Edith Rush

Born in Glebe, Sydney, 1881, Edith Rush moved with her family to the Hunter Valley around 1890. She undertook her training at Parramatta Hospital in the early 1900s and then nursed privately before enlisting in the AIF on 26 April 1915, aged 34. The following month, Edith embarked on SS Mooltan in Sydney with No. 3 General Hospital (3AGH), reaching Lemnos in time for the waves of wounded from the August offensive.

The letters of Staff Nurse Anne Donnell suggest Edith was a generous-spirited woman with whom she built a friendship and enjoyed spending her downtime. In the camp environment, food was generally miserable, but Edith secured a birthday cake for Anne, who wrote, ‘lovely cake, the first & only cake I have tasted here’. Edith remained on Lemnos with 3AGH until January 1916.

Edith was not only a good friend but an exceptional nurse. In recognition of her contribution to the care of troops, she was mentioned in despatches in 1916 and awarded a Royal Red Cross (2nd class) on 1 January 1917. On 5 May 1917, Staff Nurse Rush was also promoted to sister.

Following Lemnos, Edith remained with 3AGH in Abbassia, Egypt, until the hospital departed in September 1916. In England, she served with 3AGH and other units until she was transferred to Wimereux, France, on 25 May 1917.

She returned to England in March 1919 and was repatriated to Australia in early 1920, sailing on the Osterley. 

Edith died in Waverley, New South Wales, on 26 May 1965.