Matron Gwladys ThomasPrint Page

The plaque with bas relief sculpture commemorates Matron Gwladys M. Thomas, a former trainee of the Alfred Hospital who was killed in a car accident at El Kantara in Egypt in September 1941 during World War Two, after she had been evacuated from the Siege of Tobruk. Matron Thomas was attached to the 2/4th AGH. 

Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Thomas, Milton st., Canterbury, have been advised that their daughter, Matron Gwladys Margaret Thomas, had been killed in a road accident in the Middle East on September 1. Matron Thomas, who was 34, was one of the youngest matrons to go abroad. She held a triple certificate, trained at the Alfred and Women s Hospitals and the Infant Welfare Department.  At the age of 20 she was appointed matron of the Hamilton Base Hospital a position she held until she enlisted. Matron Thomas sailed last December, and was appointed to a general hospital. Three months ago she was transferred as matron to another general hospital. Matron Thomas, who was an accomplished pianist and singer, had recently organised weekly musical evenings for the entertainment of the nurses at her hospital. She was a devout member of the Methodist Church. Her father, Mr. G. H. Thomas, is chairman, State Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts' Association, and chairman of its Federal council. 
Argus (Melbourne), 5 September 1941.

A plaque in memory of Matron Gladys Thomas, of the 2/4 AGH, who was killed in an air raid at Kantara in the last war, will be unveiled at the Alfred Hospital Nurses' League At Home at the hospital tonight. Matron Thomas was an Alfred trainee. Miss Grace Wilson. RRC, OBE, will perform the ceremony. During the evening an informal talk on Scandinavia will be given by Miss Nancy Long, a Florence Nightingale scholarship winner, who recently returned from abroad. All past Alfred trainees are invited to attend.
Herald (Melbourne), 2 May 1949. 

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