Diary of Christine Erica Strom, 1917-1919

Places
Accession Number RCDIG0000968
Collection number PR03304
Collection type Digitised Collection
Record type File
Item count 1
Object type Diary
Physical description 104 Image/s captured
Maker Strom, Christine Erica
Place made At sea, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, France, Greece, India, United Kingdom, Yemen
Date made 1917-1919
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Description

Diary relating to the First World War service of Staff Nurse Christine Erica Strom, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). This original handwritten diary, kept by Strom during her service with the AANS during the First World War, covers the period from 12 June 1917 to 22 February 1919. Written mainly at Salonika, the diary contains regular and detailed entries which describe the experiences of and conditions under which Strom and the other nurses served, Strom herself serving with the 66th and, later, 42nd British General Hospitals. Her entries detail her daily life as a nurse, including the strong friendships she formed with other nurses, the regular challenges they faced in their role, the strong attachments she formed to the British troops under her care, the often tough weather conditions and the associated malaria and pneumonia that affected the soldiers and nurses alike, and the various sightseeing trips she and her friends undertook. The diary also contains several poems which Strom wrote whilst on service.