Anzac Girls (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Adventure - full transcript

Nurses, come!

Hurry up.
Gather round.

Come along!

We have come to war to aid our men.
That is our calling.

Our devotion.

I served during the Boer War.

I have seen the impact
a trained nurse can have

on the health and recovery
of the wounded combatant.

Tomorrow you will
commence your duties.

Be your best,

for your patients,
for your country,



hail you from Australia
or New Zealand.

For the Empire and for the King

but mostly for yourselves.

Matron Wilson.
Matron Gould?

I'm here to escort you.

Sisters?
Our lorries are here.

The vehicles have been redeployed
for movement of livestock.

Horses travel by lorry while nurses
walk? Six weeks on the voyage?

Five hours on that dreadful train?

A stroll will help us regain
our land legs.

Form two lines! Make them straight!

- Lord, I thought Adelaide was hot.
- You've got to be joking!

Good thing we have our deckchairs
to help us face the ordeals of war.

I wonder what Battalion he's with?
I don't know.



Shoe shine?
No, thank you.

Imshi! Imshi! Come on, come on.
Off you get. Go on. Go on.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Follow me, ladies.
It's so hot.

We're to share?

They could have at least let us
nominate our roommates.

I'm sure we'll rub along alright.
Oh, do you mind?

Just... I sleep better
with the breeze.

Oh, of course.

You're from Sydney,
aren't you, Sister Sheppard?

Mm, and you?
Melbourne.

Well, Perth originally but, you know.

I feel I know you from somewhere.

Really? How odd.

Yes, I felt it the whole voyage
from Australia.

Could we have crossed paths
during training...

No, we couldn't have.
That is, I'm certain we haven't.

Is it alright if I use this one?

Thank you, I think.

What is it?
Bully beef.

The men live on it, apparently.

Well, for country, Empire and King.

Would you like to join us,
Sister Ross-King?

Thank you, Sister Steele, but...

Lieutenant Frank Smith.

May I escort you to your table,
Sister...?

Alice Ross-King.

But are you sure
you wouldn't rather make me march?

You know, we're not all brutes
in the army.

So, Lieutenant,
how long have you been in...

Mind if I join you?
Of course.

Lieutenant Smith, this is
my roommate, Sister Sheppard.

Which Battalion are you with,
Lieutenant?

The 13th.
Your camp, under the pyramids?

Do you sleep in tents?
Indeed we do.

All of you? Officers as well as men?
You all sleep in tents?

From the Colonel
to the lowest Private.

The pyramids are marvellous.
Simply towering with history.

Have you been to see them yet?
I'd be delighted to escort you both.

If I have time from my duties,
that would be lovely.

Ah, yes, your duties.
What a brave bunch of girls you are.

Or are some of you nurses
married ladies?

All footloose and fancy free.

We have to be to qualify
for Australian Army Nursing...

But you do have privacy?
Pardon?

Oh, your tents.

I hope as an officer you have
privacy, that you don't share?

Well, it depends on rank
but for the most part,

we've got space to ourselves.

Lieutenant Smith seems nice.
Yes.

You and he got along
like a house on fire.

I was just being sociable.
Of course.

Though we should be careful
how we conduct ourselves.

I know we're entitled to a bit of fun
while we're here

but being too forward could...
Well, it could give you a reputation.

I was just being sociable.
Of course.

Is that...?

Can you hear it?
They're fighting, over at the Suez.

Apparently, the New Zealanders
are already there.

Sisters? A moment, please.

The enemy is increasing his push
towards us.

10,000 Turks are massed on
the other side of the Suez Canal.

Is it an invasion, Miss?

Turkish strategy is beyond my ken,
Sister Haynes,

but our Armies are responding and
the British are establishing

casualty clearing stations
in Port Said,

just six miles from the canal.

A clearing station
that needs volunteers.

Good, Sister Ross-King.
Sister Haynes.

Miss Wilson?
Hm?

Are Australian Battalions
heading to the fighting?

I couldn't say.

Might they be staying here in Cairo?

Troop movements are not our concern,
Sister Sheppard.

We leave in an hour.

