Gallipoli: Year of Love and Duty by Rachel Sargeant
By the end of the year, one nurse will die, one will achieve greatness, one will mourn, two will deceive, and one will learn to love.
Listen to Rachel’s radio interview about her Gallipoli novel on the Chris Baxter Afternoon Show.
Listen NowIn 1915 Sara Winwood writes a diary. It begins as a grand adventure for Sara and five other newly enlisted sisters in the Australian Army Nursing Service heading into the unknown to do their bit in a distant war. In Egypt their duties fit around camel rides to the Pyramids and coffee at Shepheard’s Hotel.
But when they are sent on board the hospital ship Gascon, bound for the Dardanelles, adventure turns to ordeal. The women face an unrelenting barrage of blood, death and disease with only the fortitude and humour of their patients – shrapnel-filled men scraped off the hostile cliffs of the Gallipoli peninsula – to keep them going. They don’t just see war; they touch, taste and breathe it.
“This well-written and vivid novel is a truly compelling narrative … If you enjoy historical fiction, I would highly recommend this book.”
Nursing Standard.
“I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the First World War, especially the women’s role…Verdict: A well-written account of life on a hospital ship.”
Soldier Magazine.
