GOLDEN FLEECE UNIFORM SWAP CARDS

Australian Army Medical Women’s Service

I confess to being slightly annoyed that several of the women on these cards are depicted with one hand coyly posed near the face.

On the back: ” In World War II the A.A.M.W.S. assisted medical staffs (sic) in field and base hospitals, taking on all tasks from nursing to scrubbing floors. Many of the .A.M.W.S. saw service overseas, and since the war some have served with Australian units in British Commonwealth forces in Asia. Illustrated in a sergeant of this service.”

This service existed between 1942-1951. They were mainly drawn from Voluntary Aid Detachment personnel, and would serve full-time in military hospitals under Army control. In 1949 it became part of the Regular Army. When it disbanded in 1951 its duties were absorbed in that of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps.

The Australian Women’s Weekly , 19th December 1942 page 13.

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