By now more than 1700 New Zealanders had lost their lives at Gallipoli and there were reports that there may be an evacuation of the Dardanelles. Sister Elizabeth Buchanan Young recalls the sinking of the Marquette on 23 October 1915 in which ten New Zealand army nurses lost their live. Sister Young trained as a nurse in New Plymouth, qualifying in 1913. She joined the New Zealand Army as a staff nurse in 1915 and travelled to Egypt. After the Marquette tragedy she served in Serbia and on the hospital ship Dunluce Castle. She was promoted to the rank of sister on 1 August 1916 and was brought to the notice of the British Secretary of State for War for valuable services rendered in connection with the war in 1917. Sister Young returned to New Zealand in January 1919 but continued service with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service until 1920. For her war service she was awarded the Royal Red Cross 2nd class and the Serbian Samaritan Cross. Sister Young again served with the New Zealand Army Nursing Service from December 1925 until April 1934.
Recent stories from New Zealand in World War I
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