MLC School’s ANZAC Day Service

On Tuesday 2 May 2023, students from Year 3 to Year 12 and staff gathered with guests from Newington College and Mr Dennis Quinlan from the Burwood RSL to commemorate ANZAC Day. ANZAC Day is a solemn occasion that holds great significance for us as Australians and New Zealanders. It continues to be a day of remembrance for the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for our countries in times of war and conflict. ANZAC Day allows us to reflect on the courage of those who have fought and continue to serve for our freedom and way of life, and it serves as a reminder of the cost of war and conflict.

During the service, our Cadet Unit and Catafalque Party were resplendent on display, performing honour guard duties and standing vigil as wreaths were placed to honour fallen service members. The combined MLC School and Newington Cadet Unit parade involved a display of military drill and ceremony with our Cadets forming up in their companies and then marching onto the parade ground to the sounds of drums.

We were proud that our Cadets maintained a high level of discipline and precision in their movements and were led beautifully by their Parade Commanders and Senior Cadet Officers. The parade was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the skills and discipline of our School’s Cadet program, and to instil in the Cadets a sense of pride and responsibility in representing their School and country.

ANZAC Day also provides an opportunity for us to come together as a community to honour and remember students who served from within our School. We pause to reflect on the sacrifices made by these women who have served and to acknowledge the impact of their service on our nation’s history and identity. David Posker-Hill, Head of Department – History and Religious Education read an honour roll at Tuesday’s service acknowledging all known MLC School students past and present who have served. In a moving tribute, as each name was called, a current student from Year 3 to Year 12 stood in their place to honour them.

It is important that we continue to remember these women and the sacrifices made by those who fought for our country. Through remembrance, we honour their legacy and ensure that their sacrifices are not forgotten.

The following historical account was shared to commemorate the service of MLC School Old Girl Sister Elsie Cook (Sheppard, 1907):

MLC School girls have pushed the boundaries of gender expectations and gone on to become agents of change in their communities since the very foundation of this school. This ANZAC Day, it is worth reflecting on the role our Old Girls have played during times of conflict, both at home and abroad. From WWI to more recent conflicts and peace-keeping missions, MLC School students have sought to serve their country with integrity and distinction. From their first engagement in WWI as Nurses, the roles and responsibilities of MLC School students has been diverse. Since that time Old Girls have been engaged as medics, musicians, auxiliary forces, and pilots. They range from reservists to officers. They represent the diversity and good character of our School with distinction.

Today I would like to share with you the story of Sister Elsie Cook, who just like you, walked these very grounds of MLC School as a student. Elsie was a nurse in WWI, I hope that the next time you walk through Burwood Park, you pause to find her name on the Burwood War Memorial Arch.

Whilst women worked to maintain, and indeed reshape the nation on the home-front in WWI, it was the Australian Army Nursing Service where women were most visible in the conflict. Approximately 2140 Australian Nurses joined the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), being deployed in Egypt, Gallipoli, France, and England. Of that number, 11 were MLC School Old Girls.

Elsie Cook, nee Sheppard, matriculated from MLC School in approximately 1907, going on to complete her nursing training at RPA Hospital in 1914. In the same year she was engaged to Lt. George Cook (son of Australia’s Sixth Prime Minister Sir Joseph Cook), quickly married, then signed up to the AANS under her maiden name to avoid rules around married couples serving. Initially landing in Cairo where she wrote of her visits to the Mosque, Pyramids, and the Sphinx. Perhaps naively she recalls the Australian Troops looking ‘exceedingly well,’ and that she would never forget the ‘gorgeous vivid colouring’ of her first Egyptian Sunset.

The reality of war became quickly apparent. Elsie’s husband was wounded in the Gallipoli landing, recovering enough to lead his Battalion at Lone Pine, where he was shot, somehow not fatally, in the head. She transferred to work at his ward, where she recalls the horrors of conflict, and the exceptional nature of the work done by Australian nurses. Cook recalls: “We have got 700 badly wounded men and {only} six Sisters and a Matron! Wounded still arriving in their hundreds.” Further, she comments on the near impossible conditions: “Simply running all day … frightfully busy … getting off their bandages and blood-stained clothes … and yet the awful feeling that they were not getting the right attention – simply impossible.” Like many women, Elsie worked tirelessly throughout the war to maintain the lives of men serving and ensure the nation itself functioned. Unlike many, Elsie and George’s story ended happily, finding themselves in London on Armistice Day where they enjoyed a state of “great rejoicing and merry making” before returning to Australia.

Elsie is but one example of the MLC School Old Girls, and women more broadly, who have been instrumental in Australia’s military efforts for over a century. Such efforts, both in the field and on the home-front, remain examples of service, duty, and the desire to do so with courage and compassion. As we acknowledge the extraordinary effort of our war veterans on ANZAC Day, we also acknowledge the efforts of those who worked tirelessly to support them. I am heartened to know that the commitment to service and care shown by others in our community during the war years continues to be demonstrated within our community today.

Thank you to the staff members and students involved in leading this service, particularly Xavier Maling, David Posker-Hill and our School Archivist Barbara Hoffman for their planning, military information, and historical references. We will continue to honour and remember those who served and sacrificed for our country at MLC School now and in the future. Lest we forget.

– Lisa Moloney
Principal