MM

Born

9 December 1884
Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

Died

16 February 1962
Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia

Occupation

Nurse and Servicewoman

Summary

Dorothy Cawood commenced her nursing training in 1909, and on 14 November 1914 enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). On 22 July 1917, while attached to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Armentieres, Cawood along with two other sisters, Clare Deacon and Alice Ross-King (later Appleford), evacuated patients from burning buildings while the station was being bombed. All three sisters were awarded Military Medals for their action. Later, while stationed at the 6th Australian General Hospital, Cawood was mentioned in despatches for 'distinguished and gallant service in the field'. At the end of the war, Cawood joined the nursing staff at the State Hospital (Liverpool) and in 1928 became matron at the David Berry Hospital, Berry, a position she held until her retirement in 1943.

Dorothy Cawood never married and died on 16 February 1962.

Sources used to compile this entry: Abbott, Jacqueline, 'Cawood, Dorothy Gwendolen (1884-1962)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Australian National University, 2006, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070602b.htm; Coulthard-Clark, Chris, The Diggers : makers of the Australian military tradition, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993, 369 pp.