Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Monday 14 January 1957, page 7


A FAMOUS ARMY MATRON DIES, 76

MRS. BRUCE CAMPBELL, matron-in-chief of the Australian Army Nursing Service in both world wars, died in Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital on Saturday morning, aged 76.

Mrs. Campbell—bet-ter known as Matron

Grace Wilson—will have a military funeral with full honors on Wednes-day.

Bishop McKie, senior Church of England chaplain for Southern Command, will conduct the service at Christ Church, South Yarra, after which the funeral will leave for Spring Vale Crematorium.

Time of the funeral will be announced this morning.

Matron Wilson was men-tioned in dispatches five times during her service career. In 1919 she was awarded the C.B.E.

She was awarded also the Royal Red Cross Medal and the Florence Nightingale medal.

Matron Wilson was born in Brisbane. In 1914 she en-listed from Queensland and

served overseas as matron of No. 3 Australian General Hospital in Egypt, Lemnos, France and England.

In 1940 and 1941 she was on active service with the Army in the Middle East.

Matron Wilson was matron of Brisbane General Hospi-tal, Royal Children's Hospi-tal, Melbourne, Somerset Private Hospital, and the Alfred.

She was the first woman life member of the R.S.L.

In 1937 she led the A.I.F. Nurses' contingent to London for the Coronation.

Matron Wilson married Mr. Bruce Campbell in Eng-land in 1954.

She was one of the first trustees of the Shrine of Remembrance, and was ac-tively concerned with nursing affairs until her death.