Can You Help?.
We are seeking any relative or anyone who has information about Mary Christina Maclure (nee Kennedy)
She was born in Longwarry in 1884, her parents were John and Christina Kennedy.
About 1906/07 she trained as a nurse at the Kyneton Hospital, she also nursed at Warragul where she was Acting Matron as well as at Private Hospitals.
On May 10th. 1915 the then Nurse Mary Kennedy enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service and by May 18th. she was on a boat, arriving at Alexandria Egypt in June as part of the 3rd. Australian General Hospital.
On arriving in Egypt Mary was immediately transferred to the island of Lemnos, 60 kms from the Gallipoli beaches where she nursed the sick and wounded ANZACS.
We believe that by this time her father and mother may have left Longwarry and we think that in November of 1915 they were living at a place called Tara via Dalby in Queensland.
With the evacuation of Gallipoli she went back to Egypt and nursed at the Military Hopsital at Abbasia which was just outside of Cairo.
By November 1916 Nurse Kennedy had moved with the 3rd. AGH to Abbeville at The Somme on the Western Front in France. She remained nursing there until the end of the war in November 1918 having been promoted to sister.
Mary Kennedy did not return to Australia immediately after the war. In 1919 she married Dr. Alfred Maclure OBE at St. Pancras in London. We believe he may have been an Englishman and not an Australian.
We know that at some stage she did return to Australia as she died on 23rd. July 1965 in Queensland aged 81 years and is buried at Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens.
We need to contact family or anyone who can provide more details of Mary’s life for an important project we are undertaking.
If you can help please email us at lwydisthistory@mail.com.
Nursing Staff 3rd. Australian General Hospital Abbasia Military Hospital Cairo Egypt 1916
It is likely that Sister Mary Kennedy is in the photograph as she was at the hospital at this time.
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