# data[].attributes.headline
WOMEN FUNDRAISING AND VOLUNTEERING ON THE HOME FRONT 

# data[].attributes.subject
WOMEN FUNDRAISING AND VOLUNTEERING ON THE HOME FRONT 

# data[].attributes.body
One of the numerous unrecognised service women who contributed to World War One, Sister Mary Tilton, was recorded during an interview post war. Tilton described the conditions as 'primitive, but compared with the ordered life of hospitals in England, but the sense of adventure, of being at the forefront of things, with the possibility of meeting ones own loved one, more than compensated for the hardships endured.' Sister Tilton worked alongside multiple nurses in the 'gassed' wards, and worked on numerous troops who were poisoned by gas on the battlefield. This occupation, especially in these specialised wards, were not considered for the faint-hearted. 'The sisters worked tirelessly, one on each ward. They were unable to work for any length of time in gassed wards and soon becoming violently affected by inhaling the gas. ‘Our throats become sore and set us coughing  while our eyes became weak and watery. Men were always found on the floor, wounded, affected by gas, crying in pain and ‘stretcher-bearers’ would be frequently in and out, taking in wounded from the rain.'

Success in these wards was especially rare, with most of the troops dying tragically. To army nurses, like Tilton, this tragedy was experienced on a daily basis. '[One of the patients] was a scotch ‘lad’ with skull and right leg fracture, left leg and one arm amputated- minor wounds covered his body. He was a lovely man,  who would talk to the nurses and really looked as though he was improving, one day he had a major breakthrough. The next morning he passed away.' A majority of the troops hospitalised suffered intensely, which was described as 'heartbreaking' to the nurses.

Sister Tilton and all the service women involved in the war, worked tirelessly ,occasionally for several hours on end. As the breakers brought in the patients, we lifted stretchers out ready for them to carry away again the urgent cases requiring immediate surgical attention. It was bending work, and when our backs refused to hold us up any longer, we sat on the floor and cut the boots and socks off the stone-cold and swollen feet, wrapping them bundles of cotton wool and bandages. The patients used their boots or tin hats as pillows while they patiently and uncomplainingly waited to be attended to… [ in the operating theatre] there were twelve operating surgeons, with theatre teams, working on six tables continuously for twenty-four hours. The theatre staff worked for the longest hours ; the routine was sixteen hours on and eight off duty.’

# data[].attributes.body
"Great War Nurses | Australian War Memorial". Awm.gov.au. N.p., 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.
“Australians On The Western Front”. Canberra, ACT.: Department of Veterans' Affairs, 2006. Print.
"Military Nurse". Military-nurse.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 May 2016.
Easton, Mark et al. Oxford Big Ideas. 9th ed. 2016. Print.

# data[].attributes.body
By the end of the war, 13% of the women in Australia were working traditional male jobs - with the expectation that when the men came home they would take back their jobs, but this was not the case. For occupations such as secretaries, typists and telephonists, the women remained in charge for many years to follow.

# data[].attributes.body
It is evident that, in WW1, volunteering for the services was highly undesirable and many people had the belief that “War was no place for women.” So women were left to work as nurses, tirelessly comprising their own help for the benefit of others. It was the ‘expectation’ that women would do all the dirty work while the men were off on the battlefields. They didn't just do the norm, endlessly giving up time for voluntary work, fundraising, assisting with recruiting, knitting and sewing garments for soldiers to ensure warmth, raising money for those affected and constantly developing their skills and confidence. It was in times like these that the nurses felt they were contributing to war which was a huge evolution of the War as a whole.
Soon, the Nurses became a part of the paid workforce, filling a man’s responsibility, working in factories which was big step from their previous job as house-wives or other ‘traditional female roles’ such as teaching, nursing, dressmaking or domestic work.