We must be nearly there.

We've requisitioned the building
from some French nuns

who ran it as an orphanage.

It, ah, it needs a quick once-over.

Well, I'll leave you to it, Matron.

Well, Sisters, here we are.

Yes, throw all of this out
but these bedsteads.

Take them out and scrub them.

Sisters, take that mattress outside
and beat it and air it.

Oh, Olive!

Oh!

Well done, Sisters.

This is most satisfactory.

Well done, Sister.

Good, very good, thank you.

Matron, excellent.
An ambulance has just arrived.

Sisters! To your stations, please.
Orderlies! Casualties approaching!

Dressing station one, please.

Dressing station two.

Hello, there.

Sister Ross-King?
Come with me, please.

Excuse me, matron.

Speak to the Major.

Next.

Major Leopold concerned
about this one?

He was just doing rounds.

And you were just being sociable
again, I suppose?

No.

Oh, I realise it's Lieutenant Smith
you've really set your cap at.

Sister Sheppard,
I know I've been uncivil

and I know I have no right
to step in your way

and I'm not surprised
you're smitten with Frank.

But I'm not.

And I'm sure he finds you
pretty presentable too.

Sister Ross-King, I have
no romantic interest in Frank Smith.

But what about all that business
of officers and tents and privacy?

I was just making small talk.
Oh.

So you won't mind if I indulge
in the gentle art with him?

Not at all. As you said,
we're entitled to a bit of fun.

Sisters? We're closing the station
and returning to Cairo.

But we've just got here.

Most of our troops
have already been recalled.

Have we beaten the Turks?
I couldn't say.

If we're pulling out...

Oh, British High Command
may have a new plan.

But it does seem
the Turks have withdrawn

and you've earned yourselves
a couple of days' leave.

Morning, Sister Sheppard.

Sightseeing on your day off?
Oh, the pyramids.

My brother, Lance Corporal Wilson.

I tried to convince
my serious big sister

to do crocodile hunting on the Nile

but she insists
on getting me cultured.

Well, I mustn't detain you.

Good day.

Excuse me, 2nd Battalion?

Second?

Those blokes got themselves
a sunny spot.

Uh...
Third row, Miss.

Sister Sheppard.

Lieutenant Cook.

How are you?
Well. You?

Yes. Indeed.

Tea?

Home sweet home.

Has anyone cottoned on?
I don't think so.

You're my naughty secret.

Else?
Hm?

There's talk of an invasion.

We're being send to the Dardanelles.

When?

Are you alright?
I must have pulled a muscle.

New arrivals.

You've heard the rumour about us
invading Turkey?

The whole camp's abuzz
with itchy trigger fingers.

At Port Said, I was asked
to assist in surgery.

I saw my first bullet extraction.

It was embedded in the humerus but
the surgeon got it out very neatly.

And busy, you know, one time
I did almost a dozen gunshot wounds.

A dozen.
And you weren't alarmed?

I thought I might be nervy but
I just wanted to do the job well.

Hello, there.
Major Leopold? You're in Cairo?

Recalled awaiting orders,
like so many other chaps.

Staying at the Hunting Lodge,
actually.

We're sure to bump into each other.

Well, good day.

Who's that old bloke?
The English MO I met in Port Said.

I'm so glad I went.

I feel ready for anything now.

What? What?

Call me old-fashioned but

I don't like the thought of you
so close to the front.

War's no place for a woman.

I'm a fully qualified nurse, Frank.
This is where I should be.

Well, if I had my way,
you'd be in a beautiful palace.

A palace?
Mm-hm.

I've always rather fancied myself
in a palace.

What are you doing?
Going back to camp.

Oh, no, you can't.
Your wound's not healed.

I've gotta go!
Sister Haynes!

Sister Sheppard is right, Private.

Your dancing days'll be over if
that gash on your foot gets septic.

Me mates are going to sail off
to fight Johnny Turk without me.

That's just a rumour. There
might not be an invasion at all.

There might not be any fighting.
All this is talk!

Elsie! Matron!

The Postmaster General
has approved the construction

of an additional telephone trunk line
between Adelaide and Melbourne.

