U-series. Miss E.C. Mackay on the New Zealand nurses in Greece. Part 3 of 3

Rights Information
Year
1941
Reference
12244
Media type
Audio

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Rights Information
Year
1941
Reference
12244
Media type
Audio

This content is for private viewing only. The material may not always be available for supply.
Click for more information on rights and requesting.

Series
U series
Categories
Radio programs
Sound recordings
War radio programs
Duration
00:03:12
Broadcast Date
17 May 1941
Credits
RNZ Collection
Eva Constance Mackay, 1902-2003, Speaker/Kaikōrero

Part 3
Eva Mackay, Matron of No. 1 New Zealand General Hospital, 2NZEF, describes the work of her nurses during the Greece campaign in April 1941 and their evacuation.

During their evacuation from Greece in British army trucks, they were machine gunned by enemy aircraft and took shelter in an ancient graveyard near Argos. The nurses were forced to take only a few supplies and walked for a long time, until they came to a harbour, where they were embarked via a small Greek vessel to a British destroyer, with 36 nurses crammed into the ward room. The ship was attacked by enemy aircraft but eventually made it to another port [Crete] and then after a time, they were evacuated again, arriving finally at another Mediterranean port. [This was Alexandria. Wartime censorship at the time of recording prevented Matron Mackay from giving details about the nurses' evacuation .]

This item is part of a collection of recordings made by the Mobile Broadcasting Units, which travelled overseas with New Zealand forces between 1940-1945. They recorded New Zealanders' experiences of war and messages to their families and friends, which were sent back home to be played on a weekly radio programme.