Military Medal : Staff Nurse P E Corkhill, 38 (British) Casualty Clearing Station

Place Europe: Western Front
Accession Number REL/03142.001
Collection type Heraldry
Object type Award
Physical description Silver
Maker Unknown
Place made United Kingdom
Date made c 1918
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Military Medal (Geo V). Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

History / Summary

Pearl Elizabeth Corkhill was born in 1887 at Tilba Tilba, New South Wales, and undertook nursing training at 'Burilda' private hospital in Summer Hill, NSW between 1910 and 1914. She enlisted as a staff nurse in the Australian Army Nursing Service on 12 June 1915. Corkhill served initially at 1 Australian General Hospital in Egypt before transferring to France in 1916. She was attached to a number of hospitals during her service, including 3 Australian General Hospital, 2 Australian General Hospital at Le Havre and 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield in England. She was also posted a number of times to 38 (British) Casualty Clearing Station on the Western Front. It was while she was serving with this unit, on night duty, in the week of 27 July 1917, that she was awarded the Military Medal for great coolness and presence of mind during a heavy German air raid on the Station. The citation for the award reads, 'For courage and devotion to duty on the occasion of an enemy air-raid. She continued to attend to the wounded without any regard to her own safety, though enemy aircraft were overhead. Her example was of the greatest value in allaying the alarm of the patients.' Corkhill was only notified in July 1918 that she had received the award. She wrote to her mother 'Today came word that I had been awarded the MM. Well the C.O. sent over a bottle of champagne and they all drank my health and now the medical officers are giving me a dinner in honour of the event. I can't see what I've done to deserve it but the part I don't like is having to face old George [King George VI] and Mary to get the medal.' Pearl Corkhill was promoted to Sister on 1 October 1918 and returned to Australia on 25 January 1919, without visiting Buckingham Palace to receive her award. The medal was finally posted to her in 1923.