Admiration: Lottie (Charlotte) Le Gallais

Good morning from another cool, but sunny Hastings day.

Krista from The Daily Post has asked us for a photo or photos of someone we admire.:

In your response, depict something or someone you admire. Bonus points if you share a paragraph or two on the source of your admiration.

Lottie (Charlotte) Le Gallais was a a nurse in WWI.  This is a larger than life model of her at Te Papa Museum in Wellington.  Here is a blog where you can find out more about this remarkable nurse.

I have done quite a few posts with my photos from the Gallipoli exhibition at Te Papa.  But what affected me the most was Lottie.  Here she is depicted holding a letter she had written to her brother, unaware that he had already being killed.  The dreaded telegram was sent to her father informing him of her death as next of kin.  But Lottie was already on her way to the war, and not being next of kin was not informed.  The only way she found out that he was dead was this letter:

Letter to Leddie Le Gallais returned to Lottie Le Gallais. Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum (MS 95-11 folder 3)

Yet, despite this news she continued on and carried out her duties.

As far as I was concerned the nurses and womenfolk left behind were the unsung heroes. Much has been written about the heroism of the soldiers at the front line, but it was the women who kept them warm with their knitted garments and fed them with their ANZAC biscuits:

The ANZAC biscuit recipe and history can be found here.

They deserve far more recognition than just being women.  So it was great to see that they got some acknowledgment at this great exhibition.  So if you are in Wellington I really recommend that you go and visit it – but be prepared to queue up.

The Daily Post: Admiration

Light Words

Serendipity

Cee’s Photography

Wandering Iris

Thanks for visiting.