Nellie Weston Barker

Born 17 November 1882. Daughter of George Whiting CROMMELIN and Frances nee DAWSON. Trained at Lister Hospital, Sydney between 1903 to 1908 and worked in various country hospitals including Lismore.

When the war began, Sister Crommelin went to England and served with the Australian Red Cross (ARC) in the American Women's War Hospital in South Devon, from 1914 returning to Australia in late 1915. In 1916 she returned to France sailing on the No. 2 Australian Hospital ship HMAS Kanowna. She served with the ARC in France from 1916 until 1919, one of twenty ARC nurses sponsored by the NSW Jockey Club and known as the "bluebirds". During this time she worked in the French auxiliary hospital at Les Andelys, Eure, just west of Paris, and in a temporary emergency hospital in Villers-Cotterets, closer to the front.

Married Claude William Johnston BARKER 23 August 1924.

Marriage Notice:

BARKER-CROMMELIN. -August 23, 1924, at Church of England, Lindfield, by the Rev. C. P. Brown, Claude W. J. Barker, son of the late F. L. Barker, to Nellie Weston, daughter of the late George W. Crommelin and Mrs. Crommelin, of Finchley, Gordon-road, Lindfield .

Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday 30 September 1924 page 8

Medals Awarded:

• British War Medal
• Victory Medal

Sources:

• Australian Nurses in World War 1
• Portrait of Sister Nellie Weston Crommelin, Australian Red Cross (ARC), wearing her nursing uniform
• Introduction to The Bluebirds: Twenty Australian Nurses who served in France for the French Army during WWI

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Feb 13 2017, 12:28:27 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Feb 13 2017, 13:00:08 UTC