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Royal Australian Navy nurses uniform glove, right hand
Royal Australian Navy nurses uniform glove, right hand

Royal Australian Navy nurses uniform glove, right hand

Maker
Date1939 - 1945
Object number00016628
NameGlove
MediumLeather
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionA right handed leather glove from a World War II Royal Australian Nurses uniform. The complete World War II Royal Australian Nurses uniform consists of dress, hat with band and badge, cape, working skirt, white blouse, khaki blouse, navy jacket, great coat and leather gloves (00016623 - 00016632 and 00016637).HistoryInitially the RANNS consisted of only 24 nurses (12 nurses chosen in Melbourne and 12 in Sydney) but their numbers would increase to sixty before the end of World War II. The nurses served in naval hospitals in Sydney and Darwin, at Milne Bay, Papua, and at Flinders Naval Depot, Westernport, Victoria. They also staffed naval sick-quarters in Brisbane and Canberra, at Townsville and Cairns, Queensland, and at Fremantle, Western Australia. Others complemented established AANS and RAAFNS units at army and air force hospitals. SignificanceThe Royal Australian Naval Nursing Service (RANNS) was established in October 1942 and Miss Ina Laidlaw became the first matron. The number in the service never exceeded 60 during the war and being such a small unit in the Royal Australian Navy, a complete uniform such as this is quite rare.