Jessie Clifton

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Jessie Clifton
Born(1876-04-23)23 April 1876
Australind, Western Australia
Died1 October 1959(1959-10-01) (aged 83)
Perth, Western Australia
Buried
Karrakatta Cemetery
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branchAustralian Imperial Force
Years of service1915–1918
RankMatron
UnitAustralian Army Nursing Service
Battles/warsFirst World War
AwardsMember of the Order of the British Empire

Jessie Christina Clifton, MBE (23 April 1876[1] – 1 October 1959) was a nursing sister who served with the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War, becoming Matron in charge of the Western Australian Nursing Transport system.[2]

History

Clifton was born in Australind, Bunbury, Western Australia, twin eldest daughter of Marshall Waller G. Clifton (1849–1904) and Louisa Clifton (c. 1849–1927). She was a member of the colonizing Clifton family of Western Australia, being a granddaughter of Marshall Waller Clifton (1787–1861). Clifton qualified as nursing sister after three years' training at Kalgoorlie Government Hospital,[a] and on occasion filled the acting positions of matron and superintendent of nursing at the hospital. On 21 July 1915 she applied for a position with the Australian Army Nursing Service.[6]

Clifton arrived at No. 1 Australian General Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt, in August 1915. In November she began nursing wounded men from the Gallipoli campaign on the hospital ship Kanowna to No. 8 Australian General Hospital in Fremantle, where she served until December 1916, then left for England aboard hospital ship Berrima. She accompanied wounded soldiers from No. 2 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Southall, to Fremantle by hospital ship Ayrshire, arriving July 1917. She returned to England from Sydney by hospital ship Orontes, arriving in August 1918 to No. 2 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Southall, where she was promoted to matron. She returned to Australia aboard the hospital ship Arawa and was discharged from service in December 1918.[2]

Personal

On 18 June 1926, Clifton was involved in the death of a motor-cyclist. She was driving a single-seat motor car north along Stirling Street, turning right into Brewer Street, when a Harley-Davidson motor cycle, ridden by 28 year-old Richard Edwin Outtrim, travelling south towards the city, clipped the rear of the vehicle and was thrown to the ground, fracturing his skull. He died the same day.[7]

Clifton was engaged to Frank Oliver Osborne, who died on 7 July 1925,[8][9] and she never married.

Recognition

Clifton was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours, in recognition of her "service to the WA Returned Nurses Trust Fund".[10][11]

Notes

  1. ^ Sister Edith Maude "Edie" Clifton was a fellow-trainee.[3] She was born in Invercargill, New Zealand to William Edward Clifton and Emma Clifton née Willcocks. W. E. Clifton was the eldest son of William Carmalt Clifton,[4] so they were something like second cousins. She was in charge of a maternity hospital in South Perth. In 1912 she was required to accompany a German patient to Nuremberg and with the onset of hostilities was held there as a prisoner of war, and not released until after the Armistice. She later worked at the Ministering Children's League convalescent home, Cottesloe Beach. She died on 1 March 1935, and her remains interred at the Karrakatta Cemetery.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Family Notices". The Inquirer and Commercial News. Vol. XXXVI, no. 2, 588. Western Australia. 26 April 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ a b "Anzac heroes: Jessie Christina Clifton". City of Bunbury. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Chats with the Cats". The Sun (Perth). No. 456. Western Australia. 28 July 1907. p. 7. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Family Notices". The Herald (Fremantle). Vol. XII, no. 39. Western Australia. 5 October 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Obituary". The Swan Leader. Vol. VI, no. 14. Western Australia. 5 April 1935. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "AANS Questionnaire". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Motor Hog Rides to Death". Nor-west Echo. Vol. 15, no. 775. Western Australia. 26 June 1926. p. 12. Retrieved 5 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Family Notices". Western Mail. Vol. XL, no. 2, 060. Western Australia. 23 July 1925. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Jessie Christina Clifton MBE". Virtual War Memorial. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Miss Jessie Clifton". It's an Honour. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Nurse's M.B.E." The West Australian. Vol. 66, no. 19, 934. Western Australia. 8 June 1950. p. 13. Retrieved 5 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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