Hello, there.

I knew my six-week-old
Adelaide Advertiser

would bring you back from the brink.

What did I...?
Pleurisy.

You had a temp of 104. Could have
fried an egg on your forehead.

I heard voices.

Well, you look rather better.
How long have I been ill?

Couple of days.
Has the invasion happened?

Have our men gone?
Nothing's happened.

We should tell Miss Gould.

Her concern for you's made her
almost human.

Sid! Oh, you mustn't be here.

I hadn't heard from you.

You can't be here. You must go.
In a moment. Look at you.

Pale as a sheet.

You must go.

Sister Sheppard, how are we...

Clearly on the mend.
Elsie's not to blame. It's my fault.

This is utterly insupportable.
She's done nothing wrong.

Our position within the Army
is ambiguous enough.

If you understood our situation...
Here you are!

Laying us open to charges
of immorality!

I suspect, Miss Gould,
Sister Sheppard's offence

may be of a different kind.
Isn't that right, Mrs Cook?

From the moment I saw you
on Circular Quay,

I've felt you were familiar.

Your wedding was in
the Brisbane Courier social pages.

With photographs.

An interstate newspaper carried
photographs of your wedding?

Why?
Because of his father.

My father is, um, Joseph Cook.

Prime Minister Joseph Cook?

Well, he lost the last election
but yes.

Right. Well. What a mess.

Look, punish me if you need to
but go easy on my Elsie...

If you could leave now please,
Lieutenant Cook.

Through the front door
rather than the window.

Sid!
Just get better, old girl.

Go back to bed, Sister Sheppard.
Back to bed!

We will discuss this
when you are recovered.

And you should be spending your days
off on rest, not eavesdropping!

I knew I'd seen her before!

I saw her wedding photograph
in the Melbourne papers.

She wore ivory silk.

He's handsome, isn't he?

She can't have imagined
she could keep being married

secret for the whole war.

But Elsie can't lower her reputation
with her husband.

It's not about her reputation now.
She'll lose her job.

Oh.

Oh, of course.

Morning, Sisters!

Hello, Alice!
Hello, Frank.

Lieutenant Smith is taking me
to the pyramids.

But Miss Gould said that
we should rest.

One must cast sweets in the cup
while one can, Hilda.

You look wonderful.
Thank you.

She is so assured.

She's so something,
that's for sure.

Now I've a surprise for the next leg
of our expedition.

Tea at an oasis? A string quartet
by the Sphinx? Camels?!

I know they're rather alarming

but dromedaries are the fastest way
to travel these sandy roads.

I'll be by your side
the whole time...

Oh, they're gorgeous!

Wait, let me help you.

There we go.

It's astonishing.

Lot of good stone put to no great
purpose as far as I can see.

It makes me feel... insignificant.

Like I'm a part of something endless.

It certainly feels like I've been
in this desert for an eternity.

The men are getting edgy.

I just wish the brass would get
this invasion over and done with.

'If you can force your nerve and
heart and sinew,

To serve their turn
long after they're gone,'

you'll be a man, Frank.

Kipling?

Look at you, my clever
little nursie quoting poetry.

Thank you for a lovely day.

Um...

Hello, there.
Oh!

Hello, Major.
Been Sphinxing?

Ah, the great Pyramid.
Ah, Orion's belt buckle.

Apparently, the ancient Egyptians
built the Great Pyramid

to correlate to one of the stars
in the constellation of Orion.

Ah. I can hardly recognise
any stars here.

I still find it odd
not seeing the Southern Cross.

I did a bit of star gazing
in my dim and distant youth.

Shall we?

Orion is Betelgeuse, Bellatrix,

Saiph and Rigel at the bottom right.

And those three stars
in the middle are his belt.

My father knew the stars.
Australian ones.

He used to fish by them.

Said when there was no moon,

mullet practically threw themselves
in the boat.

He must be proud of you.

Enlisting.
He passed away when I was small.

He drowned, with my brothers.

I'm so sorry.

Mother didn't want me to enlist.

Didn't want me to be a nurse at all.

