Person
Best, Kathleen Annie Louise (1910 - 1957)
OBE RRC
- Born
- 28 August 1910
Summer Hill, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 15 November 1957
Richmond, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Nurse
Summary
Kathleen Best undertook nursing training at the Western Suburbs Hospital, Sydney, and midwifery training at the Women's Hospital, Crown Street, Sydney. Best became a staff nurse at Wyong Hospital, acting-matron at the Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children, Sydney, and later deputy-matron of the Masonic Hospital, Ashfield. In 1940 she was appointed to the Australian Army Nursing Service, serving in the Middle East until 1942. Best was the founding Director of the Australian Women's Army Corps. She was appointed as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) in 1956.
Details
Chronology
- May 1940
- Military service - Australian Army Nursing Service and posted as matron of the 2nd/5th Australian General Hospital
- 1941
- Award - Royal Red Cross (RRC) received
- 1942 - 1943
- Career position - Controller in the Australian Army Medical Women's Service
- 1943 - 1944
- Career position - Assistant Adjutant-General of Women's Services
- 1944 - 1949
- Career position - Assistant Director of the Re-establishment Division of the Department of Post-War Reconstruction
- 1951 - 1957
- Career position - Founding Director of the Australian Women's Army Corps
- 1956
- Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) (OBE)
Archival resources
Australian War Memorial Research Centre
- Lieutenant Colonel Kathleen Best, Portrait, 1944, ART22216; Australian War Memorial Research Centre. Details
National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection
- Biographical cuttings on Colonel Kathleen Best, Director of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps 1951-1957, Cuttings Files BIOG; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details
Books
- Ollif, Lorna, Colonel Best and her soldiers: the story of the 33 years of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (Hornsby, New South Wales: Ollif Publishing Company, 1985), 250 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Lincoln, Merrilyn, 'Best, Kathleen Annie Louise (1910-1957), Nurse and Army Officer' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 13 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), p. 176. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130206b.htm. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6376662. Details
- 'Best, Kathleen Annie Louise (1910-1957)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-775069. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Best, Kathleen Annie Louise (1910-1957), Biographical Entry', in Australian Women's Archives Project, National Foundation for Australian Women, 2003, http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0068b.htm. Details
See also
- Alexander, John A. ed., Who's who in Australia 1944 (Melbourne, Victoria: The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1944), 906 pp. Details
Ailie Smith
Created: 10 March 2003, Last modified: 15 June 2022