At 38 years of age, she was one of 130 sisters sent by the Australian Government to join QAIMNSR.

A farewell gathering was held in the Wynyard Baptist Church on December 15, 1915. A wristlet watch, travelling rug and a cheque were presented to Amy. She said that “she would do her best to make them proud of their nurse”.

That afternoon Amy left on the train for Launceston to join the Loongana. From Melbourne she embarked on the troopship Karoola that was to take her to Egypt.

The Weekly Courier published an extract from a letter Amy wrote as she approached Fremantle thanking the Patriotic Committee members for their gift. Amy admitted that she hoped “… to get a last little feel of dear old Australia – the last for some time”.

Amy was briefly in Egypt, where the sight of the pyramids captivated her.

She would have been aboard one of four hospital ships carrying wounded soldiers from the Gallipoli campaign, later transferred to HMHS Britannic in Naples, Italy.

It was on this vessel, on February 3, 1916, that Amy passed around her address book so that 28 of her fellow nurses could record this moment in history. The Britannic arrived at Southampton, England, on February 9, 1916.

Soon, Amy was posted to Lord Derby’s War Hospital at Warrington. 

Amy landed in Etaples, France, on April 2, 1916, and two days later transferred to the British Expeditionary Force. She moved between Stationary Hospitals and Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) in the North-Eastern corner of the country near the Western Front.

A letter from Amy published in The Advocate in January 1917 described the 13th Stationary Hospital on the seafront at Boulogne.

She and two orderlies were on night duty with 50 acute medical patients in their care. Between the two wards was a little room with a stove burning, where she wrote her letter.

The weather was cold and had been stormy, and she decided that Australia was the only place fit to live in.

In March 1917 Amy was back in London sick with influenza and bronchitis. After several weeks she returned to the 13th Stationary Hospital and had another stint just behind the lines in a CCS at Bailleul.

Amy had a rest in Cannes in December 1917 and alternated between Stationary Hospitals and CCS’s until her next leave period in June 1918.

Amy was away for four Christmases. One year she received a food parcel from cousins in Kent with the question “When will all this end?”.

Hostilities did finally end on November 11, 1918, but Amy was still at the 7th Stationary Hospital, Boulogne. On December 7, she wrote a letter to the Matron requesting that she be released from her appointment as a staff nurse as soon as possible.

Amy’s reason was that she had been away for three years and felt it was her duty to return home to care for her mother whose health was failing.

A report on Amy by the QAIMNS Matron states that she had overseen surgical and medical wards, German fracture wards and the operating theatre. Her health and conduct were very good, her character agreeable, steady and reliable, she was conscientious, tactful and pleasant in the home.

Amy arrived in England on January 13, 1919, after the acceptance of her resignation. However, she was sent to Queen’s Hospital, Sidcup.

While there Amy provided good service, showed interest in her work, her manner and conduct were irreproachable, and she was recommended for further work in a military hospital. Yet all she wanted was to go home.

Amy finally embarked for Australia on the HT Roda on May 8, 1919. Demobilized on June 7, 1919, after three years and 171 days of service, Amy arrived home at Wynyard in July. Amongst her possessions were badges for the QAIMNS Reserve; Australian Army Nursing Service, 1916; the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League, 1921; the Allied Victory Medal; and the British War Medal.

Amy wrote an article for The Weekly Courier about meeting an Australian Padre, Reverend Donald McNicol, in a lace shop in Doullens, France, during the war. She happened to meet him again in the Cataract Gorge in the 1920s and had tea from the lace table cover that she recommended he buy. The Australian Padre had not realised that Amy was Australian as she was wearing the grey and crimson uniform of British nurses.

In March 1920 General Sir William Birdwood laid the foundation stone for the first War Service home planned for Wynyard. Intended for Mr Arnie Horton, it was never built. Amy later had the solid bluestone incorporated into the garden wall of her home Poimena at East Wynyard.

It states: First War Service Home / Wynyard / Stone laid by / General Sir William Birdwood / 3 rd March 1920

On November 17, 1934, Amy was one of three returned nurses who had the honour of being presented to the Duke of Gloucester at West Park, Burnie.

Amy was a school nurse on the North-West Coast for 21 years. She died aged 73 at Lachlan Park Hospital, New Norfolk on July 19, 1950 and was buried with her sister Myra at the Wynyard Cemetery.