Dorothy Morris, New Zealand nurse in the Spanish civil war
Potton & Burton - $39.99
It was bright moonlight – good bombing light – and once we had to stop and put out our lights as a Fascist aeroplane flew over. They usually come swooping down with guns firing at cars, especially ambulances. Finally we arrived at a town among the hills about 12.30 p.m. Here there is a hospital of about 100 beds in a former convent . . . They expect an attack tonight. – New Zealand nurse Dorothy Morris’s description of her journey to a Republican medical unit of the Spanish Civil War in early 1937
Petals and Bullets is based on the vivid, detailed and evocative letters written by Dorothy Morris to her family in Christchurch, while she was serving in often dangerous circumstances in Spain and other European countries. The letters have been supplemented by wide-ranging research to record a life of outstanding professional dedication, resourcefulness and courage.
Dorothy Aroha Morris (1904–1998) volunteered to serve with Sir George Young’s University Ambulance Unit, and worked at an International Brigades base hospital and as head nurse to a renowned Catalan surgeon. She then headed a Quaker-funded children’s hospital in Murcia, southern Spain. As Franco’s forces advanced, she fled to France and directed Quaker relief services for tens of thousands of Spanish refugees. Nurse Morris spent the Second World War in London munitions factories, as welfare supervisor to their all-female workforces. She then joined the newly formed UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, working in the Middle East and Germany with those who had been displaced and made homeless and destitute as a result of the war.
Dorothy Morris’s remarkable and pioneering work in the fields of military medicine for civilian casualties, and large-scale humanitarian relief projects is told in this book for the first time.
About the Author
MARK DERBY is a New Zealand historian who has written five books, including Kiwi Companeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War and The Prophet and the Policeman: The story of Rua Kenana and John Cullen. Mark has previously worked as foreign correspondent for a major European newspaper and as a writer for Te Ara, the online encyclopedia of New Zealand. He is currently writing a commissioned report for the Waitangi Tribunal's Northland enquiry. Mark is a sixth-generation Pakeha of Irish descent and lives on Wellington's south coast with his family.
Petals and Bullets is based on the vivid, detailed and evocative letters written by Dorothy Morris to her family in Christchurch, while she was serving in often dangerous circumstances in Spain and other European countries. The letters have been supplemented by wide-ranging research to record a life of outstanding professional dedication, resourcefulness and courage.
Dorothy Aroha Morris (1904–1998) volunteered to serve with Sir George Young’s University Ambulance Unit, and worked at an International Brigades base hospital and as head nurse to a renowned Catalan surgeon. She then headed a Quaker-funded children’s hospital in Murcia, southern Spain. As Franco’s forces advanced, she fled to France and directed Quaker relief services for tens of thousands of Spanish refugees. Nurse Morris spent the Second World War in London munitions factories, as welfare supervisor to their all-female workforces. She then joined the newly formed UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, working in the Middle East and Germany with those who had been displaced and made homeless and destitute as a result of the war.
Dorothy Morris’s remarkable and pioneering work in the fields of military medicine for civilian casualties, and large-scale humanitarian relief projects is told in this book for the first time.
About the Author
MARK DERBY is a New Zealand historian who has written five books, including Kiwi Companeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War and The Prophet and the Policeman: The story of Rua Kenana and John Cullen. Mark has previously worked as foreign correspondent for a major European newspaper and as a writer for Te Ara, the online encyclopedia of New Zealand. He is currently writing a commissioned report for the Waitangi Tribunal's Northland enquiry. Mark is a sixth-generation Pakeha of Irish descent and lives on Wellington's south coast with his family.
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