My parents didn't want me
to do medicine either.

Hoped I'd follow in Father's
footsteps, go in for the church.

Take over his parish,
stay in Cumbria.

You didn't want to?
No, I wanted to see the world.

Though as I've got older,
I can understand their position.

And your mother's.

One wishes to keep close
the things one cares for.

Sheppard's your maiden name?

Well, aren't you the sly one.

Sister Ross-King, I've never done
anything like this ever.

But I couldn't stay at home
while he went to war.

What's it like? Being married?
I hardly know.

Our wedding was just before
Sid sailed.

We hadn't seen each other for
three months till the other day.

Oh, when you were at the camp?
In the privacy of his tent?

We were just being sociable.

We're going to be separated again
now, though.

You're a good nurse.
It's ludicrous they'd send you home.

Well, at least you'll have a room
to yourself.

You know after sharing all this time
together, Sister seems a bit formal.

Shall we use our Christian names?

Australian military nurses must be
between 21 and 40,

have done three years' training and
be either widowed or single.

Nurses who marry
whilst on active service

will automatically vacate
their positions.

I want to do my bit, Miss Gould.
I was one of the first to join up...

By committing a falsehood!

You could perhaps work in a military
hospital back in Australia.

But I'm needed here.

You said a trained nurse can make
a huge difference in war.

Yes, and the Army expects us
to adhere to the rules.

I'm sure your father-in-law,
the former Prime Minister,

would understand the politics
of our situation.

You know, my father-in-law's
last act as Prime Minister

was to pledge Australia's full
support for Britain in this war.

And, you know, he's such a strong
supporter of the Nursing Service

that I'm sure he'd be
our advocate in Parliament,

in Government or Opposition.

You will receive
no special dispensations.

No, Miss Gould...
There will be no hiding this!

I do not want to be accused
of subterfuge.

So, there is one complication
you will immediately remove.

Say hello to your new colleague,
Sister Elsie Cook.

Oh, that is a bonzer, Sister,
just bonzer!

It is such a relief. I dropped a
dozen stitches last night worrying.

Well done, Elsie.
Thank you, Alice.

So, what's the plan?
The Poms have got it sorted.

Sneak landing at the Dardanelles,

a quick dash to Constantinople
and Bob's your uncle.

We don't have an Uncle Bob.
After this caper, we will.

Fingers crossed, this'll see the
Turks off and we can all go home.

Some of us have been chosen to go
on the British hospital ships.

I wish it was me.
I'd be closer to you.

My dear girl,
you get so terribly seasick.

They're calling us Anzacs -
Australia New Zealand Army Corps.

Frank...
You're so lovely.

Frank, stop.
What's wrong?

I don't think we should.
But tonight's my last night.

I go to Turkey tomorrow.
Who knows what could happen to me?

You said it yourself.

One should cast sweets in the cup
while you still can.

Yes, but I want us to part
on good terms.

Thought you'd be at the camp
with the other young folk.

Oh. I was.

But it got rather... unruly.

Alice, will you take the advice
of an old man?

You're not old.
Experienced, then.

At times like these,
emotions are intensified.

Men make rash declarations,
especially men going off to battle.

You're a very young person
away from home,

and I would urge you
to exercise caution

in how you respond to any offers
you may receive.

I thought I saw you come up here.
I...

I-I can come back later...
Hilda, wait.

I'm so sorry. I am such a galoot.

You're leaving tonight?
On the 11:30 train to Alexandria.

Can't think why I've been picked
for a hospital ship

when others are
so much more competent.

I wanted to say goodbye. Hope
you don't think that's presumptuous.

Thank you. Let's.

Will you write to me, Hilda? Tell me
how you and the boys are faring?

I'd be delighted.

Though I imagine we'll all be back
in a couple of weeks.

Bye!

'Dear Alice, we have spent
the last few days in Moudros Harbour

as an enormous fleet.

Hundreds of British and
French warships gathers.

But now, we are all Turkey-bound.'

Please, God, bless Mum and Dad.
Shh!

Please, God, protect all the Kiwi
boys and the Australians too.

