Royal Red Cross First Class, 1915

Royal Red Cross First Class, 1915 2017/33

Nurse Matron Ida Greaves was awarded this Royal Red Cross for exceptional services to nursing during World War I. Because she was already working in London in 1914, Ida was serving in France as matron of the Australian Voluntary Hospital within weeks of the declaration of war. Ida served until March 1919 when she returned to Australia. She is one of the longest serving World War I veterans from the Hunter. Decoration This is a Royal Red Cross, a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. The award was established by Queen Victoria in 1883. Its first recipient was Florence Nightingale, who was famous for her revolutionary nursing work during the Crimean War in the 1850s. Theological This medal is inscribed with the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. These virtues are the fundamental principles of Christianity and were first mentioned in a letter from St Paul to the Thessalonians. Christian philosophy states that these virtues are infused into the human person by God and are crucial to attaining perfect human happiness. King A portrait of King George V is cast in the centre of this Royal Red Cross. George Frederick Ernest Albert was King of the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and Emperor of India from 1910 until his death in 1936. He presented this medal to Matron Ida Greaves in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 1915.