BEST, KATHLEEN ANNIE LOUISE (1910-1957), nurse and army officer, was born on 28
August 1910 at Summer Hill, Sydney, second child of Rupert Dudley Best, commission
agent, and his wife Emily Edith, née Stevenson, both native-born. Educated at
Bondi Public and Cleveland Street Intermediate High schools, Kath completed
nursing training at Western Suburbs Hospital and midwifery at the Women's
Hospital, Crown Street. She became a staff nurse at Wyong Hospital, acting-matron
at the Rachel Forster Hospital for Women and Children, Sydney, and deputy-matron
of the Masonic Hospital, Ashfield. On 30 May 1940 she was appointed to the
Australian Army Nursing Service, Australian Imperial Force, and posted as matron
of the 2nd/5th Australian General Hospital.
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Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
Kathleen Best, as nurse and army officer, was an inspiring leader in both a war and peace time environment. As an army officer in the Middle East, she distinguished herself through her courage and efficiency in her treatment and care of the wounded. After her wartime service, she assumed a number of peacetime appointments, which included becoming the founding director, Australian Women's Army Corps (Women's Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC)) in 1951. Kathleen Best's war effort was acknowledged by the award of the Royal Red Cross medal 'for gallantry, conduct and devotion in Greece 14/27 April 1941' and her subsequent role as Director of the WRAAC was honoured with her appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1956.
Kathleen Best was the second child of Rupert Dudley Best, commission agent, and Emily Edith, née Stevenson. She was educated at Bondi Public and Cleveland Street Intermediate High School. She embarked on her nursing career at Western Suburbs Hospital and completed her midwifery at the Crown Street Women's Hospital, Sydney.
On 30 May 1940, Best enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service, Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) (service number NX12617), and was posted as matron of the 2nd/5th Australian General Hospital, which opened in December at Rehovot, Palestine. It moved to Greece on 10 April 1941 to assist the Anzac Corps in its battle against the Germans. Medical and nursing personnel worked under constant air raids, and by 25 April, most medical staff were evacuated to Crete. Best and 39 nurses volunteered to remain to care for the wounded, but later that day they were ordered to leave and survived a dangerous journey to Greece. She was awarded the RRC for her gallant conduct under difficult circumstances. She returned to Palestine to reorganise the hospital, then in August 1941, she went with the 2nd/5th AGH to Eritrea, Ethiopia.
Best returned to Australia in March 1942 and her AIF appointment was terminated on 13 June. She then took on the position of controller of full-time voluntary aid detachments for the Australian Army Medical Women's Service. She relinquished this post in February 1943 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel to become assistant adjutant general (women's services). In September 1944 she transferred to the Reserve Officers and became the assistant director of women's re-establishment and training in the Department of Postwar Reconstruction. This position involved helping servicewomen and female war workers adapt to the changed postwar conditions. The culmination of her career came with her appointment as the founding director of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps in February 1951. She was promoted to the rank of honorary colonel in 1952 and was appointed to the OBE in 1956. She was a member of the Melbourne Lyceum Club. Two portraits of her, painted by Nora Heysen and Geoffrey Mainwaring, hang in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Kathleen Best died in the Epworth Hospital, Richmond, Victoria, from melanonomatosis on 15 November 1957.
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1940 - 1942
Served in the Middle East
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1942
Awarded Royal Red Cross Medal (RRC)
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1942 - 1943
Controller for the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS)
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1943 - 1944
Assistant Adjutant-General Women's Services
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1944 - 1949
Assistant Director, Re-establishment Division, Department of Post-War Reconstruction
View the full record at
Australian Women's Register
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.
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May 1940
Career position - Australian Army Nursing Service and posted as matron of the 2nd/5th Australian General Hospital
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1941
Award - Royal Red Cross (RRC) received
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1942 - 1943
Career position - Controller in the Australian Army Medical Women's Service
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1943 - 1944
Career position - Assistant Adjutant-General of Women's Services
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1944 - 1949
Career position - Assistant Director of the Re-establishment Division of the Department of Post-War Reconstruction
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1951 - 1957
Career position - Founding Director of the Australian Women's Army Corps
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1956
Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Military) (OBE)
View the full record at
Encyclopedia of Australian Science