Hilda, I was up all night with
that Tommy with rheumatic fever.

Sorry. Sorry.

Please, God, if we have surgery
today and if I'm asked to assist,

could you make sure
that I don't drop anything?

Actually, please, God,
could you possibly see

that someone else altogether
gets chosen?

Oh, honestly, Hilda, you're as wet
as a weekend in Wellington.

What's that?

What's happening?

I want every MO and every nurse
on board on duty!

Prep for surgery, both theatres!

Make some room
on these bloody decks now!

Come on, boy, will you pull!

Weren't you watching?

It's alright, Private,
you're safe now.

Breathe deeply...

Keep breathing deeply,
it's alright...

Just a drop, that's it. That's it.

Elsie, where are they all from?
Gallipoli.

Sister Ross-King, you're here. Good.
We need another dressing station.

Triage haemorrhages, chest and head
cases first, then limbs and sepsis.

Watch for signs of gangrene.

Sister Ross-King?

There are so many boys...

Sister, we have 200 patients
already admitted

and God knows how many more arriving
from the docks.

Please, do your job.
Of course, Miss Wilson.

Alice! Can you look out for...
for him?

Station three, please.

Hello there, Private,
I'm Sister Alice Ross-King.

I'll be looking after you today.

Just take a deep breath.
Orderlies, please!

Help me, please!

Have you seen Sid?

Did Bert make it?

Can you stand for me, Private?

Who's Bert?

Been mates since Mt Eden Prep,
me and Bert...

Sisters!

Careful.

The MO all gave them morphine
an hour ago.

They wouldn't be so woozy
if we could get to them sooner.

There are so many from the 2nd.
Sid'll be alright. You'd have heard.

Have you heard from Frank?
A card dated the 19th.

Anything could have happened
since then of course.

Alice? There's no exit wound.

Major Springer!

For God's sake, make sure
the next lot of sterile water

is actually bloody sterile!
Last jug had an onion in it!

I'm sorry, the servants brought it in
from the cook house and I can't...

Major Springer,
I've a dressing station patient

with a bullet still in the wound.
He'll have to wait his turn.

I'm concerned he's developing
gangrene. How long?

A day, two, three.
He's waited six already.

He could lose his arm.

Sister, there are many here who could
lose their lives if I don't get to them.

You've had surgical experience.
As theatre sister.

He's loaded with morphine.
You can do it.

All a bit much, eh?
No, no, no, I'm fine.

Alice.

About the other night.

I was wrong, utterly,
to take advantage.

Sometimes one can't suppress
one's feelings.

Oh, Xavier...
I've no wish to embarrass you or...

Oh, Xavier, please!

I haven't time for affairs
of that sort right now.

I just need a friend.
Can we be friends?

Of course.

You're 2nd Battalion.
Do you know Lieutenant Cook?

What, the pollie's son?

Not in my Company but yeah,
I know him.

Is he... Do you know how he is?

We all hit the beach, second wave.

Never saw him after that.

Elsie.
I'll be right.

You go back to the ward.

I'm sorry, but you're lucky last.

Hello, old girl.
Oh, God, Sid.

I didn't know where you were.

Elsie!

36 hours.

36 hours straight
you did on that shift.

You are a conch.

I only managed 32.

I had eight men die on me today.

Oldest was 19.

Maybe we've won.

Millicent!

Medicinal purposes.
Officers' Mess won't notice.

No.

Do you know what gets my goat?

The papers going on making out
this is a simple thing,

this forcing of the Dardanelles.

If we dare tell the truth about this,
we'll be called un-British.

Millicent, we just need some sleep.

Good luck with that.

From home?
From Hilda.

She says the men can't make
headway inland

because there aren't enough of them.

The Turks just sit on the cliff tops
and...

Reinforcements.

How's Sid?

Well, his leg threatened
to become infected

but I think we've beaten it.

I thought after Port Said I was
ready. I thought I'd seen it all.

We all did. But it's early days.

Reinforcements will help.

Next.

Gunshot wound to chest.
Bullet not located.

Scalpel.

Are you alright, Sister?
Fine.

Thank you, Doctor.
Major.

