VOLUNTARY AID DETACHMENT APRON

The VAD nurses were established in the First World War by the Red Cross and the Order of St John. Initially they served only in Australia, supporting military nursing staff in such roles as orderlies, fundraisers and the nursing of soldiers crippled by the war. By the Second World War, the group's numbers and duties were expanded to include their involvement overseas as ambulance drivers, hospital ship nurses and in the blood banks. Although not fully qualified nurses, these women played an important role in keeping the hospitals running and rehabilitating soldiers. By 1967 the group was renamed the Voluntary Aid Service Corps.