Clara Dutton

Clara Gardner (nee Dutton) was born in York in 1888. She started her nursing training at York Infirmary in 1909. Aged 21, she completed one year there before being accepted at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

Graduating as Nurse Dutton in March 1914, Clara took up a ‘staff nurse’ position at the Newhall Private Hospital in Birmingham, and from there went to the Walsall General Hospital.

It was during her time at Walsall, she applied to join the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Reserve (QAIMNSR), often referred to as the QAs.

In May 1916, Clara was accepted and appointed to Fargo War Hospital in Wiltshire. After a few months there, she was transferred to the Lord Derby War Hospital in Warrington. It was during her six months at the Lord Derby she met Alfred Gardner, an Aussie soldier who’d been injured in France.

When applying for the QAs, Clara had ticked the box indicating she was willing to do overseas service. In January 1917, she signed a twelve month contract to go to Salonika (Greece).

Clara and Alfred both said they would write.

After a year living in the harsh weather conditions of northern Greece and facing the daily challenges of nursing in tent hospitals close to the front, Clara returned to England.

She was offered a ‘home’ posting and completed her next contract at the Brighton Pavilion Limbless Hospital. The war finally came to an end and Clara returned to private nursing in April 1919.

Later that year, Clara travelled to Australia to reunite with Alfred. They married and soon after started a family. She did no further nursing until volunteering with the Red Cross during WW2.