When will you bloody nurses
learn some discipline?

Hello, there.
You had a collapsed lung.

Can you give me a deep breath?

You'll be fine.

Don't imagine I'll be riding camels
any time soon?

This should be firm. Let us know
if it gets uncomfortable.

You should rest.

I'll get the orderlies
to take you to the ward.

'My dear Hilda,

I was going to complain to you
about how busy we've been

but I can only imagine how much worse
it is for you so close to the Cove.

I had a nasty sore throat
the other day

and though I should have slept,
I found I couldn't.

So I snuck into town
and did some shopping.

Foolish, I know, but it made
a refreshing change from war.'

Costs too much.
Six shilling d'metre.

Too much.
S'il vous plait!

Oh, just forget it.
Excuse me.

Could you tell me
where I can find a bookshop?

An English language one?
Yeah, afraid so.

I've got a little Latin and French,
less Greek and no Arabic whatsoever.

Um, well, down this lane, take your
first flight of steps to the left.

But they're narrow
and watch out for beggars.

Jog for about 100 yards and there's a
little place that sells some editions.

Goodness, you're clearly a local.

Well, what book are you after?
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Poetry.
And philosophy.

I brought my much loved copy with me
on the voyage over

but it was the unfortunate victim
of my batman's malaise de mer.

Your batman was seasick
on your favourite book?

Well, thank you.

Would you like me to show you?
Please.

Some see Khayyam as a Sufi. To others,
he is a mystic or an atheist.

Well, what do you take from him?
I think he's a fatalist.

He believes our actions are free but
with no influence over the future.

It's an attitude rather suited to war.
Win or lose, it's all down to fate.

Well, we're on the right side.
God's on our side.

And this conflict's all part of
his grand plan?

I'm afraid I don't believe that.

Then why are you here?
Well, Australia's a young country.

We've got to engage
with the wider world

if we're to be taken seriously.

I guess I'm here for common
or garden duty.

What brought you
to the mysterious East?

Well, my duty, I s'pose.
And the lovely silks.

Ah. Yeah, my sister has tried
to educate me

on the difference
between silk and satin.

She failed hopelessly.

Would you read me some?
Certainly.

Ah.

'A book of verses
underneath the bough,

A jug of wine, a loaf of bread,
and thou,

Beside me singing in the wilderness,

A wilderness where paradise enow.'

That's... lovely.

I was expecting a grim lesson
on destiny.

Oh, I can read you
some of those too, if you like.

I have to go.
Is everything alright?

We have an 11pm curfew
and our matron is rather strict.

And you risked her wrath for me and
old Omar here?

I'll pay for a gharri.
No, it's fine. I'll run.

Please, you must... you must let me
pay for a gharri.

Uh, I hope you don't turn into
a pumpkin.

Thank you for the lift, Lieutenant.

I don't know your name.
Harry. Harry Moffitt.

Alice Ross-King.
Goodnight, Alice.

Goodnight.

The Mani camp, thank you, driver.

Too hot to sleep again?

Well, I tried prostrating myself
on the bathroom floor

but even there...

You're always at it, aren't ya?
At what?

Day and night, casting your sweets
at this fellow or that.

Is my business really yours, Olive?

Sorry. I've got the grumps.

Put it down to the 180 Tommies
from Gallipoli I admitted today.

You missed Miss Wilson's call
for volunteers.

Apparently, High Command want
a general hospital closer to Anzac.

So they're setting one up
on Lemnos Island.

Did you put up your hand?

Did Elsie?

She's not going to leave Cairo
while Sid's convalescing.

Hmm.
But you could.

I don't know, Olive.
Of course.

All those sweets in your cup.

He your sort?
I honestly don't know.

Try and give a cough several times
a day to keep your lungs clear.

You're so good to me.

Well, you're doing very well.
Major Springer's very impressed.

Well, you're the one that saved me.
I feel better when you're around.

Be by my side always.
Marry me, Alice.

Marry me now.
But what about my work?

Leave it.
We can leave this disaster.

We can go home,
go back to Australia.

I love you, Alice.

I just want to make you happy.

