Mary Anne Pocock, (20 July 1863 – 16 July 1946), commonly known as Bessie Pocock, was an Australian nursing sister and army matron who served in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross and thrice

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

for her wartime service.

Early life

Pocock was born in

Dalby, Queensland Dalby () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Dalby had a population of 12,758 people. It is on the Darling Downs and is the administrativ ...

, on 20 July 1863 to Mary Ann (née O'Toole) and George Pocock. She was the first of their eight children. Her mother was born in Ireland and her English father became a blacksmith at Copmanhurst. The family home was called "The Punchbowl" and it was in

Grafton, New South Wales Grafton ( Bundjalung: ''Gumbin Gir'') is a city in the Northern Rivers region of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is located on the Clarence River, on a floodplain, approximately by road north-northeast of the state capital Sydney. ...

. She qualified as a nurse at

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital, historically known as the Rum Hospital, is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at ...

in 1890 and in 1899 she joined the New South Wales Army Nursing Service Reserve.

Military service

When the New South Wales second contingent was sent to South Africa to fight in the

, Pocock was one of fourteen nurses of the New South Wales Army Nursing Service Reserve chosen to also make that journey. She travelled aboard the SS ''Moravian'' in 1900. She worked in hospitals in Johannesburg and the Transvaal before she caught endemic fever. She was sent home via the United Kingdom in 1902 and returned to Australia in 1903. She was awarded the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

and the

King's South Africa Medal The King's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to all British and Colonial military personnel who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and who were in the theatre on or after 1 January 1902 and who had completed 18 m ...

and

for her service. left, Pocock in Egypt in 1916 Hospital Ship Assaye in 1915

By December 1914, the First World War had started and Pocock was already in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

as part of the Australian Imperial Force. She was a senior sister with No. 2 Australian General Hospital and she worked there and at a temporary hospital at the city of

Ismailia Ismailia ( ', ) is a city in north-eastern Egypt. Situated on the west bank of the Suez Canal, it is the capital of the Ismailia Governorate. The city had an estimated population of about 1,434,741 according to the statistics issued by the Cen ...

. For over six months starting in July 1915 she was in charge and looking after wounded soldiers as they were ferried from the Gallipoli campaign. She cared for them on the hospital ship ''Assaye'' as it travelled between Alexandria and Gallipoli and then on to Malta and the United Kingdom before returning again to Alexandria. In July 1916, Pocock moved from Marseilles and Wimereux in France to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station in Trois Arbres near

Steenwerck Steenwerck (; Dutch: ''Steenwerk'') is a commune, in French Flanders, in the Nord department in northern France. It is located about north of Lille. People from Steenwerck are known as ''Steenwerckois''. It is home to Steenwerck's ''100 ...

. In that month, a cemetery was started for the station. This became the basis for a much larger one after the war had finished. Her final thirteen months of war service was in Dartmouth in England with No. 3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital. She was twice Mentioned in Despatches and was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross for her wartime service. Pocock died in Grafton on 16 July 1946. Over 100 pages of her letters which were sent home to her family are in the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

, Canberra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, Bessie 1863 births 1946 deaths Associate members of the Royal Red Cross Australian military nurses Australian women nurses Australian military personnel of the Second Boer War Australian military personnel of World War I People from Dalby, Queensland Women in the Australian military Australian women of World War I