Did women play any part at Gallipoli, or were they all left at home? On the hospital ships, and the hospital camps at nearby islands there were nurses, and there are photos of Greek women who lived on the islands, but were there women on the peninsula itself? Were there any fighters?  This page tells some of their stories.

Was this the only woman to land at Gallipoli? 

A Turkish nurse tends to a wounded soldier at Gallipoli (Wikipedia)

Huge numbers of soldiers were wounded – about 200,000 on each side, including casualties from serious illness or disease. With numbers like this it’s easy to lose sight of the individuals, but every one meant pain, suffering and stress. Away from the actual battlefields were hundreds of nurses, working in military hospitals and on hospital ships. Find out more here. Behind the Turkish lines there were also many nurses working in Red Crescent field hospitals, or in towns further inland and back in Istanbul. For the Turks, it was slightly easier to evacuate their wounded because the soldiers could be moved back inland, where there was more room for proper military hospitals. Many of the casualties were sent to Istanbul. On the other hand the roads were bad and the wounded had to be transported on carts; also medical equipment was poor. The Turks lost more soldiers – killed and wounded – than the Allies.

Photo Above: A Turkish nurse tends to a wounded soldier at Gallipoli (Wikipedia)

A Hospital Romance?

Marriages between soldiers and nurses were very rare. Clarice and Ernest knew each other before the war and met again when Ernest was evacuated to hospital on Lemnos. For a woman in those days, getting married meant a change of job, and Clarice had to give up being a nurse to become a full time wife. However she was able to stay on to the end of the Gallipoli Campaign before returning to Australia. See their story here.

Photo Above: Nurse Clarice Daley gets married to Sgt Ernest Lawrence (AWM P01360.001)

Greek women

Most of the people living on the islands around Gallipoli were Greeks. Besides running shops, farms and cafes on Lemnos, they also worked for the army as servants and labourers. These Greek women were patients at one of the military hospitals on Lemnos. We don’t know how the girl on the right was injured – obviously not on the battlefield.

Photo Above: Greek patients at 3rd Australian General Hospital Lemnos (State Library of New South Wales)

Turkish Women at work

Local Turkish women in nearby towns like Canakkale helped the war effort. These women seem to be making tents.

Photo Above: ttoman seamstresses at Gallipoli (Ottoman Archives, CC)

Were there any female soldiers?

There were rumours that some of the Turkish snipers hiding in the trees were women. However there were no confirmed sightings and although British soldiers mentioned them in letters home, they were still just rumours. The issue is picked apart here.

Photo Above: A captured sniper? (IWM Q 13392). This is actually a faked photograph taken by Official War Photographer, Ernest Brooks, on the nearby island of Imbros. Two Australian soldiers from the bakery section are guarding a 'captive' greek islander.