Build you that palace
you always dreamed of.

Alice?

Who is it?

Is it that Pommy bloke?

I'm sorry. I'm on duty.

Any pain?

Are you sure? No stiffness?

Twinges?

I'm afraid, old girl,
your excellent nursing

has restored me to full fitness.

'Fit for active duty.

Return to unit.'

You know what today is?

It's our anniversary!
We've been married eight months.

# It's a long way to Tipperary

# It's a long way to go

# It's a long way to Tipperary

# To the sweetest girl I know

# Goodbye, Piccadilly

# Farewell, Leicester Square

# It's a long, long way to Tipperary

♪ But my heart's right there. ♪

He's lost both eyes.

Do you know what he does for
a living back home? He's a tailor.

But we must just work on
and pray for a swift victory.

I've had 19 deaths in a fortnight,
Hilda.

Shh!
19.

Cracker boys, every one of them.
But you mustn't drink.

You mustn't.
You might do something silly.

What? Silly, like sending
wave after wave of OUR boys

up those stupid deadly cliffs?
Shh, Millicent...

Silly, like living
on a floating tin can

with bombs dropping left and right?
Millicent...

You can keep on praying if you like

but I am heartily sick
of this whole bloody war!

Millicent!

Lovely, isn't it?

Especially to a boy from Gisborne,
population - not very many.

There's beauty all over Egypt.
I had no idea before I came.

Neither did I.

What shall we drink to?

Your safe return from Anzac Cove.
Fate willing.

You will be careful?
Of course.

You can't control the future.

Are these rock cakes?

Harry, I know you don't believe
in God but the suffering I've seen,

it can only be the result of evil.

The men you nurse, Alice,
were wounded

because of failed international
politics, not supernatural forces.

That's not what I'm saying.
What are you saying?

Well, this invasion, I've seen what
it really means, to real people.

No, you haven't.

You haven't been home.
You haven't been in Australia.

You should see
how people there react

to the very mention
of the word 'Gallipoli'.

Well, they're going off
what they read in the papers,

not what's actually happening.
We're standing tough, Alice.

We're making a name for ourselves.

New Zealanders too
and I'm proud of that.

And so am I but you're talking
like it's a cricket match

and I don't think you understand
what you're facing.

I think I have a fair idea,
thank you.

Victory against the Turks would
prove that we're not just colonials.

A victory?

Harry, we're not winning.
And men are dying.

I know what's in the papers. I know
what's happening in Turkey too.

But this Gallipoli thing, Alice, is our
chance to step out of Britain's shadow.

And I want to be part of that.

More tea?

Harry sailed?

We fell out today. Well, sort of.

He's not naive,
he's the opposite, really.

But he still sees the war in this
sort of glamour and lofty notions

while I... Oh, bother.

I hardly know him, Elsie.

I hardly know the first thing about
him or his character and yet, I...

I'm no longer interested
in other men.

I've never felt like this
for anybody before...

..and now he's gone to Gallipoli.

Do you and Sid argue?
Not really.

Or perhaps we haven't been together
long enough.

He went back to Gallipoli today too.

Gallipoli.

What a stupid name.

A stupid name for a stupid place
in the middle of nowhere

that no-one ever heard of
three months ago.

What shift are you on?
Earlies. You?

We should get some sleep.

Your qualities as Army nurses
must include the following -

gentleness, cleanliness,
observation,

order, truthfulness,

obedience, courage, coolness...
Please, God.

..and tact wherever the Army
may send us.

War time nursing is not like
civilian nursing.

You will be tested by your service,
perhaps to your very limits.

But with these core principles
in our hearts

and our patients' welfare
uppermost in our minds,

we shall prevail.

That's all very well but I do believe
we're in for a splendid adventure.

Where's the hospital?
Colonel, there is nothing here.

I not ask for nurses in my unit
and if it were up to me,

we would not have women
in the forward zone at all.

There's been a battle at Gallipoli

in a place they're calling
Lone Pine.

We do make a rather good team,
don't we?

At this rate, the sick will soon
outnumber the wounded.

Half of your nurses will die
before this war is won.