, but also includes lighthearted moments of camaraderie and humour. Whilst these dispatches celebrate this nurse's personal resilience, courage and persistence, they also reference contemporary experiences of care, servitude, resilience and courage, embodied daily by front line health workers during the COVID pandemic.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Geraldine Cook-Dafner
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Dispatches from the Frontline have?
Dispatches from the Frontline currently has 22 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Dispatches from the Frontline about?
Dispatches from the Frontline is a podcast series from the diary entries of Sister Nan Reay (Royal Red Cross), an Australian nurse who served behind the front line during World War 1. Nan Reay's diary takes us to the most tragic aspects of war, but also includes lighthearted moments of camaraderie...
How often does Dispatches from the Frontline release new episodes?
Dispatches from the Frontline has 22 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Dispatches from the Frontline?
You can listen to Dispatches from the Frontline on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Dispatches from the Frontline?
Dispatches from the Frontline is created and hosted by Geraldine Cook-Dafner.
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