While researching the plight of the nursing corp for her book Lemnos 1915, Mrs Hedditch uncovered many inspiring and largely untold stories of bravery and sacrifice.

The nurses who were sent to Lemnos in the Mediterranean saw first-hand the horrors of the Gaillipoli mission.

The corp also had a strong regional link, with more than a third of its 130 nurses being from western and central Victoria.

Among them were 10 from Bendigo including Sister Ida O’Dwyer, who was the first nurse to enlist and sail with No. 1 Australian General Hospital.

Mrs Hedditch said the book was an attempt to chart the journey of these women and some of the barriers they helped break down.

“Until recently the nurses had been forgotten,” she said.

“These women were an elite force of nurses who dealt with all types of horrors.

“They were also the first women in the service to be issued with trousers, after being forced to wear skirts and dresses in freezing conditions.

‘‘They thought, ‘this is crazy, we need to survive or we won’t be able to help anyone’.”

Mrs Hedditch said she hoped the book would go some way toward bringing their stories back to life.

“For a lot of the nurses it was difficult returning to Australia and trying to resume a normal life in western Victoria. Many suffered silently,” she said.

“These are local girls and women who were resourceful and resilient. But they didn’t come home the same (women they were) when they went over.”